The Pontifical College Josephinum is a private

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

and university in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. It was founded by Joseph Jessing in 1888 and was granted the status of a

Pontifical College A pontifical university is an ecclesiastical university established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and Canon Law) and at least one other faculty. These academic institute ...

in 1892 by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

, making it the only pontifical seminary in North America. Although the college is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

(HLC) and

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History It was founded in 1918. The associ ...

(ATS), both accreditors placed the institution on probation in 2022 for issues including problems in strategic planning, internal leadership structures, and declining enrollment.

History

Background and Foundation

Joseph Jessing emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1867, was ordained to the priesthood in 1870, and assigned to Sacred Heart Church in Pomeroy."John J. Jessing" Ohio History Central
/ref> Within his first year at Sacred Heart, the parish purchased a house next door to serve as an orphanage for twelve local boys, supported in part by a German-language newspaper that Jessing wrote. The newspaper and orphanage, known as the St. Joseph Orphan Asylum, grew so rapidly that five years later, in 1876, Jessing moved both the orphanage and the printing operations of the ''Waisenfreund'' to Columbus for greater railroad access. The facility, located at the intersection of Main and Seventeenth Streets in Columbus gave both a Catholic education and training in the trades to the young men in its care. In October of 1888, prompted both by the desire of some of the orphan boys to study for the priesthood and the need of German-speaking Catholics to be ministered to by German-speaking priests, Jessing founded the ''Collegium Josephinum,'' and its first class of 23 men began formation at the Downtown Columbus site. As those first students progressed through the seminary program, the institution initially provided six years of primary education ("minor seminary," four years of high school and two years of college/pre-theology) and six years of secondary seminary education ("major seminary," another two years of college/pre-theology and four years of theology/ seminary). Father Jessing lived to see the first class of six seminarians ordained to the priesthood in June 1899 but he died less than six months later in November of that same year.

Pontifical status

To make sure that the fledgling institution would continue after his death, Father Jessing asked that it be placed under the protection of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. Pope Leo XIII granted the request in 1892, thus making the new institution, the Pontifical College Josephinum, the only pontifical seminary outside of Italy. From that time to the present, the institution has been under the direction of the

Congregation for Catholic Education , type = Congregation , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , picture =Via della Conciliazione din Roma1.jpg , picture_caption = Palazzo delle Congregazioni in Piazza ...

, with the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States as its Chancellor. The college is governed by a board of trustees.

Relocation to present campus

In 1931, the Josephinum moved to its present location just north of

Worthington, Ohio Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, and is a northern suburb of Columbus. The population in the 2020 Census was 14,786. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by James Kilbourne, who was later elected to ...

and north of downtown Columbus on a landmark campus. (The current size of the campus is slightly less than with another approximately parcel close by.) The new complex was designed by architect Frank A. Ludewig and cost $1.5 million dollars to construct. The academic structure of the seminary changed over time during the 1940s and 1950s from the "six-six" format to four years of high school, four years of college, and four years of theology/seminary (though the distinctions were gradual and unclear). Reflecting the German origins of its founder and its service to the German-speaking community, the seminary high school and college held almost all classes in German until the influx of non-German speaking students made this no longer practical. The first official college commencement occurred in June 1953; the college and recreation buildings were dedicated in 1958; and the high school closed in 1967 due to a decline in the number of applicants. For the first few decades of its existence, the seminary focused its work on educating priests to work with the large population of

German immigrants in the United States German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unit ...

. The Josephinum was incorporated in Ohio in 1894; its Constitution was first approved by Pope

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from ...

in 1938 and was most recently revised and approved by the

in 1996.

Modernization and increasing international focus

In the years after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the focus of the seminary shifted away from its original mission of meeting the spiritual needs of German-speaking Catholics to a wider mission of preparing priests for dioceses throughout the United States that lacked their own seminary. With the advent of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

in 1962, the Church took on a more outward-looking and evangelical orientation. It was only natural that seminaries like The Josephinum also become increasingly involved in outreach and ministry work in their local communities. This trend continues today, along with many other initiatives. Steven P. Beseau assumed leadership of the Pontifical College Josephinum on October 1, 2019. Josephinum alumni serve the Church in 48 states and 22 foreign countries. The Josephinum continues to prepare priests for U.S. dioceses that do not have their own seminaries, missionary areas of the United States, including regions of the U.S. with growing Hispanic communities and finally, dioceses around the world in need of help with the education of their seminarians.

List of Rectors

* Joseph Jessing (1888-1899) * John J. Soentgerath (1900-1919) * Joseph Och (1919-1932) * Henry J. Grimmelsman (1932-1944) * Adrian F. Brandehoff (1945-1952) * Paul A. Gieringer (1952-1962) * Ralph A. Thompson (1962-1967) * Thomas P. Campbell (1967-1974) * Frank A. Mouch (1974-1984) * Dennis F. Sheehan (1986-1989) *

Blase J. Cupich Blase Joseph Cupich ( ; March 19, 1949) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, a cardinal who serves as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Cupich was ordained a priest there in 1975. He was named ...

(1989-1996) * Thomas J. Olmsted (1997-1999) * Earl A. Boyea (2000-2002) * Paul J. Langsfeld (2003-2009) * James A. Wehner (2009-2012) * Christopher J. Schreck (2012-2019) * Steven P. Beseau (2019-present)

Accreditation and certifications

Led by a decades long effort by its most significant graduate and 20th century leader, Leonard J. Fick, the Josephinum was accredited by the

(HLC), an affiliate of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1976. The Josephinum has been accredited by the

(ATS) since 1970. The seminary also holds a Certificate of Authorization from the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Board of Regents. In March of 2022, the ATS issued a warning to the institution, as did the HLC in June of the same year. Issues include problems in strategic planning, internal leadership structures, and declining enrollment in the college.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Catholic seminaries in the United States Seminaries and theological colleges in Ohio Catholic universities and colleges in Ohio Universities and colleges in Columbus, Ohio Educational institutions established in 1888 Worthington, Ohio Pontifical universities Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus 1888 establishments in Ohio Saint Joseph (husband of Mary)