St. Thomas Seminary, located in Bloomfield, Connecticut, is a

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

for the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford The Archdiocese of Hartford is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven counties in the U.S. State of Connecticut. The archdiocese includes about 470,000 Catholics, more ...

. The current

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

is the Most Reverend Christie A. Macaluso.

History

St. Thomas Seminary was founded in 1897 by Bishop Michael Tierney, the sixth

Bishop of Hartford The Archdiocese of Hartford is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven counties in the U.S. State of Connecticut. The archdiocese includes about 470,000 Catholics, more ...

. The original Seminary was located at 352 Collins Street in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, in what was once the Chinese College. It opened its doors on September 7, 1897. Bishop

Tierney Tierney is an Irish surname. It is an Anglicized form of Irish (male), (female), also spelt /. It is derived from ''tiarna'', the Irish word for Lord or Master. The name can be found around the world, mostly in the Anglosphere and it's most pr ...

appointed the

Right Reverend The Right Reverend (abbreviated The Rt Revd, The Rt Rev'd, The Rt Rev.) is a style applied to certain religious figures. Overview *In the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church in Great Britain, it applies to bishops, except that ''The M ...

John Synnott as the first President of St. Thomas. Due to the increasing enrollment it became necessary to find a larger space. Bishop John J. Nilan had the cornerstone laid for the present building in 1928, and in 1930 the seminary moved to its current location in Bloomfield.

Collins Street (1897–1930)

St. Thomas Seminary opened on September 7, 1897, with 37 students in its first class. On the first floor was a study hall, classrooms, the refectory, and parlors. The second floor consisted of the chapel, a dormitory, and the professors' rooms. Soon after the size of the building proved inadequate for the needs of the diocese, and a new building adjacent to the old Chinese College was erected, serving the diocese until 1930.

Bloomfield (1930–present)

On September 30, 1930, St. Thomas opened at its new location in Bloomfield, a suburb of

. The Seminary was designed by architect Louis A. Walsh of

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...

and built by W. F. O'Neil. During its first 45 years (until 1942), the Seminary for the most part educated only seminarians for the Diocese of Hartford, then from fall of 1942 seminarians began arriving from the Dioceses of Albany,

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. The following year, the Dioceses of Portland (ME) and

Springfield (MA) Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the e ...

were added.

Curriculum

The curriculum at St. Thomas at its inception consisted of a five-year program. The classical education consisted of courses in Latin, Greek, and English, as well as systematic training in French and German. Other courses consisted of mathematics, natural sciences, Christian doctrine, and history. The curriculum developed over time and eventually the Seminary became a six-year program, with four years of high school and the first two years of college. Students completing the six-year program would receive the

Associate of Arts degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

Course of studies: 1954–55

Since the 1954-55 Academic Year, the two-year college program consisted of the following courses: Freshman Year: *Appreciation of Literature, Poetry *Latin Literature, Livy, Tacitus, Horace, Cicero *Latin Composition *Elementary Greek *French, German or Italian *General Inorganic Chemistry *Religion *Public Speaking *Music *Mathematics Sophomore Year: *Novel, Composition *Latin Literature, Horace, Cicero, St. Augustine, Tacitus *Latin Composition *Advanced Greek *French, German or Italian *Modern European History *Religion *Public Speaking *Physics *Music

Seminary life

Student organizations

Over its history, St. Thomas Seminary had various student organizations which were run by the students and overseen by the faculty. *''Stella Matutina'': The ''Stella Matutina'', Latin for Morning Star, was the seminary's quarterly literary magazine produced by the seminarians. It was founded during the Fall Semester in 1917. The first editors of the magazine were Patrick Flynn, Lester Loughran, and Harry O'Brien. Its twofold plan was to foster "the literary inclinations of the undergraduates and of uniting the alumni more closely to their ALMA MATER." The ''Stella Matutina'' contained articles by seminarians, as well as poetry. The articles ranged from seminary life to current events, as well as academic papers. Later volumes contained photographs. *Literary and Debating Society: The Literary and Debating Society produced programs for the student body every month and would also show films. *The King's Masquers: The King's Masquers was the drama club of the seminary, and produced four plays a year open to the public. *Glee Club: The non-liturgical choir performed twice a year for the seminarians and the public. *Schola Cantorum: The chapel choir sang for the special feast day liturgies. *Orchestra: The orchestra, like the Glee Club, was a non-liturgical group which gave two public performances a year. The orchestra was organized during the 1942-43 school year. *The Printing Club: The Printing Club was responsible for producing programs for the various school activities. It did not, however, print the ''Stella Matutina''. *The Camera Club: The Camera Club was responsible for photography of the major seminary events and for the displaying the photographs. *Third Order of St. Francis: A spiritual club which met every other week. *The Mission Society: The Mission Society was started at the Seminary in October 1920.

Athletics

Athletics were a large part of the student life of St. Thomas Seminary. Basketball and baseball were among the sports played at the original seminary on Collins Street. Among St. Thomas' biggest rivals was

Hartford High School Hartford Church of England High School is a voluntary aided Church of England secondary school on Neot Road in Hartford, Cheshire, for students aged between eleven and sixteen. The school has dual specialist college status in both languages an ...

. A Tennis team was started in the Fall of 1924. After moving to its current location in Bloomfield, basketball was briefly dropped due to a lack of facilities. Sports added to replace basketball included ice hockey (1932), bowling (1934),St. Thomas Seminary, ''Stella Matutina'', Mid-Winter Edition 1934, p.39 and golf. St. Thomas also had intramural sports, which included basketball, baseball, handball, tennis, ice hockey, golf, bowling, touch football, volleyball, softball, and billiards. The largest intramural sports event was the annual Field Day, with inter-class rivalry.

Leadership

Rectors

*Rt. Rev. John Synnott (1897–1921) *Rev. Maurice F. McAuliffe (1921–1934) *Rev. Henry J. O'Brien (1934–1940) *Rev. Joseph M. Griffin (1940–1947) *Rt. Rev. Msgr. Raymond G. LaFontaine (1947–1954) *Rt. Rev. Msgr. John J. Byrnes (1954-1967) *Rev. James J. Conefrey (1967-1975) *Rev. John J. Kiely (1975-1980) *Rev. Charles B. Johnson (1980-1985) *Rev. Christie A. Macaluso (1985-1991) *Rev. Robert A. O'Grady (1991-1996) *Rev. Aidan N. Donahue (1996-2001) *Rev. Msgr. Gerard G. Schmitz (2001–2014) *Most Reverend Christie A. Macaluso (2014–present)

Bishops

(Arch) Bishops of Hartford since the seminary's founding *Rt. Rev. Michael Tierney (1897–1908) eceased *Rt. Rev. John J. Nilan (1910–1934) eceased *Most Rev. Maurice F. McAuliffe (1934–1944) eceased *Most Rev. Henry J. O'Brien (1945–1969) eceased *Most Rev. John F. Whealon (1969–1991) eceased *Most Rev. Daniel A. Cronin (1992-2003), *Most Rev. Henry J. Mansell (2003–2013), *Most Rev. Leonard P. Blair (2013–present)

Bishop alumni

Graduates of St. Thomas Seminary who went on to become Bishops: *† Most Reverend Francis P. Keough - Bishop of

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

(1934–1947); Archbishop of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

(1948–1961) *† Most Reverend Henry J. O'Brien - Auxiliary Bishop of

and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Sita (1934–1945); Bishop of Hartford (1945–1953); Archbishop of Hartford (1953–1968) *† Most Reverend Matthew F. Brady - Bishop of

(1938–1944); Bishop of

(1944–1959) * Most Reverend Peter L. Gerety -

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

Portland (ME) Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

(1966–1969); Bishop of

(1969–1974); Archbishop of

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

(1974–1986) *† Most Reverend Vincent J. Hines - Bishop of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

(1959–1975) * Most Reverend Robert E. Mulvee - Auxiliary Bishop of

and

Titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Summa (1977–1985); Bishop of Wilmington (1985–1995); Coadjutor Bishop of

(1995–1997); Bishop of

(1997–2005) *†Most Reverend Joseph F. Donnelly - Auxiliary Bishop of

(1964–1977) *† Most Reverend John F. Hackett - Auxiliary Bishop of

and

of '' Helenopolis in Palaestina'' (1953–1986) * Most Reverend Peter A. Rosazza - Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of

and

of Oppidum Novum (1978–2010) *† Most Reverend Ambrose Battista De Paoli - Auxiliary Bishop of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and

of Lares (1983–2007);

Apostolic Pro-Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

(1983–1988); Apostolic Delegate to South Africa (1988–1997); Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

(1988–1997); Apostolic Nunio to

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

(1993–1997); Apostolic Delegate to

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

(1994–1997); Apostolic Nuncio to

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

(1994–1997); Apostolic Nuncio to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(1997–2004); Apostolic Nuncio to Australia (2004–2007) * Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde - Auxiliary Bishop of

(1988-1994); Bishop of Ogdensburg (1994-1999); Bishop of Arlington (1999–Present) * Most Reverend Christie A. Macaluso - Auxiliary Bishop of

and

Grass Valley A grass valley (also vega and valle) is a meadow located within a forested and relatively small drainage basin such as a headwater. Grass valleys are common in North America, where they are created and maintained principally by the work of b ...

(1997–present) * Most Reverend Joseph K. Symons - Auxiliary Bishop of

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and

of Sigus (1981-1983); Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee (1983-1990); Bishop of Palm Beach (1990-1998) † = Deceased

Archdiocesan Center

Today, St. Thomas Seminary is known as The Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary and serves as a Retreat and Conference Center for a variety of Roman Catholic and ecumenical, educational, and other groups. It also houses the Archbishop O'Brien Library which is open to the public and serves many Archdiocesan agencies. In 2007, Archbishop Henry J. Mansell dedicated the Archbishop Daniel A. Cronin Residence for retired priests. a state of the art facility. The apartment suites were built in two of the four former dormitory halls of the Seminary. The following are Archdiocesan agencies that are housed at the Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary: *Archbishop's Annual Appeal *Black Catholics Ministries *Catholic Mutual Insurance Office *Catholic Transcript *FACS *Office of Catholic Schools *Charismatic Renewal *Diaconate and Diaconate Formation Offices *Office for Divine Worship *Hispanic Evangelization *Metropolitan Tribunal *Mission Office *Office of Religious Education & Evangelization *Small Christian Communities *Vicar for Priests *Vocations Office *Coordinator for Campus Ministry Information about The Archdiocesan Center is given on the archdiocesan website athttp://www.archdioceseofhartford.org

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas Seminary Catholic seminaries in the United States Catholic universities and colleges in Connecticut Universities and colleges in Hartford County, Connecticut Buildings and structures in Hartford County, Connecticut Educational institutions established in 1897 Catholic Church in Connecticut Seminaries and theological colleges in Connecticut 1897 establishments in Connecticut