Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Seminary is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

college

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

for men in

Winona, Minnesota Winona ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota), Sugar Loaf. The population was 2 ...

, in the United States that is sponsored by the Diocese of Winona. Located adjacent to

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (SMUMN) is a private Catholic university with its primary campuses in Winona and Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It comprises an undergraduate residential college in Winona; graduate and professio ...

, IHM has provided college-level seminary training since 1948. Seminarians come primary from dioceses in the Midwestern United States to live at IHM and take classes from Saint Mary's. As of 2024, Bishop Robert E. Barron is the president of the IHM advisory board. On completion of their course work, seminarians at IHM receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy.

History

1912 to 1951

In 1912, Bishop Patrick Heffron of Winona founded Saint Mary's College in Winona. Its mission was providing a college education for seminarians and male lay people.The diocese in 1943 transferred operation of Saint Mary's to the

Brothers of the Christian Schools The De La Salle Brothers, officially named the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (; ; ) abbreviated FSC, is a Catholic lay religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in France by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (16 ...

(De La Salle Brothers). Bishop Leo Bintz of Winona decided that the seminarians attending Saint Mary's needed their own seminary residence. He opened IHM in 1947. The first group of seminarians moved into IHM that fall and started classes at Saint Mary's. Their teachers included Reverend George Speltz, a future bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud, and Reverend William Magee. IHM was officially founded and canonically erected on July 16, 1948, with Speltz as its first rector. That first year, IHM had an enrollment of twenty-five students. Its first graduate was Paul Halloran in 1949. IHM opened its first dormitory, Kelly Hall, in 1951.

1951 to 1973

IHM in 1951 began construction of Mary Hall (now called the convent or guesthouse). It was needed as a residence for the Dominican Sisters who provided housekeeping and other services for IHM; It was completed in 1954. Saint Leo the Great Hall was opened in 1961. In 1974, IHM established the Fitzgerald Retreat Center in Leo Hall for the use of diocesan priests. In 1963, Fitzgerald named Monsignor Joseph McGinnis as the second rector of IHM. During the 1966–1967 academic year, IHM reached its peak total enrollment, with 90 seminarians The third rector, Monsignor Roy Literski, was appointed by Fitzgerald in 1968. Bishop Loras Watters of Winona named Reverend Robert Brom in 1970 as rector. That same year, the

School Sisters of Notre Dame School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide religious institute of Roman Catholic sisters founded in Bavaria in 1833 and devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and min ...

assumed the duties of the Dominican Sisters at IHM.

1973 to present

IHM celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1973 with an alumni gathering. During 1986–1987, IHM was studied under the Papal Seminary Study. The SJV Chapel was renovated again in 1986. In June 1988, a 40th anniversary alumni reunion was held at IHM. In 1989, the IHM Seminary Endowment fund was created. Beginning in 1994, IHM and the priest faculty and staff began all sacramental ministry at Saint Mary's College, which was renamed a university in 1995. The second Papal Seminary Study was undertaken in the fall of 2005 and minor renovations of Kelly Hall were completed between 2002 and 2008 In August 2006, IHM broke ground on the Pope John Paul II Memorial Garden. In 2016, IHM began a major renovation of Kelly Hall. The resident seminarians were relocated to a dormitory at Saint Mary's during the construction. IHM in 2018 built a four-story addition to connect Kelly Hall and Leo Hall. This addition created study and community rooms on each of the residence floors.

Faculty

As of 2024, the following clerics are IHM staffers: *Very Reverend Robert S. Horihan – rector, appointed by Bishop John M. Quinn in 2016. *Very Reverend Martin T. Schaefer – vice-rector and dean of formation. *Reverend Matthew J. Fasnacht – director of spiritual life. *Reverend Jason Kern – vocation director

Buildings

Kelly Hall

Kelly Hall is the original seminary building at IHM. It houses the main student residence, guest suites, seminary offices, and the SJV Chapel. In 1950, Bishop Edward Fitzgerald of Winona began planning Kelly Hall, naming it in honor of Bishop Francis Martin Kelly, the third bishop of Winona. The De La Salle Brothers donated land to IHM for the new building. Fitzgerald broke ground on Kelly Hall on May 1, 1950, and Binz, then

coadjutor archbishop The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

of the

Archdiocese of Dubuque The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. The Diocese of Dubuque was erected in 1837 and ...

, laid the cornerstone on June 15, 1950. Students moved into Kelly Hall in the spring of 1951.

Saint Leo the Great Hall

Saint Leo the Great Hall (Leo Hall) houses the secondary student residence, guest rooms and the Sedes Sapientiæ Chapel. Leo Hall was built in 1961 and named after Leo Binz. Leo Hall was blessed by the Apostolic Delegate Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, in 1962, with Binz in attendance at the ceremony.

Chapels

Saint John Vianney Chapel

The Saint John Vianney Chapel (SJV Chapel), named after

John Vianney John Vianney (born Jean-Marie Vianney and later Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney; 8 May 1786 – 4 August 1859) was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic priest often referred to as the ''Curé d'Ars'' ("the parish priest of Ars"). He is known ...

, is located in Kelly Hall. It is the main chapel of IHM and the

eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

is reserved there. The chapel offers daily mass and adoration of the eucharist. The seminarian pray

Lauds Lauds is a canonical hour of the Divine office. In the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours it is one of the major hours, usually held after Matins, in the early morning hours (between 3:00:00 and 5:59:59). Name The name is derived from the three la ...

and

vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

in common in the chapel. Fitzgerald dedicated the altar in the SJV Chapel on April 22, 1951, and Speltz celebrated the first mass there on March 2, 1952. IHM remodeled the chapel in 1970 in accordance with liturgical changes from the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. * The stained-glass windows in the SJV Chapel depict several saints and the

gifts of the Holy Spirit In Christianity, a spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A D ...

. * The stained-glass windows in the chapel

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

depict the archangels

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, Gabriel, and

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

Sedes Sapientiæ Chapel

The Sedes Sapientiæ Chapel is located in Leo Hall. It is a smaller devotional chapel that is used for devotions, private prayer and masses for small groups. Seminarians often meet in small groups at this chapel to pray the

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

or the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (), Divine Office (), or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the Latin Church. The Liturgy of the Hours forms the official ...

. The eucharist is reserved in this chapel. The chapel is named for Mary, mother of Jesus, under the title of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom. Its stained-glass windows depict Mary, Sedes Sapientiæ, and the seven sacraments. The Sedes Sapientiæ Chapel was dedicated by Bishop Bernard Harrington on Oct. 23, 2003.

Pope John Paul II Memorial Garden

The Pope John II Memorial Garden is a multi-acre garden located in front of Kelly hall. It is designed for seminarians and the general public to use for prayer and quiet relaxation. It is also the site of outdoor masses. The memorial garden is shaped like a

Celtic cross upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...

, mirroring the cross on the IHM bell tower. After the 2005 death of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, the IHM rector decided to create a memorial garden to honor him. As John Paul II was devoted to the

stations of the cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

, IHM designed the garden to center around them. IHM broke ground for the memorial garden in August 2006. The stations, designed by American artist Lynn Kircher, were installed in November 2006. A sculpture of the burial shroud of Christ was placed in the memorial garden in 2007, along with the fountain and the grotto. The memorial garden opened in the summer of 2007

Stations of the cross

The memorial garden contains the traditional 14 stations of the cross along with two extra stations were added off the main path. These two extra stations are Jesus in the

Garden of Gethsemane Gethsemane ( ) is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus Christ underwent the Agony in the Garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. The garden is ...

and the Resurrection of Jesus.

Grotto and altar

Set in local

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, the outdoor grotto and altar provide an area for outdoor gatherings and mass The grotto is dedicated to

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, with statues of Our Lady and

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

, and provides space for

votive candle A votive candle or prayer candle is a small candle, typically white or beeswax yellow, intended to be burnt as a votive offering in an act of Christian prayer, especially within the Anglican, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic Christian Christian denom ...

s and private prayer.

Shroud of Christ

Located in the center of the garden is the

empty tomb The empty tomb is the Christian tradition that the tomb of Jesus was found empty after his crucifixion. The canonical gospels each describe the visit of women to Jesus' tomb. Although Jesus' body had been laid out in the tomb after crucifixi ...

of Christ, with a life-sized solid bronze burial shroud, designed by Kircher. Located throughout the center of the garden,

cast bronze Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; loanword, borrowed from French language, French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cas ...

birds perch on the outdoor works of art.

Fountain

The New Life fountain is located next to the empty tomb. The fountain pushes water up through a limestone boulder. The fountain is meant to remind visitors of the bible account of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

bringing water from a rock when the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

were traveling through the wilderness.

Course study

The curriculum at IHM is designed to proved a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in philosophy to its students as part of their early formation for the priesthood. Most of its incoming students do not have any college degree. IHM also requires its students to take courses in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and Latin. Students can create a double major through Saint Mary's University so long as they meet the basic requirements for the philosophy major. As of 2024, students must take courses in the following areas of study to fulfill the philosophy requirements: * Logic *

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...

through

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

Moral theory Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

through Ockham * Bacon through

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

* Kierkegaard through

Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

* Epistemology *

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

Seminary motto and crest

The official motto of IHM is the Latin text of

Psalm 133 Psalm 133 is the 133rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity". In Latin, it is known as "Ecce quam bonum". The psalm is one o ...

:1 in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

of the bible: ''Ecce quam bonum et quam iucundum habitare fratres, fratres in unum'' (Behold how good and how splendid where brothers dwell as one.) The Latin motto is often shortened to simply ''Ecce Quam Bonum'' (Behold How Good) as seen on the seminary crest. The current IHM crest was designed by the ninth rector, Father James Steffes in 2002. The base of the crest is the red shield, symbolizing both the enlightening guidance of the Holy Spirit and the courage needed to respond to God's call of discernment. At the top of the shield is a flur-de-lis, a symbol of Mary as well as of Joseph, the guardian of Jesus and disciples dedicated to Him. At its center, the crest holds Mary's mystical rose, often portrayed with five petals, in white within a blue diamond. Both the diamond and color white are symbols of virgins, and blue is the traditional color of Mary. Within the mystical rose is the Immaculate Heart of our Heavenly Queen. In 2019 the seminary began updating branding. This led to a new logo being used for official correspondence instead of the traditional crest.

Dioceses served

As of 2024, IHM was serving the following dioceses: *

Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan s ...

* Diocese of Crookston * Diocese of Gary *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay The Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay () is a Latin church diocese in the northeast region of Wisconsin in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Its mother church i ...

* Diocese of Madison * Diocese of Peoria * Diocese of Rapid City *Diocese of Saint Cloud * Diocese of Sioux Falls *Diocese of Winona-Rochester * Diocese of Duluth * Diocese of Sioux City * Diocese of Cheyenne * Diocese of La Crosse *

Diocese of Reykjavik In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

in Iceland

External links

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary

Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona, Minnesota

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Immaculate Heart Of Mary Seminary (Winona, Minnesota) Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Catholic universities and colleges in Minnesota Catholic college seminaries in the United States Catholic organizations established in the 20th century Education in Winona County, Minnesota Educational institutions established in 1948 Religious organizations established in 1948 Buildings and structures in Winona County, Minnesota 1948 establishments in Minnesota