Kenrick–Glennon Seminary (legally St. Louis Roman Catholic Theological Seminary) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ...

in Shrewsbury, Missouri that is operated by the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. Founded in 1818, the seminary is named for Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick and Cardinal John J. Glennon, two former archbishops of Saint Louis. Kenrick–Glennon has three college-level divisions to educate and prepare seminarians for ordination as priests. Its students come from many archdioceses and dioceses. * Cardinal Glennon College is the undergraduate division. It offers 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 ...

(B.A.) degree in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. * Kenrick School of Theology: Theologate Program is the graduate division. It offer a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree ( M.Div.) and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree 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 ...

( M.A.), * Kenrick School of Theology: Pre-Theology Program is for those who had already obtained a college degree prior to entering Seminary, to study philosophy.

History

Kenrick-Glennon traces its origins to the first seminary in the region, which opened in 1818. Since then, it has changed name, location and programs numerous times to meet the changing needs of seminarians.

19th century

Kenrick–Glennon Seminary began in 1818 as Saint Mary's of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville, Missouri. Founded by the Vincentian order, it was the first Catholic seminary in American territory west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. In 1842, then Bishop Kenrick established a

major 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 clergy ...

in St. Louis. The Perryville facility remained 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 Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...

. Due to problems with the seminary house in St. Louis, Kenrick move the major seminary to Carondelet, Missouri in 1848; it became known as the Carondelet Seminary. In 1858, the major and minor seminaries both moved to Cape Giradeau, Missouri, to become Saint Vincent College. However, the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in the 1860s caused a drop in enrollment, curtailing the formation programs there. In 1893, then bishop John Kain reestablished the major seminary in St. Louis by starting college programs in philosophy and

; the new college was named Kenrick Seminary.

20th century

In 1900, Kain reestablished the minor seminary in the same building as Kenrick Seminary, calling it the Kenrick Preparatory Seminary. Archbishop Glennon moved Kenrick Preparatory Seminary in 1915 to a larger campus in Shrewsbury. The facility suffered extensive

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

damage in 1927. In 1931, the Vincentians opened Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary at the Shrewsbury campus. Saint Louis provided the last two years of high school with four years of college. Kenrick Preparatory Seminary now became Cathedral Latin School, a four year high school program. In 1947, Archbishop Joseph Ritter reorganized the seminary programs yet again: * Closing Cathedral Latin school * Keeping Kenrick Seminary as a four-year school of theology * Changing St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in Shrewsbury to a four-year high school program * Creating a four-year college program in Shrewsbury, later called Cardinal Glennon College Facing increased seminary enrollment in the 1960s, Ritter opened a second high school seminary in

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle-class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population ...

, called Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary North. The original high school program in Shrewsbury was now called Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary South. With drops in enrollment in the 1980s, Archbishop John L. May was forced to consolidate the seminary facilities in 1986 and 1987. * Kenrick Seminary moved to the Cardinal Glennon College building * Cardinal Glennon College ended its undergraduate program. Students would now attend classes for the first two years of college at

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

, the second two years at Cardinal Glennon * Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary North was closed. The Shrewsbury campus was again called Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary. In 1991, more shrinking enrollment forced May to close Saint Louis Preparatory Seminary in Shrewsbury, ending the high school seminary program for the archdiocese. This left Kenrick School of Theology and Cardinal Glennon College, both now operating under the name of Kenrick–Glennon Seminary.

21st century

In November 2016, the Archdiocese of St. Louis settled a lawsuit involving the sexual abuse of a minor at a summer camp run by Kenrick–Glennon Seminary. The plaintiffs were Dan and Pat Harkins, the parents of Alex Harkins. In 2009, Alex told his parents that he had been sexually abused by Bryan Kuchar, an archdiocese priest, when he was 12 to 14 years old. Alex committed suicide in 2009 and the parents sued in 2013. Convicted of sexual abuse in a different 2003 case, Kuchar was defrocked in 2006. In 2018, Saint Louis University integrated the Kenrick-Glennon undergraduate program into the university's program. Graduates would now receive a bachelor's degree from Saint Louis University instead of Kenrick-Glennon. In 2021, Kenrick-Glennon committed to following a set of five

sexual misconduct Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, ...

policy benchmarks for seminaries that was created by a working group at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

References

External links