St. Paul's College in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

was the house of formation for the

Paulist Fathers The Paulist Fathers, officially named the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle (), abbreviated CSP, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men founded in New York City in 1858 by Isaac Hecker in collaboration w ...

, founded by

Isaac Hecker Isaac Thomas Hecker (December 18, 1819 – December 22, 1888) was an American Roman Catholic, Catholic priest and founder of the Paulist Fathers, a North American religious society of men. Hecker was originally ordained a Redemptorist priest in ...

. As the home of Paulists who served the local and national

Catholic Church 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 ...

through a variety of apostolates including education, evangelization,

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

, and mass communications, the college was an associate member of the

Washington Theological Consortium The Washington Theological Consortium is an ecumenical organization of Christian theological schools and interfaith partners located in Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Members cooperate to deepen ecumenical unity in theological ...

History

Established in 1914 within the boundaries of D.C.'s Edgewood neighborhood, St. Paul's College is the house of studies for Paulist seminarians. The Paulist Fathers maintain their formation program at St. Paul's College and seminarians attend the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

for their graduate studies in theology. Prior to 2012, seminarians could choose between the Catholic University of America and Washington Theological Union for graduate study, but the latter institution closed that year due to lack of financial resources. The present building was expanded through additions between 1942 and 1955, and a new library wing was dedicated in honor of Msgr. John J. Burke, CSP on January 15, 1958. Renovations of the original wing and the 1958 wing were completed in 1987. Other wings were renovated by February 2007, and parts of the college were designated as the North American Paulist Center and the Hecker Center for Ministry.

Closure

In March 2016, it was announced that the college's buildings had been sold to real estate developer Boundary Companies. Though the development proposal was still very much in the preliminary planning phase, the Paulists were expected to relocate to a smaller building on the same site. They later moved into St. Joseph's Seminary with the Josephites, and relocated to the new Hecker House near the former property in fall 2022.

Recognition

The campus was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2018.

References

External links

St. Paul's College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pauls College, Washington Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. Catholic education Edgewood (Washington, D.C.) Educational institutions established in 1914 Paulist Order Defunct Catholic seminaries in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. 1914 establishments in Washington, D.C.