St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

The Eakins Room at the seminary contains six portraits by Thomas Eakins.

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary was founded in 1832 by Bishop Francis Kenrick, the third Bishop of Philadelphia and is the oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region. The seminary was initially located at the home of Bishop Kenrick on Fifth Street in Philadelphia. In 1838, it was chartered to grant academic degrees. Circumstances required the subsequent relocation of the seminary to the northwest corner of Fifth and Prune Streets, then to Saint Mary's Rectory on Fourth Street, and eventually to the southeast corner of Eighteenth and Race Streets in Philadelphia before moving, in 1871, to its present home in Overbrook.

In 1863 Bishop James F. Wood made the first of three purchases of the property that today comprises the campus of Overbrook. In September, 1871, the preparatory college and theology divisions were reunited on the present campus. In December, 1875, the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception was formally dedicated by Archbishop Wood (who reached that rank when Philadelphia became an archdiocese in 1875). Subsequent Archbishops of Philadelphia have initiated improvements on the Seminary campus. Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan began the building of the library. Archbishop Edmond Prendergast oversaw the building of a student residence hall. Dennis Cardinal Dougherty sponsored the construction of the college building. John Cardinal O'Hara added an indoor swimming pool to the physical assets of the Seminary. In 1971, under the leadership of John Cardinal Krol, a residence hall and multi-purpose building dedicated to Saint John Vianney was constructed. In 2005, the Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua Research Center was established at the Ryan Memorial Library. The building was completely renovated in the process. The buildings that make up the current Theology Division along with the Ryan Memorial Library stand at the western end of campus. The College Seminary is located at the eastern end.

For an eleven-year period the preparatory division of the seminary was located at Glen Riddle in Delaware County. The preparatory program consisted at that time of what is equivalent to today's last two years of high school and four years of college. The high school program was discontinued in 1968. In 1999, an alumnus praised St. Charles for its liturgical conservatism compared to some other US seminaries.[2] After his successor, Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali, was named in 2003, Cardinal Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua, the former archbishop of Philadelphia, lived here in his retirement.

Pope Francis stayed at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary during his visit to Philadelphia in 2015.[3][4] Pope John Paul II (now a saint) visited the seminary in 1979. The seminary also hosted Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) several times before he was made Pope.

In 2019, the seminary sold the Wynnewood property to Main Line Health and will be moving. The proceeds from the purchase will go toward building a new campus.

At the start of the 2020-2021 academic year, the seminary welcomed 27 new men to campus. The total enrollment of 156 seminarians are studying for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, 12 partner dioceses, and six religious orders. Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary's partner dioceses include: Diocese of Allentown; Diocese of Arlington; Diocese of Greensburg; Diocese of Harrisburg; Diocese of Lincoln; Diocese of Raleigh; Diocese of Trenton; Diocese of Mymensingh, Bangladesh, Diocese of Steubenville; Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia; Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA; and Archdiocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The partner religious congregations and orders include: Mercedarian Friars, Vincentians, Norbertines, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, Congregation of the Oratory and Pallottines.

• Official website