The Seminary of the Immaculate Conception was 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 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

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

in Lloyd Harbor,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, accredited by the

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History It was founded in 1918. The assoc ...

, and serving the

Diocese of Rockville Centre The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre ( la, Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that comprises the territory of Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Islan ...

. It offered a number of academic degrees, primarily those of

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 ...

(M.Div.) and

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (abbreviated DMin or D.Min.) is a professional doctorate, often including a research component, that may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in some form of ministry. It is categorized as an advance ...

(D.Min.).

History

The seminary was founded in 1926 in a house in Lloyd Harbor acquired by Thomas E. Molloy,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the

Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. T ...

, which at that time covered all of Long Island. It was an expansion of the original school, St. John's Seminary, located in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

and staffed by the priests of the

Congregation of the Mission , logo = , image = Vincentians.png , abbreviation = CM , nickname = Vincentians, Paules, Lazarites, Lazarists, Lazarians , established = , founder = Vincent de Paul , fou ...

as a part of their historic commitment to the education of the clergy of the Catholic Church. It began with 25 students studying at the collegiate level. The construction of the new building to house the seminary was completed in 1930 and classes were offered there in September of that year. The student body at that point was 85 seminarians in the two-year college level and the school of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

. Due to the expanding population in the suburban counties of

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and

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

, in 1957 the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

separated them from the Diocese of Brooklyn and established the Diocese of Rockville Centre to serve them. The two dioceses agreed to share operation of the seminary. Ten years later the college level segment of the school was discontinued. With the changing needs of ministry in the Catholic Church in the following decades, new programs and degrees began to be offered. In 2012, the seminary program was closed. The facility today is used as a retreat house by seminaries, Catholic schools and colleges and other Catholic groups such as the Knights of Columbus, etc.

Seminarian program end

In November 2011, it was announced that the seminary would stop training new priests as of September 2012. Instead, the Diocese of Rockville Centre merged their seminary program with the

and the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the borough ...

at St. Joseph's Seminary in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

. , the seminary continues to offer theological courses (including master's degrees) to the general public.

Protestant and Orthodox usage

The seminary has hosted retreats for protestant as well as Eastern Orthodox churches in

and

after the end of the seminarian program.

Library

The seminarian library continued to operate after the end of the Seminarian Theology program. The library houses Catholic, Protestant, and theological texts and contains their own private archive of rare books. However, it was announced on December 16, 2020 that the library would be closing its doors.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Immaculate Conception, Seminary of the Catholic seminaries in the United States Seminaries and theological colleges in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1928 1928 establishments in New York (state) Educational institutions disestablished in 2012 2012 disestablishments in New York (state)