The Pontifical French Seminary (La. ''Pontificium Seminarium Gallicum'', Fr.: ''Séminaire Pontifical Français'', It. ''Pontificio'' ''Seminario Francese'') is a

Roman College The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school t ...

dedicated to training French speaking

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priests.

History

In 1853 the French bishops held the

Council of La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

, where they proposed a plan for a French Seminary in Rome to train priests strongly attached to 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 ...

and able to counteract Gallican ideas. They successfully petitioned

Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

to approve this idea. The seminary opened in 1853 with 12 students under the direction of Father Lamurien of the

Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

, an order which was in charge of the college until 2009. Its first site was the old

Irish college Irish Colleges is the collective name used for approximately 34 centres of education for Irish Catholic clergy and lay people opened on continental Europe in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. History The Colleges were set up to educate Rom ...

near

Trajan's Forum Trajan's Forum ( la, Forum Traiani; it, Foro di Traiano) was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus oversaw its construction. History This forum was built on the order of the em ...

. In 1856 Pius IX assigned to the seminary the Church of Santa Chiara with what had been the adjoining

Poor Clare The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...

convent, founded in 1560 by

St. Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a lead ...

on the ruins of the

baths of Agrippa The Baths of Agrippa (Latin: Thermae Agrippae) was a structure of ancient Rome, in what is now Italy, built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. It was the first of the great thermae constructed in the city, and also the first public bath. History In th ...

. After the new Italian government evicted the College of Saint Thomas from the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in 1873, the College was able to continue after the French seminary's Rector

Tommaso Maria Zigliara Tommaso Maria Zigliara, OP (29 October 1833 – 11 May 1893) was a Corsican priest of the Catholic Church, a member of the Dominicans, a theologian, philosopher and a cardinal. Early life Zigliara was born on 29 October 1833 at Bonifacio a se ...

offered refuge at the Pontifical French Seminary.Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15759a.htm Accessed 5-24-2011 Santa Chiara was rebuilt on the plan of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires in Paris, in 1883 the monastery was entirely remodeled to suit its present purpose. Leo XIII declared it a

pontifical A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy ...

seminary in 1902. As of the early 1900s there were between 100 and 120 seminarians. Father

Henri Le Floch Henri Le Floch, Holy Ghost Fathers, C.S.Sp. (6 June 1862 – 21 February 1950) was a French priest of the Catholic Church who served as rector of the French Seminary (''Collège Français'') in Rome from 1904 to 1927. Biography Henri Le Floch wa ...

was the rector in the early 20th century until the late 1920s. Le Floch's support of

Action Française Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

led to his removal at the request of the French government. One of Le Floch's students was Archbishop

Marcel Lefebvre Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (; 29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Catholic archbishop who greatly influenced modern traditional Catholicism. In 1970, he founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a community to tra ...

, the founder of the traditionalist Roman Catholic

Society of Saint Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Sec ...

, and he attributed his conservatism to the time he spent in the seminary. The first priests belonging to the Society of Saint Pius X were from the French Seminary. In 2009, management of the seminary was transferred from the

Spiritans , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

to the Bishops' Conference of France.

College life

Most of the studies are conducted at the Gregorian University. The students are made up both of seminarians and existing priests pursuing further study. The seminary is located in the Via di Santa Chiara. Non-French students are also admitted.

Notable alumni

* Cardinal

Louis-Nazaire Bégin Louis-Nazaire Bégin (January 10, 1840 – July 18, 1925) was a Canadian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. Begin held a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and was later appointed Archbishop of Quebec by ...

, Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada * Archbishop

, Founder of the

* Cardinal Joseph-Charles Lefèbvre,

Archbishop of Bourges In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

* Cardinal

Emmanuel Célestin Suhard Emmanuel Célestin Suhard (; April 5, 1874 – May 30, 1949) was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 1940 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935. He was instrumental in the found ...

, Archbishop of Paris * Cardinal Léon-Etienne Duval, Archbishop of Algiers * Cardinal

Gabriel-Marie Garrone Gabriel-Marie Garrone (12 October 1901 in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie, France – 15 January 1994 in Rome, Italy) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. Gabriel-Marie Garrone was b ...

, Prefect of the

Congregation for Catholic Education , type = Congregation , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , picture =Via della Conciliazione din Roma1.jpg , picture_caption = Palazzo delle Congregazioni in Piazza ...

* Cardinal

Alexis-Armand Charost Alexis-Armand Charost (14 November 1860 – 7 November 1930) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Rennes from 1921 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1922. Biography Alexis Charost ...

, Archbishop of Rennes * Archbishop

Alain Paul Lebeaupin Alain Paul Charles Lebeaupin (2 March 1945 – 24 June 2021) was a French prelate of the Catholic Church who joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1979 and was the Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union from 2012 to 2020. Early lif ...

, Apostolic Nuncio to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

* Paulin Martin, Biblical scholar * Venerable Leon Dehon, founder of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart

References

;Attribution {{Coord, 41.8977, N, 12.4773, E, source:wikidata, display=title French Catholic Church in France Educational institutions established in 1853 1853 establishments in the Papal States