The Collegium Russicum ( la, Pontificium Collegium Russicum Sanctae Theresiae A Iesu Infante; russian: Папская коллегия Ру́ссикум; '' en, Pontifical Russian College of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus'') 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 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

college in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

dedicated to studies of the culture and spirituality of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. It is located near the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, separated from the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had been ...

by the

Church of Saint Anthony Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Ch ...

, and is known informally as the Russicum.

History

The college is built on the site of what was once a hospital, created by bequest in 1529, by Cardinal

Pietro Capocci Pietro Capocci (c.1200, in Rome – 19/21 May 1259, in Rome) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, nominated by Pope Innocent IV in the consistory of 28 May 1244, with the cardinal-diaconate of San Giorgio in Velabro. Life Pietro Capocci was born about ...

. From the middle of the 18th century the hospital was assigned to Camaldolese nuns, who kept it until it was confiscated by the government in 1871. In 1928 the church of

Sant'Antonio Abate all'Esquilino Sant'Antonio abate all’Esquilino (''Saint Anthony Abbot on the Esquiline'') is a church in Rome, located near the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on via Carlo Alberto in the Esquilino district. History It was built in 1308 to serve an existing ...

and its surroundings were acquired by the Holy See, which assigned the church to Russian Catholics of the

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours ar ...

and the surrounding buildings to the Collegium Russicum. The Russicum, which was founded on August 15, 1929 by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fr ...

, was intended to train Russian Greek Catholic priests to serve as missionaries in the growing

Russian diaspora The Russian diaspora is the global community of ethnic Russians. The Russian-speaking (''Russophone'') diaspora are the people for whom Russian language is the native language, regardless of whether they are ethnic Russians or not. History ...

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and th ...

political refugee The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

s, and despite the anti-religious persecution taking place in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, in that very country. The money for both the college building and its reconstruction were taken from an aggregate of charity donations from faithful all over the world on the occasion of the

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

of St.

Thérèse de Lisieux Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to: Persons Therese * Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg * Therese of ...

, placing the Russicum under her patronage. The Collegium Russicum is run by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

and provides education and accommodation for

and

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

students.

Rectors

1. Vendelín Javorka, S.J. (1929-1936), Slovak
2. Philippe de Régis, S.J. (1936-1942), French
3. Francisco Echarri, S.J. (1942-1946), Spanish-Basque, Vice-Rector
4. Philippe de Régis, S.J. (1946-1948), French
5.

Gustav Andrej Wetter Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

, S.J. (1948-1955), Austrian
Dahm, Helmut, and E. M. Swiderski. "From the Profession: Gustav A. Wetter: In Pacis et Lucis Regione Constitutus", ''Studies in Soviet Thought'', vol. 44, no. 2, 1992, pp. 131–35. JSTOR
/ref> 6. Bohumíl-Feofil Horáček, S.J. (1955-1962), Czech
7. Josef Olšar, S.J. (1962-1967), Czech
8. Paul Mailleux, S.J. (1967-1978), Belgian
9. Gino-Kirill Piovesan, S.J. (1978-1985), Italian
10.

Josef Macha Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura, and is the only company in Japan spe ...

, S.J. (1985-1991), German
11. John Long, S.J. (1991-1996), American
12.

Richard Čemus Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, S.J. (1996-2001), Czech
13.

Alojzij Cvikl Archbishop Alojzij Cvikl, S.J. (born 19 June 1955) is a Slovenian Roman Catholic prelate who serves as an Archbishop of Archdiocese of Maribor since 14 March 2015. Education Archbishop Cvikl was born into a simple peasant-worker family near Nov ...

, S.J. (2001-2010), Slovene
14.

Lionginas Virbalas Archbishop Lionginas Virbalas, S.J. (born 6 July 1961) is a Lithuanian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Archbishop of the Kaunas from 11 June 2015 until 1 March 2019. He was Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Panevėžys from ...

, S.J. (2010-2013), Lithuanian
15.

Anto Lozuk Anto or Antos may refer to: * Anto (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name * Antos (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name * Antofagasta PLC, stock symbol ANTO * Antăș (Hungarian: ''Antos''), ...

, S.J. (2013-2017), Croat
16.

Peter Dufka ThDr. PaedDr. Mgr. art. Peter Dufka, PhD, Society of Jesus, SJ (born 8 November 1963 Handlová, Czechoslovakia now Slovakia) is Slovak Roman Catholic priest, Professor at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, Radio Vatican co-worker and Pro-Re ...

, S.J. (2017-2019), Slovak, Vice-Rector
17.

Tomás García-Huidobro Rivas Tomás may refer to: * Tomás (given name) * Tomás (surname) Tomás is a Spanish and Portuguese surname, equivalent of '' Thomas''. It may refer to: * Antonio Tomás (born 1985), professional Spanish footballer * Belarmino Tomás Belarmi ...

, S.J. (2019-), Chilean

Notable alumni

Walter Ciszek Walter Joseph Ciszek, S.J. (November 4, 1904 – December 8, 1984) was a Polish-American Jesuit priest of the Russian Greek Catholic Church who conducted clandestine missionary work in the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1963. Fifteen of ...

, S.J. (1904-1984) — American priest of the

Russian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow,_Catholic_Church_in_Presnya.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception , abbreviation = , ty ...

GULAG The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...

survivor, author of ''

With God in Russia ''With God in Russia'' is a memoir by Walter Ciszek (1904–1984), a Polish-American Jesuit priest known for his clandestine missionary work in the Soviet Union between 1941 and 1963. It was originally published in 1964 by McGraw-Hill. Since ...

''. *

Ján Kellner Ján Kellner (December 26, 1912–July 7, 1941) was a Slovak Catholic priest, missionary to USSR, executed during Stalinism in 1941. Early life and studies Ján Kellner was born in Hradisko (Kisvár), Austria-Hungary, today Slovakia in 191 ...

(1912-1941) — Slovak priest, missionary to

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

, executed in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

in 1941. *

Pietro Leoni Pietro Leoni (1 January 1909 – 26 July 1995) was an Italian priest of the Society of Jesus and the Russian Greek Catholic Church. His memoir of surviving the Gulag, ''Spio dei Vaticano'', was published after his return to the West. Early l ...

(1909-1995) — Italian priest of the

, survivor of the

, author of ''Spio dei Vaticano''. *

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatura ...

Theodore Romzha Theodore George Romzha ( uk, Теодор Юрій Ромжа, hu, Romzsa Tódor György, 14 April 1911 – 31 October 1947) was the bishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve from 1944 to 1947. Assassinated by the NKVD, he was bea ...

(1911-1947) —

Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ( rue, Русиньска ґрекокатолицька церьков; la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Ruthenica), also known in the United States simply as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Cath ...

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

Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo is an eparchy (diocese) associated with the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church under an unidentified status and territory located in the west of Ukraine, roughly equivalent with Zakarpatska Oblast. The eparc ...

, martyr under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

. *

Egon Sendler Egon Sendler (1 August 1923 – 17 March 2014) was a Catholic priest of the Jesuit order and one of the world's foremost experts on the painting of Eastern Orthodox icons. He was also an author, teacher, theologian, and artist. He earned conside ...

, S.J. (1923-2014) — French priest.

Notable faculty

* Vyacheslav Ivanov (1866-1949),

Russian Symbolist Russian symbolism was an intellectual and artistic movement predominant at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. It arose separately from European symbolism, emphasizing mysticism and ostranenie. Literature Influences Primary i ...

poet, convert to the

, and Russicum professor of

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...

, the traditional

liturgical language A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Concept A sac ...

used by all Byzantine Rite Churches in Eastern Europe.

References

Sources

* ''Russicum: Pioneers and Witnesses of the Struggle for Christian Unity in Eastern Europe (review) The Catholic Historical Review - Volume 93, Number 3, July 2007, pp. 694–696''

External links

The Russian College in Rome
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20180131023145/http://www.lastoriasiamonoi.rai.it/puntate/russicum/721/default.aspx Document about missionaries to USSR during WWII educated in Collegium Russicumbr>Momenti del rituale greco-bizantino al Pontificio Collegio Russicum
{{Authority control 1929 establishments in Italy Educational institutions established in 1929 Catholic universities and colleges in Italy Properties of the Holy See