Holy Name Seminary
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Holy Name Seminary was a Roman Catholic seminary staffed by the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
which existed in
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
from 1947 until 1978.


Establishment

With Holy Cross College, the New Zealand national
major seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
, not taking school age students from 1932 and with a number of the Catholic secondary schools in the country being used as a recruiting ground for the Marist order, the secondary school training of seminarians for the
secular clergy In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests (sometimes known as diocesan priests) are priests who commit themselves to a certain geograph ...
was a cause for concern to the New Zealand bishops. In 1936 the combined Council of Australian and New Zealand Bishops discussed the possibility of a national
minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...
for New Zealand. In 1939 the
Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregatio ...
sent an official instruction advising New Zealand to establish a minor seminary. A year later the issue was raised again when the
Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...
visited Holy Cross College and suggested the establishment of a minor seminary on the same site.Peter Joseph Norris, ''Southernmost Seminary: The story of Holy Cross College, Mosgiel (1900–97)'', Holy Cross Seminary, Auckland, 1999, pp. 50–55. Bishop Patrick James Lyons of Christchurch, with the decisive support of Archbishop Liston of Auckland,Nicholas Reid, ''James Michael Liston: A Life'', Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2006, p. 183. decided to push the project, and the New Zealand bishops agreed to the setting up of the seminary to be sited in the Christchurch diocese. A large estate was purchased at 265 Riccarton Road. The building, which had been built and occupied by the Kincaid family, was later renamed and was known after the seminary closed in 1978, as Antonio Hall. The seminary was opened in February 1947 by Archbishop Panico the Apostolic Delegate, who came over from Sydney, and with members of the New Zealand hierarchy and the Prime Minister
Peter Fraser Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand Lab ...
in attendance.


Minor seminary

The
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
staffed the seminary and the first rector was Father Noel Hehir SJ with Fathers Leo Perry SJ and Gerard McGinty SJ to assist him.Bernard O'Brien SJ, ''A New Zealand Jesuit: A Personal Narrative'', Pegasus, Christchurch, 1970, pp. 74–75. Their arrival (with the Apostolic Delegate) in New Zealand was dramatic as their ship, MS ''Wanganella'', went aground on
Barrett Reef The cluster of rocks that is Barrett Reef (often known as ''Barrett's Reef'') is one of the most hazardous reefs in New Zealand. It lies on the western side of the entrance of Wellington Harbour, on the approaches to the city of Wellington, at c ...
at the entrance to
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
Harbour, and they had to be rescued. The seminary was in effect a boys' secondary school for the early training of those boys who wished to become priests in later life. The course of studies was appropriately designed and included Greek, Latin and History. The first class consisted of 40 thirteen- and fourteen-year-old boys. They were dressed in
soutane The cassock, or soutane, is a Christian clerical clothing, clerical coat used by the clergy and Consecrated life, male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in ...
s, as was then common in all seminaries throughout the world.


Major seminary

In the 1950s, Holy Cross College, the major seminary, became overcrowded and it was necessary from 1954 to house the Philosophy students elsewhere. They were sent to Holy Name Seminary, and year by year the school studies diminished and were replaced by Philosophy. In 1955 the seminary stopped accepting new entrants from secondary school and in 1959 Holy Name Seminary became entirely a major seminary, for students who had finished their school course before they arrived. One student described the best things about the seminary in 1958–59 as: "superb sporting facilities – footy fields, tennis courts, a fullsize billiards table and a room around it straight out of Empire clubland, cricket pitches, running track, gardening even – the three square meals a day cooked by the nuns, the scholastic brio, the great library, the mateship of minds directed to the single purpose of serving God, the sublime plain chant of Mass"; and he described Easter as: "Midnight Mass for one-and-three-quarter-hours. fantastic singing, the altar ablaze with candles and brass, the nuns' incredible flower arrangements from the garden, the incense and silk vestments of gold and white on the priests, everybody on their feet singing our hearts out for Christ has Risen".David McGill, p. 64. Students for the priesthood routinely did two years Philosophy study at Holy Name Seminary and their third year Philosophy and four years of Theology at Holy Cross College. Some celebrated Jesuits taught at Holy Name Seminary, most notably the New Zealander Bernard O'Brien, who helped to give Philosophy studies at Holy Name some standing. In the mid-1960s students at Holy Name Seminary started to go to the
University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...
to do degrees (this could mean that their stay at Holy Name extended to three years).Peter Joseph Norris, pp. 106–109.


Closure

During the 1970s the decrease in student numbers raised the question of amalgamating Holy Name Seminary and Holy Cross College. Holy Name Seminary closed at the end of the 1978 academic year. The amalgamation resulted in much of the Philosophy teaching vanishing from the curriculum for trainee New Zealand priests.


Fire

On Friday 12 July 2019 fire destroyed about thirty percent of the building with news reports that the chapel and the two wings survived.


Statistics

Although the academic records from Holy Name Seminary were destroyed, it seems that in the period 1964–1978 there were 343 people who attended Holy Name Seminary. Of these, 91 were later ordained.


See also

* David McGill (writer) *
Holy Cross College (New Zealand) Holy Cross College or Holy Cross Seminary is the national Roman Catholic seminary of New Zealand for the training of priests. It was first opened in 1900 in Mosgiel and was relocated to Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland, Auckland in 1997. Esta ...
*
Marist Seminary Marist is a noun or adjective derived from the name Mary – in particular Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ. It may refer to: Catholic religious orders or congregations * Marist Brothers also known as the Little Brothers of Mary and the ...
*
Good Shepherd College In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...
* St Mary's Seminary *
List of Jesuit sites This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association. Nearly all these sites have be ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Name Seminary Universities and colleges established in 1947 Seminaries and theological colleges in New Zealand Jesuit universities and colleges Catholic seminaries Catholic universities and colleges in New Zealand Defunct universities and colleges in New Zealand 1947 establishments in New Zealand Educational institutions disestablished in 1978 1978 disestablishments in New Zealand