The Romanian Pontifical College () is a college established by

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

for young people from the

Romanian Greek Catholic Church The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome is a '' sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic Church, in full union with the Catholic Church. It has the rank of a Major Archiepiscopal Church and it uses the Byzantine liturgical r ...

who are in various phases of study at the universities of Rome, particularly post-graduates, and seminarians and priests, many of whom live in the college.

History

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

established four scholarships for Romanian theological students at the

Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius The Pontifical Greek College of St. Athanasius (; ) is a Pontifical College in Rome that observes the Byzantine rite. It was founded in 1577 by Pope Gregory XIII as a college for the training of priests and seminarians who worshipped accordin ...

in Rome. In 1898, the Romanians were transferred to the Pontifical Urban College for the Propagation of the Faith. In 1930, Pius XI began to lay the foundations for a college of their own, which was finally inaugurated on 9 March 1937. The patron saint of the college is

John of Damascus John of Damascus or John Damascene, born Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn, was an Arab Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and apologist. He was born and raised in Damascus or AD 676; the precise date and place of his death is not know ...

. The college's first rector was

Angelo Dell'Acqua Angelo Dell'Acqua (9 December 1903 – 27 August 1972) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as vicar general of Rome from 1968-1972, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967. Biography Dell'Acqua was born in ...

, and other past rectors include Vasile Cristea, later Romanian bishop in exile, the Benedictine monk Olivier Raquez (1994–2004), and Claudiu-Lucian Pop (2007–2011). Pontifical Romanian College in Rome

The college was visited on 15 May 2015 by President

Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist, and former teacher who served as the fifth president of Romania from 2014 until his resignation in 2025. Prior to entering Politics of Romania, national politics, ...

and on 12 May 2018 by

Viorica Dăncilă Vasilica Viorica Dăncilă (; born 16 December 1963) is a Romanian politician, former leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), and was Prime Minister of Romania from 29 January 2018 to 4 November 2019. She is the first woman in Romanian his ...

, head of the Romanian government. In May 2022,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

held an audience with college members to mark the eighty-fifth anniversary of its founding."Pope to Romanian College: Be true to your roots to bear fruit"
''

Vatican News ''Vatican News'' is the official news portal of the Holy See, serving as a source of information about the activities, pronouncements, and events related to the global Catholic Church and the operations of the Holy See. As a part of the Dicaster ...

'', May 2022, accessed 21 April 2024

Notes

External links

{{Commons category, Pio Romeno
Address to the College by Pope Francis
May 2017 Educational institutions established in the 1930s Roman Colleges 1937 establishments in Europe 1937 establishments in Italy Romanian Greek Catholic Church Rome R. XIII Trastevere