The Saint-Sulpice Seminary () 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 cle ...

run by the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice, located in

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called in French. It is one of Paris's entrances and is located from Notre Dame Cathedral, whic ...

, France.

History

The Saint-Sulpice Seminary was established in 1641 in the village of Vaugirard (now part of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) by

Jean-Jacques Olier Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. (20 September 1608 – 2 April 1657) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Sulpicians. He also helped to establish the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, which organized the settlement of a new town ca ...

, the founder of the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice. Two other priests, François de Coulet and Jean Du Ferrier, were also instrumental in its founding. When Olier was appointed the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of Saint-Sulpice Church in Paris in July or August 1642, he moved the seminary to that parish, where he remained superior of the seminary. He recruited several priests to teach with him, and adopted a new model for seminaries, in which adults from different areas were brought together for preparation for the priesthood, instead of adolescents who lived nearby. By the following year, the school had a faculty of 30 priests. On 23 October 1645 received its

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

from the King

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. The seminary's newly completed building was blessed in 1651; this building would be demolished in 1802. In 1655, the Society moved the seminary to its present-day location in Issy-les-Moulineaux. The building was built in the 16th century and was acquired by Queen

Margaret of Valois Margaret of Valois (, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615), popularly known as , was List of Navarrese royal consorts, Queen of Navarre from 1572 to 1599 and Queen of France from 1589 to 1599 as the consort of Henry IV of France and III of Navarre. Ma ...

in 1606. The property was then owned by the family of Alexandre Le Ragois de Bretonvilliers, who inherited it and bequeathed it to the Society upon his death in 1676.

, appointed priest of the Saint-Sulpice parish in 1642, bought in 1645 from a relative a garden and 3 buildings on rue du Vieux-Colombier where he had a building built from 1649 to 1651 by the architect

Jacques Lemercier Jacques Lemercier (; c. 1585 in Pontoise – 13 January 1654 in Paris) was a French architect and engineer, one of the influential trio that included Louis Le Vau and François Mansart who formed the classicizing French Baroque manner, drawin ...

in which he transferred his training house for priests founded in 1641 to Vaugirard at a time when the education of the clergy was very neglected. This building was located on the site of the current Place Saint-Sulpice, set back from the church which was smaller than the current building. The Bishop of Paris asked him to ensure the training of all postulants for the priesthood of the diocese. This institution served as a model for the founding of seminaries in France. Jean-Jacques Olier decided to rebuild the Saint-Sulpice church based on plans by Christophe Gamard, the first stone of which was laid in 1646 and the construction work lasted more than 140 years. To highlight the church, the architect

Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni Jean-Nicolas Servan, also known as Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni (2 May 1695 – 19 January 1766) was an Italian decorator, architect, scene-painter, firework designer and trompe-l'œil specialist. He was born in Florence, the son of a French ...

, author in 1732 of the design of the facade, designed a square which required the demolition of the seminary, close to the new facade, 10 meters from the north tower. This destruction could only be completed after the suppression of the religious congregations in 1792. The demolition of the seminary decided by Bonaparte in 1800 cleared the square which was leveled and planted with trees in 1838. File:Séminaire_sur_plan_Gomboust_de_1652.png, link=Fichier:Séminaire_sur_plan_Gomboust_de_1652.png, Séminaire sur plan Gomboust de 1652. File:Séminaire_sur_plan_Turgot.png, link=Fichier:Séminaire_sur_plan_Turgot.png, Séminaire sur plan Turgot de 1739.

Notable alumni

* Peter Bourgade * Louis William Valentine DuBourg * Patrick Francis Healy * James Augustine Healy *

Jacques-Marie-Adrien-Césaire Mathieu Jacques-Marie-Adrien-Césaire Mathieu (1796–1875) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and archbishop of Besançon. Life Jacques-Marie-Adrien-Césaire Mathieu was born on 20 January 1796 in Paris, where his father was a commi ...

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès (3 May 174820 June 1836), usually known as the Abbé Sieyès (; ), was a French Catholic priest, ''abbé'', and political writer who was a leading political theorist of the French Revolution (1789–1799); he also held off ...

Originally published as

References

Citations

Sources

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External links