Seminary of Acireale (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''Seminario Vescovile di Acireale'') is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

seminary located in

Acireale Acireale (; , locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. It is home to ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

in the

Diocese of Acireale The Diocese of Acireale () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily. It has existed since 1844. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Catania. Bishops * Gerlando Maria Genuardi (1872–1907) * Giovanni Battista Arista (1907� ...

for the education and training of young men studying for the priesthood.

History

The seminary was founded on 15 December 1881 by the first Bishop of Acireale, Gerlando Maria Genaurdi. The building which houses the seminary was originally St. Martin's college and was acquired by a group of priests for the purpose of establishing a seminary for men from various dioceses of Sicily and southern Italy who were training for the priesthood. The first rector was Fr. Alessandro Amato, selected by Bishop Genaurdi on the advice of the

Salesians The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

. Fr. Alessandro was a young priest with degrees in theology and philosophy which he had obtained from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He served as rector from 1881 to 1887. Italian politician and priest, Don

Luigi Sturzo Luigi Sturzo (; 26 November 1871 – 8 August 1959) was an Italian Catholic priest and prominent politician. He was known in his lifetime as a former Christian socialist turned Popolarismo, popularist, and is considered one of the fathers of th ...

was a resident of the seminary for three years from 1883 to 1886. As of 2007, the seminary housed a total of 20 seminarians''Il Solco'', 2006-2007 edition, p.4. The rector of the seminary as of 2021 is Don Marco Catalano, and the vice-rector is Fr. Alfio Privitera.

References

* ''Il Solco'', published by the Seminary of Acireale, 2005-2006 edition * ''Il Solco'', 2006-2007 edition * Instituto di Luigi Sturzo, ''Università e cultura nel pensiero di Luigi Sturzo: atti di convegno'', Google Books accessed 29 September 2009 {{coord missing, Italy Schools in Sicily Buildings and structures in Acireale