Theological College (The Catholic University of America)

Theological College is the national Roman Catholic diocesan seminary located in Washington, D.C. The seminary is affiliated with The Catholic University of America. The seminary is owned and administered by priests of the Society of Saint-Sulpice. It was founded in 1917.Theological College is located near the campus of Catholic University, across from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and close to Capuchin College and the Dominican House of Studies.HistoryIn 1889, priests belonging to the Society of Saint Sulpice were asked to administer the divinity college of the Catholic University of America. In 1917, they began building their own seminary next to the university. The Sulpician Seminary was first run as an extension of Saint Mary Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, but became an independent institution in 1924. In 1940, the Catholic University school of theology assumed responsibility for training its seminarians, whereupon the seminary was renamed Theological College.Sulpician TraditionThe formation program of Theological College is guided by the principles and ethos of the Sulpician Fathers as articulated by Father Jean-Jacques Olier, founder of the Society of St. Sulpice: “to live supremely for God in Christ Jesus our Lord, so much so that the inner life of His only Son should penetrate to the inmost depths of our heart and to such an extent that everyone should be able to say ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.'” Founded to reform the clergy in 1630s France, the Society retains its commitment of “developing men of character, educating effective priests, forming pastoral leaders and nurturing an apostolic spirit.”