Seminarians and faculty from Saint Mary Seminary traveled to Rome for a pilgrimage during spring break to celebrate the seminary’s 170th anniversary. The group left Cleveland on Feb. 28 and returned on March 8.
During their week in the Holy City, the seminarians and faculty were able to see many of the famous and sacred sites. Notable places they visited included St. Peter’s Basilica, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Wall, the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
Since they were staying at a hotel next door to St. Peter’s Basilica, the seminarians had an opportunity to visit the basilica every day.
Members of the group celebrated Mass on March 3 in the basilica at the tomb of St. John Paul II with Archbishop Jorge Carlos Patron Wong, the Vatican secretary for seminaries. After Mass, they had breakfast and a large-group dialogue with Archbishop Wong. Later that day, they prayed the noon Angelus, led by Pope Francis, at St. Peter’s Square.
On March 4, the group went to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Wall for Mass with Cardinal James Harvey, who served as prefect of the papal household from 1998 to 2012. Cardinal Harvey is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
On Ash Wednesday, March 6, the Saint Mary’s group celebrated Mass at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome.
They also received a private tour of the famous Sistine Chapel. The group toured the chapel after hours and were able to have some private time in the sacred space. At the end of their chapel visit, they all sang “Salve Regina” as a group.
During the trip, the seminarians and faculty also were able to visit two Cleveland priests -- Father Damian Ference and Father Chris Trenta -- who are living at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome while undertaking further studies.
While much of the trip was planned and organized, there was time for group members to explore the city on their own. Some of them took advantage of the one unscheduled day to visit Assisi.
Saint Mary Seminary was established in July 1848 in the stables behind the residence of Bishop Amadeus Rappe, the first bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland. The stables, at East 6th Street and St. Clair Avenue in Cleveland, were renovated and converted into classrooms.
The new seminary, which originally was named St. Francis de Sales Seminary, had eight students. A year later, in August 1849, it was renamed Saint Mary Seminary, a name it retained until 1968 when Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology was incorporated by the state of Ohio, allowing it to grant degrees in theological studies.
By 1850, with enrollment growing, Bishop Rappe purchased a three-story frame building between Lakeside and Hamilton streets, just east of East 17th Street, to house the seminary.
Continued growth necessitated construction of a new seminary at the same location in 1860. That building served as the seminary until 1923, when a new facility was built on Ansel Road just north of Superior Avenue in Cleveland. The first classes took place in the new building in November 1924. Many changes and additions to the curriculum occurred during the next decades. Also, in 1954, Borromeo Seminary opened in Wickliffe as a high school and college seminary.
In 1989, after a lengthy consultative process to determine the future of priestly formation in the diocese, the Center for Pastoral Leadership was established at the Wickliffe site and Saint Mary Seminary relocated to that facility, where it joined Borromeo Seminary, which continues as a college seminary.
Father Mark Latcovich has served since 2013 as president-rector of both seminaries.