# St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary at 1400 Evans Road in Ambler, Pennsylvania, that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school is named after Charles Borromeo, an Italian saint from the Counter-Reformation.
In August 2024, the seminary moved from its former site in Overbrook to a new campus in the municipality of Lower Gwynedd Township.

## History

St. Charles was founded in June 1832 by Bishop Francis Kenrick in his home on Fifth Street in Philadelphia. On April 13, 1838, it was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to grant academic degrees. Saint Charles later moved to a building on the corner of Fifth and Prune Streets, then to the rectory of Saint Mary's Parish on Fourth Street. It then moved to a facility on the corner of Eighteenth and Race Streets in Philadelphia.
In 1863, then Bishop James F. Wood made the first of three property purchases to create a new Saint Charles campus in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia. In September 1871, the preparatory college and theology divisions were reunited in Overbrook. In December 1875, Archbishop Wood dedicated the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception on the campus.
For an eleven-year period, the preparatory division of the seminary was located at Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania. The preparatory program was equivalent to the junior and senior years of and four years of college. The high school program was discontinued in 1968. Both Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger visited Saint Charles, and Pope Francis stayed there during his 2015 visit to Philadelphia.
In 2019, Saint Charles sold its Wynnewood property to Main Line Health. On May 23, 2024, workers moved the historic white cross overlooking the Ben Franklin Parkway at Logan Square, initially erected in honor of Pope John Paul II's 1979 visit to Philadelphia, to the Malvern Retreat House.
Saint Charles moved in August 2024 to its new campus adjacent to Gwynedd Mercy University in Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania. On September 8, 2024, Archbishop Nelson Pérez, Archbishop of Philadelphia, dedicated the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception on the new campus. On October 12, 2024, Archbishop Pérez blessed and dedicated the campus. Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, offered remarks and was present for the blessing, along with the Seminary’s rector, Most Reverend Keith J. Chylinski, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia.

## Academics

St. Charles is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. It consists of four divisions:
* College Seminary
* Theological Seminary
* School of Theological Studies
The School of Theological Studies, or STS, is a center of theological education in Philadelphia for laity, priests, and religious from the Greater Philadelphia area and beyond, due to the implementation of online courses. STS conducts evening classes, and daytime classes during the summer, on both the graduate and undergraduate levels, in Catholic Theology, as well as various non-certificate programs.
* School of Diaconal Formation
Through the School of Diaconal Formation, or SDF, those in formation for the Permanent Diaconate complete six years of formation before ordination. There are currently 40 men in formation for the permanent diaconate at Saint Charles.
In accordance with the Program for Priestly Formation (PPF), the formation program for candidates for the Catholic priesthood complete four stages throughout their time in seminary:
* Propaedeutic
* Discipleship
* Configuration
* Vocational Synthesis
Following the propaedeutic stage, a four-year liberal arts curriculum is offered in the college seminary, or a two-year program for those seminarians who have previously earned a bachelor's degree. Both programs are focused in philosophy. This is followed by a four-year curriculum within the Theological Seminary. St. Charles offers the following degrees:
* Bachelor of Arts
* Master of Arts
* Master of Divinity

## Enrollment

At the start of the 2024–2025 academic year, the total enrollment of 140 seminarians was studying for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as well as 14 partner dioceses and religious orders. Saint Charles's partner dioceses include:
* Diocese of Allentown
* Diocese of Arlington
* Diocese of Bridgeport
* Archdiocese of Colombo
* Diocese of Đà Lạt
* Diocese of Grand Island
* Diocese of Greensburg
* Diocese of Harrisburg
* Diocese of Lincoln
* Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
* Diocese of Mymensingh
* Diocese of Trenton
* Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia
The partner religious congregations and orders include:
* Vincentians
* Oratory of Saint Philip Neri

## List of rectors

| Name | Dates served |
| Francis Patrick Kenrick | 1832–1835 |
| Peter Richard Kenrick | 1835–1837 |
| Edward Barron | 1837–1839 |
| Michael O'Connor | 1839–1841 |
| Mariano Maller | 1841–1847 |
| John B. Tornatore | 1847–1848 |
| Thaddeus Amat y Brusi | 1848–1852 |
| John B. Tornatore | 1852–1853 |
| William O'Hara | 1853–1861 |
| Maurice A. Walsh | 1861–1864 |
| James O’Connor | 1864–1872 |
| James Andrew Corcoran | 1872–1873 |
| Charles P. O’Connor | 1873–1879 |
| William Kieran | 1879–1886 |
| John Edmund Fitzmaurice | 1886–1898 |
| Patrick J. Garvey | 1898–1908 |
| Henry T. Drumgoole | 1908–1920 |
| Edmond John Fitzmaurice | 1920–1925 |
| Joseph M. Corrigan | 1925–1936 |
| Vincent L. Burns (1891–1960) | 1936–1946 |
| Francis James Furey | 1946–1958 |
| John P. Connery | 1958–1966 |
| Thomas Welsh | 1966–1974 |
| Vincent L. Burns (1926–1997) | 1974–1985 |
| Francis X. DiLorenzo | 1985–1988 |
| Daniel A. Murray | 1988–1994 |
| James Molloy | 1994–1999 |
| Michael Francis Burbidge | 1999–2004 |
| Joseph G. Prior | 2004–2010 |
| Shaun Mahoney | 2010–2012 |
| Timothy C. Senior | 2012–2022 |
| Keith J. Chylinski | 2022–present |