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St. Mary's Seminary & University

About the Seminary

Welcome from the President-Rector

Peace Be With You!

Welcome to the St. Mary’s Seminary & University website! I hope you will find our website interesting and useful.

It’s a great honor to have been asked to serve as St. Mary’s Rector. St. Mary’s is the oldest Catholic seminary in United States, where more priests have been ordained for service in the U.S. than from any other seminary. St. Mary’s has always dedicated itself to training pastors attuned to the needs and the sensibilities of American Catholics. St. Mary’s can therefore justly be called America’s “cradle of pastors.”

But St. Mary’s is not only the nation’s premier seminary, it also has boasted since 1968 a unique Ecumenical Institute contributing to superior theological training and scholarship, and as a matchless forum for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue. Add to that St. Mary’s renowned Center for Continuing Formation, the Knott Library and the Associated Archives of St. Mary’s, the American Province of the Society of St. Sulpice and the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and one realizes what a historic, vibrant and outstanding center of learning, scholarship and formation St. Mary’s Seminary & University and its associated institutions truly is.

Those seeking theological and pastoral education are men and women who have experienced the Lord’s peace and want to pass it on. The need for this peace is deeply felt today. Life in this world has always been marked by turbulence and the felt need for peace. Christians have discovered how to be at peace in the midst of the world’s turmoil; peace that leads men to the priesthood, others to other kinds of ministry. The Christian’s mission is to bring peace to the world, the priest’s to do so through sacramental and pastoral ministry.

Sulpician IconFormation in the Sulpician Tradition

Since its foundation in 1791, St. Mary’s has been owned and operated by the Society of Saint Sulpice, a community of diocesan priests committed to the formation of priests in the tradition Fr. Jean-Jacques Olier, founder of the Sulpicians.

Learn more about the distinctive approach to priestly formation in the Sulpician tradition.

Seminary Faculty

St. Mary’s School of Theology (Seminary) faculty represent the best in their field.

See Our Faculty and Administration

Administration

View the administration/staff of St. Mary’s seminary, including email contact information.

Board of Trustees

St. Mary’s Board of Trustees include sending bishops, Sulpician representatives, leaders in higher education, and respected business and legal professionals.

View the Board of Trustees listing

Dioceses and Students

See a listing of the dioceses, countries, and religious communities from which St. Mary’s draws its students.

Community Life

What is it like to be a seminarian at St. Mary’s? These pages will introduce you to “life at the seminary.” Learn about the experience of community life and the daily schedule of a seminarian. Uncover the many facets of St. Mary’s campus, building, living spaces, and chapel. And get an introduction to the city and neighborhood we call home.

Learn about Life at the Seminary