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HISTORY OF ST CHARLES SEMINARY
  Text Box:  A Brief Historical Note St. Charles Seminary belongs to the Archdiocese of Nagpur and is staffed and administered by the Friars of the Order of Preachers (O.P.). It has a long and checkered history. Its first itinerant phase lasted 47 years, from 1851 to 1898. During this period the Rector and the Seminarians moved from place to place, travelling for the most part by bullockcart. Its second more settled and stable phase lasted another 47 years. During this period it was housed in the Red Seminary building (Bishop’s School) from which Seminary Hill gets its name. Its third present phase commenced in 1959. Late Archbishop Eugene D’Souza envisioned a concurrent formation programme in which a student, while being trained for the priesthood, would also obtain a University Degree. For this purpose he converted the old Red Seminary building into an University College in 1955 and dedicated it to St. Francis de Sales. He then built a new Seminary building, namely, the present St. Charles Seminary. The present location of St. Charles Seminary is one of the finest campuses in Nagpur. The gardens, avenues, playing fields, games courts, wooded areas, provide an ideal setting for prayer, study, reflection, recreation and the all-round development of our seminarians. For a considerable period of time, St. Charles Seminary was administered by the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (M.S.F.S) and the clergy of Nagpur Archdiocese. But from 1960 onwards, it has been placed under the care of the Dominican Fathers, first of the Indian Vicariate of the Irish Province, and then later from 1987 of the Vice-Province and Province of India, who oversee both the administrative and academic requirements of the Seminary. In 1987 the Dominican Friars living in the Seminary were instituted into a new Priory, under the patronage of St. Albert the Great. From the inception of the new St. Charles Seminary until 1994, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery (S.S.J.) served in the Seminary. In June 1994, their place was taken by the Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (J.M.J.) of the Bangalore Province. In June 1999, the Sisters of St. Ann of Luzern (S.A.S.) from Vijayawada assumed the care of Mariam Bhavan, the Seminary hostel for Sisters.