 Conception Seminary college Conception, Missouri |
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History Abbey
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When Conception Abbey was first incorporated under Missouri law in 1882 (as “New Engelberg Abbey of the Immaculate Conception”), its charter said it would conduct a school: “a college and a seminary, fostering and promoting intellectual science and arts, and encouraging agricultural and other useful industries.” While a few lay students and priesthood candidates were able to take course work along with apprentice monks, the Abbey lacked the resources to launch any serious efforts at formal education. In
1883, the Abbey’s founder Abbot Frowin Conrad decided to stop
accepting any more theology students, choosing instead to open a small
school modeled on the European gymnasium (high school). Seven
boarders and six day students enrolled that year. “Omme
initium durum,” the abbot wrote in his diary, “All beginnings
are hard.” What
would later become known as Conception Seminary College was founded on
July 2, 1886, under the name College of New Engelberg. The school
building was dedicated on January 27, 1887, and classes were offered at
the high school and junior college levels, with a choice between a
“classical” and “commercial” curriculum. Four years later the
college began granting degrees. During the subsequent years, class sizes
grew rapidly, faculty credentials improved and science labs, sports
teams and honor societies were developed. By 1915 the college enrolled
118 students. A
dramatic move in 1942 changed the scope and transformed the future of
education at Conception. Under the guidance of Abbot Stephen Schappler,
the Abbey Chapter decided to change the school’s name to Conception
Seminary and restrict enrollment to candidates for the priesthood. Abbey
leaders recognized that other Catholic schools in the region could
better serve the general student population, and Catholic bishops were
voicing their desire for a seminary. The
seminary was expanded to a 12-year institution, including a preparatory
high school, a junior college, a senior college and a school of
theology. By 1956 increased enrollment and a change in focus led to the
transfer of the high school division to a new Benedictine monastery,
founded by Conception, near Omaha. The seminary’s enrollment peaked at
549 students in 1965, but with the Second Vatican Council reforms, which
opened new ministries to lay people, and the sweeping social unrest of
the ’60s, enrollment began a steady decline into the 1970s. In 1972,
it was decided to close the school of theology to focus resources on the
undergraduate program. Conception
Seminary College, as the school was renamed, continued to offer a
diverse educational experience, but increased opportunities for
leadership and inaugurated a stronger formation program. A Pre-Theology
Program – which provides formation as well as added philosophy,
theology and liberal arts education to students preparing for theology
school – was added in 1982. Again
adapting to changes in the Church, Conception in 1998 added the
Language, Culture and Church program. Designed for seminarians from
non-English-speaking lands, it provides those students with
English-language skills and assistance in adapting to the Church in the
United States, where they hope to someday minister. Today,
Conception Seminary College remains the resilient, focused institution
that weathered the changing social winds of the past century. While many
seminaries around the nation have struggled and closed, Conception has
thrived by continually offering young men the opportunity to explore the
mystery and promise of God’s call to the priesthood. |