FIRST - Catholic Seminary in the U.S.- St Mary's Seminary - Baltimore MD
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 39° 21.642 W 076° 38.382
18S E 358735 N 4358087
Founded in 1791, St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore is the first Catholic seminary established in the United States. For over two hundred years, St. Mary’s has been owned and operated by the Sulpician Fathers.
Waymark Code: WM14PB5
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 08/05/2021
Views: 1
TEXT OF ST. MARY'S SEMINARY CHAPEL HISTORIC MARKER IN PART:
"St. Mary’s Seminary Chapel
In 1791, at the invitation of Bishop John Carroll, the first bishop in the United States, Sulpician priests came to Baltimore from France to found St. Mary’s Seminary, the nations oldest Catholic seminary. After establishing the seminary in a former tavern on this site, the Sulpician Fathers felt the need to build a suitable place of worship.
The first significant church in this country to be built in the neo-Gothic style, the Chapel of the Seminary was designed by the French émigré Maximilian Godefroy (1765-c.1840) and completed in 1808.
St. Mary’s Seminary and University is now located in the Roland Park section of Baltimore, but the original chapel and the home of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton are maintained here for the sake of pilgrims and tourists.
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Mayor City of Baltimore
Baltimore City Landmark-National Historic Landmark
Present location of St. Mary's Seminary: 5400 Roland Ave, Baltimore MD 21210"
---------------------------------------------------------------
From their website:
Founded in 1791, St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore is the first Catholic seminary established in the United States. For over two hundred years, St. Mary’s has been owned and operated by the Sulpician Fathers, a community of diocesan priests dedicated to the formation of priests.
In 1805, St. Mary’s was chartered as a civil university in Maryland, and in 1822, Pope Pius VII established the seminary the country’s first ecclesiastical (pontifical) faculty with the right to grant degrees in the name of the Holy See. The seminary continues to offer the pontifical STB and STL degrees for all qualified students.
St. Mary’s on Paca Street
The original St. Mary’s Seminary was first established in Baltimore on Paca Street. Its historic neo-gothic chapel designed by Maximilian Godefroy remains at the original site. It is open for visitors and is adjacent to the Mother Seton House where St. Elizabeth Ann Seton lived while in Baltimore.
St. Mary’s Roland Park
In 1929, St. Mary’s Seminary moved to its present location at Roland Park in Baltimore. Designed by Maginnis and Walsh of Boston, the seminary’s classic entrance and massive facade are a recognized landmark in the city. Inside the main doors stands the marble statue of Mary known as the Sedes Sapientiae, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, patroness of the seminary. Further on is the Main Chapel, designed in marble and oak, with its Casavant pipe organ and stained glass windows from Paris. It is a majestic, elegant, and quiet place at the very heart and center of St. Mary’s.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Place or Location
Date of FIRST: 01/01/1791
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:As a suggestion for your visit log, please make every effort to supply a brief-to-detailed note about your experience at the Waymark. If possible also include an image that was taken when you visited the Waymark. Images can be of yourself, a personal Waymarking signature item or just one of general interest that would be of value to others. Sharing your experience helps promote Waymarking and provides a dynamic history of your adventures.