Posted on 04/28/2016 5:28:23 AM PDT by marshmallow
St. Gregory the Great Catholic Seminary in Seward is expanding to prepare more students for priesthood.
The seminary held a ground-breaking ceremony April 24 to mark the beginning of a construction project that will add 11 student rooms, two priest suites, two classrooms and a science lab onto the existing building, located at 800 Fletcher Road in Seward.
“We’ve seen the steady growth the Lord has granted us. We’ve seen our faculty and staff grow,” St. Gregory Rector the Very Rev. Jeffrey R. Eickhoff said during the ceremony.
In its 18 years of existence, the seminary has housed and taught nearly 300 students. It has graduated 155 seminarians and will bid farewell to another 13 graduates this year.
It originally opened its doors to 23 men and has grown to accommodate 56 men this year.
The seminary trains Catholic men studying for priesthood from seven dioceses in six states.
The expansion will allow for the enrollment of up to 80 seminarians.
Eickhoff said construction plans include geothermal heating and cooling, which will cover the new addition and have the ability to reach into parts of the existing building.
Dignitaries attending the ground breaking included Lincoln Diocese Bishop James Conley, Nebraska Lt. Gov. Mike Foley and State Sen. Mark Kolterman.
“Nebraska will be a better place because of what is happening here today. How blessed we are,” Foley said.
The new wing is being funded by the Lincoln Diocese’s Joy of the Gospel capital campaign – a $63,000,000 fund created by businesses, organizations and individual donors.
“What is happening in Seward, Nebraska, is so important to them, they want to invest in this seminary,” Foley said.
Though the seminary is a Catholic institution, it maintains ties with Concordia University, a Lutheran college in Seward. Seminarians utilize Concordia’s science labs, and Concordia..........
(Excerpt) Read more at sewardindependent.com ...
One diocese with TWO SEMINARIES, BOTH FULL. There’s a lesson in there somewhere for other dioceses.
Diocese of Lincoln. NE bump
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