St Patrick's College, Maynooth
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St Patrick's College, Maynooth is the "National Seminary for Ireland", a college and seminary often called Maynooth College located at Maynooth, Ireland. The college was officially established as the Roman Catholic College of St Patrick by an Act of Parliament in 1795. There are 67 men studying for the priesthood at Maynooth, in 2006, now the only seminary in Ireland.
Degrees at the college are awarded by the associated Pontifical University of Maynooth which is Ireland's only private university and was established by a Pontifical Charter of 1896. The Pontifical Charter entitles the university to grant degrees in Canon law, philosophy and theology.
History
The college was created against the background of the upheaval during the French Revolution and the gradual removal of the penal laws. Until this time a significant number of Catholic priests were educated on the European continent, particularly in France, outside of Ireland.The college was established in 1795, by act of the Parliament of Ireland to provide "for the better education of persons professing the popish or Roman Catholic religion". The college was intended to provide for the education of Catholic priests in Ireland who prior to the act had to go to the continent for training; also the added value in this was the reduction of the amount of priests returning from training in revolutionary France (with whom Britain was at war) thus discouraging potential revolution. The value to the government was proved by the condemnation by the Catholic Church hierarchy of the 1798 rebellion and later support for the Act of Union.
The land was donated by the Duke of Leinster. The building work was paid for by the British Government; parliament continued to give it an annual grant until the Irish Church Disestablishment Act became law. The first building to go up on this site was designed by, and named after, John Stoyte; Stoyte House, which can still be seen from the entrance to the old campus, is a well-known building to Maynooth students and stands in close proximity to the very historic Maynooth Castle. Over the next 15 years, the site at Maynooth underwent rapid construction so as to cater for the influx of new students, and the buildings which now border St. Joseph's Square (to the rear of Stoyte House) were completed by 1824.
Expansion
In 1876 the college became a constituent college of the Catholic University of Ireland, and later offered Royal University of Ireland degrees in arts and science. Even after the granting of the Pontifical Charter in 1896 the college became a recognised college of the National University of Ireland in 1910, and from this time its arts and science degrees were awarded by the National University of Ireland. However during this time the Pontifical University of Maynooth continued to confer its degrees, as theology degrees were prohibited in the Royal University of Ireland, and its successor the National University of Ireland until 1997.In 1966 the first lay students entered, these being the members of lay religious orders, and in 1968 all laity where accepted; by 1977 they outnumbered religious. Finally in 1997 the [Universities Act, 1997] was passed by the Oireachtas and Chapter IX provided for the creation of the separate National University of Ireland, Maynooth. This new university was created from the faculties of art, celtic studies and philosophy, and science of the college.
The Ferns Inquiry
The Trustees of the College, 17 bishops, appointed Dr Miceál Ledwith President of the College in 1984 on the nomination of the Dr Brendan Comiskey then Bishop of the Diocese of Ferns. Ledwith was later created Monsignor and appointed to the International Theological Commission, a high-level body created by the Vatican in 1969 to advise on theological issues.
These appointments were made despite grave concerns of six seminarians at that time about Ledwith's extravagant lifestyle and the nature of his relationship with young seminarians. This issue was first raised by the then Senior Dean at the College, Dr Gerard McGinnity whose appointment at the College was subsequently abruptly terminated by the Trustees followng a cursory investigation by Dr Eamon Casey. Casey was Bishop of Galway until his own abrupt departure following the disclosure of his relationship with his lover of 18 years Annie Murphy.
Ledwith resigned from office in 1994 following allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a minor. He was laicised by the Church in 2005, eleven years later. Ledwith has been teaching new-age religion in the United States since his departure from Maynooth.
The Ferns Inquiry report elaborates on the case history as it does on wider episodes of clerical sex abuse in the Diocese of Ferns over a 40-year period.
Current status
Any student of the college, prior to the passing of the Universities Act, 1997, upon whom a degree of the National University of Ireland was conferred is now legally considered to be a graduate of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. The college continues to share its campus with National University of Ireland, Maynooth but remains a separate legal entity with training in canon law, philosophy and theology and awards the degrees of the Pontifical University and is associated with several other colleges.
There are 5,101 priests in Ireland in 2006 - 2,412 diocesan and 2,619 in religious congregations. But the number of ordinations at Maynooth have not kept pace with need: 9 in 2003, 8 in 2004, 7 in 2005 and 8 in 2006.
2006 Ordinations
Three men,all aged 40+, Pádraig O'Sullivan (an Artane native; former nurse and nurse tutor), Robert Coclough (a Dundrum native; former engineer) and Joseph McDonald ( a Belfast native; former teacher) were ordained by Most Reverend Dr Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin on July 9 2006. They will serve in the Archdiocese of Dublin.
A further 8 ordinations are expected this year from the student cohort totallying 67.
Ordinations in Archdiocese of Dublin 1990 - 2005
- 2005 - 0
- 2004 - 1
- 2003 - 5
- 2002 - 1
- 2001 - 1
- 2000 - 2
- 1999 - 1
- 1998 - 3
- 1997 - 2
- 1996 - 6
- 1995 - 4
- 1994 - 7
- 1993 - 4
- 1992 - 8
- 1991 - 6
- 100- - 5
See also
External links
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