Saint Patrick's Seminary & University
| St. Patrick's Seminary & University | |
|---|---|
| Short name | St. Patrick's Seminary |
| Type | Post-graduate seminary |
| Status | Active |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic Church |
| Sponsoring diocese(s) | Archdiocese of San Francisco |
| Religious order | Sulpicians (Society of Saint-Sulpice) |
| City | Menlo Park, California |
| State / province | California |
| Country | United States |
| Address | 320 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 |
| Founded | 1898 |
| Website | Official site |
| Levels of formation | Propaedeutic Stage, Discipleship Stage, Pre-Theology, Configuration Stage |
| Degrees | Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Theology |
| Interdiocesan | Yes |
Saint Patrick's Seminary & University is a Roman Catholic post-graduate seminary in Menlo Park, California, that forms Catholic priests through an integrated process of human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation. Founded in 1898 by Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan of San Francisco and staffed by the Sulpician order, it has trained clergy who went on to serve dioceses across the western United States, from the Canadian border to Mexico.
History
Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan of San Francisco, having admired the Sulpician order's work in Europe and Baltimore, invited the Sulpicians to staff his seminary, which received its first students on September 20, 1898. The seminary's Department of Theology opened in 1904, establishing a full twelve-year academic program; that year Henri A. Ayrinhac, S.S. began a 26-year tenure as Superior that established St. Patrick's as a major presence on the West Coast. On April 18, 1906, the seminary was severely damaged by the Great San Francisco Earthquake, requiring extensive reconstruction, though no one was killed or injured.
By 1921 the seminary had become crowded, leading Archbishop Edward J. Hanna to found St. Joseph's College in Mountain View, which opened for the 1924–1925 school year to house seminarians for their first six years of study. In 1936, Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII) visited the seminary during his trip to bless the Bay Bridge. Archbishop John J. Mitty ordered a historic commemoration of the seminary's golden anniversary in 1948.
During the 1950s, enrollment swelled with postwar aspirants, a Spanish language studies program was established, and the seminary was accredited for the first time by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Following Vatican II, a "simplified" Rule of Life was adopted in 1965, bringing significant change to seminary life. Despite the upheavals, St. Patrick's remained a dominant force in the Church; by its 1973 diamond jubilee, eleven of thirteen ordinaries of dioceses in the far-western states were alumni, and graduates also served dioceses in Alaska, Arizona, and New Mexico.
In 1981 the Vatican established the Diocese of San Jose and St. Joseph's College was transferred to it. Under Archbishop John R. Quinn in 1985, the seminary's field education system was reformed, including a new pastoral internship program. In 1988, Father Rector Gerald Coleman, S.S. initiated a spiritual formation program aligned with the Program for Priestly Formation. St. Joseph's College, severely damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, closed permanently on June 30, 1991; its Austin organ was subsequently donated to St. Patrick's by the Diocese of San Jose, and the college site is now part of Rancho San Antonio County Park.
In the 1998 centenary edition of The Patrician, archdiocesan archivist Jeffrey M. Burns noted that the faculty and student body had grown more diverse while the seminary's commitment to producing well-trained clergy remained unchanged. Extensive renovations to the seminary buildings and chapel, including restoration of wood floors long hidden under carpet, were carried out in 2021. In September 2023, St. Patrick's Seminary celebrated 125 years of preparing men for the Roman Catholic priesthood.
Campus and Formation
The seminary is located at 320 Middlefield Road in Menlo Park, California, and includes a chapel. Formation proceeds through the Propaedeutic Stage, Discipleship Stage, Pre-Theology, and Configuration Stage. The seminary also hosts several institutes, including the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, the Institute for Philosophy, Technology, and Politics, an Initiative for Priestly Renewal, the Holy Alliance Support Ministry, the Center for Sainthood Studies, and Creative Catholic Works.
Academics
St. Patrick's offers the Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, a degree-completion program, the Master of Divinity, and the Master of Arts in Theology, alongside course offerings in the Propaedeutic Stage, Pre-Theology and BA degree completion, language courses, and the Master of Divinity curriculum. The seminary maintains a Registrar's Office, a library, a Student Learning Center, Counseling Services, and an Information Technology office, and enrolls international students.
Current Status
The seminary is led by Very Rev. Mark Doherty, S.T.L., President-Rector, and maintains a faculty spanning dogmatic, moral, and pastoral theology, sacred scripture, philosophy, sacred music, and humanities and languages. St. Patrick's Seminary and University describes its mission as forming Catholic priests configured to Christ's sacrificial love and dedicated to serving the people of God, while also offering supplemental academic, ministerial, and spiritual programs for ordained, religious, and lay faithful. The seminary holds an annual Gala, with the 2026 event scheduled for September 19, 2026.