About Us
Named after St. John, apostle and evangelist, St. John's Regional Seminary is situated at Ramanthapur, Hyderabad, the meeting point of north and south Indian cultures. The Seminary building at Hyderabad was opened on 27th January, 1965 by the late Cardinal Valerian Gracias and was blessed by his Excellency Msgr. Robert Knox, the then Apostolic Nuncio.
Origins
The real beginnings, however, of St. John's as a Major Seminary go back to the year 1926. Prior to this, St. Joseph's Seminary was started at Chengleput in 1857 and later shifted to Kilacheri in 1860, to take care of formation of the priests for the Telugu speaking areas of the Archdiocese of Madras. In 1883, St. Joseph's Seminary was moved to Nellore, where Mill Hill Missionaries were working in the Telugu speaking parishes. Unfortunately, in 1897, for some unknown reasons St. Joseph's Seminary was closed down. After a lapse of nearly 30 years, the Major Seminary under the name of St.John was opened at Nellore in the year 1926 with Fr. William Bouter, a Mill Hill Missionary, as its first Rector.
Fr. William Bouter became the first Bishop of Nellore in 1928 and under his paternal care, St. John's seminary gradually developed. What was started as a small Diocesan Major Seminary emerged slowly into a big institution and by 1960 students from all the dioceses of Telugu region were receiving priestly formation and the Mill Hill Missionaries decided to give the Seminary to the local Church.
Blooming
In 1960, the Andhra Pradesh Bishops' Council decided to shift St. John's Seminary to a new location and Hyderabad, the capital of the then State of Andhra Pradesh, was chosen. The Seminary was officially raised to the status of a Regional Major Seminary in May 1964 by the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Thanks to the keen interest of Archbishop Mark Gopu of Hyderabad, the buildings and other facilities were ready by October 1964 and the opening ceremony took place in January, 1965. In the year, 2015, the Theologate was Affiliated to Pontifical Urbanian University, Rome, N.857/2015. The students who complete their four year theology successfully are conferred B.Th. degree on them by the Pontifical Urbanian University.All the Bishops of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana who are the members of the Regional Bishops Council, are directly in-charge of the Seminary. Being a Regional Seminary, St. John's caters to all the twelve dioceses in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. Some students belonging to Religious Congregations working in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and some other dioceses on their borders also study here.
Mill Hill Missionaries
Mill Hill Missionaries to whom the Seminary is indebted were running the Seminary at Nellore from 1926 to 1964 and continued to serve at Hyderabad until 1975, before they handed over the seminary to the local Clergy. Till 1985 some Mill Hill Fathers were serving on the staff. Since then all the resident Staff Members have been from among the diocesan clergy of the region, appointed by the Andhra Pradesh Bishops' Council presently Telugu Catholic Bishops' Council.
Off-Shoots
Until the year 1985, St. John's Regional Seminary had students for one year of Introductory, 2 years of Philosophy and 4 years of Theology courses. To facilitate a better formation under different teams of formators, the Introductory year was shifted to Nuzvid in 1985. Designed on the model of the novitiate of the Religious, it is named as the "Spiritual Initiation Course". In the year 1987, the Philosophy section was also shifted to Kondadaba, Visakhapatnam Diocese. Both the above institutions are entrusted to the care of Salesians of Don Bosco. This year the Telugu Catholic Bishops' Council has decided to offer Bachelor of Theology and Diploma in Theology Courses for the Consecrated and the Laity.
Thrust Of Formation
The chief aim of the Seminary is to prepare pastors for the Church in Telugu Region. However, the universal mission of the Church and Global dimension of evangelization is equally emphasized. The pastoral needs of the region inspire and guide the Seminary in the planning of the formation programme, giving utmost importance to Human, Spiritual, Intellectual, Pastoral, Missionary and Liturgical formation. In view of the future ministry of the candidates in the region, special attention is given to Telugu Language and Karnatic Music. Good Library facilities, regular involvement of the seminarians in Pastoral work in the nearby parishes and institutions and the dedicated involvement of the well qualified professors and formators ensure a qualitatively good, integral, wholistic and contextual formation.