After 153 years at its Wynnewood location and visitations by two popes, the 140 men enrolled at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary moved on Aug. 20 into the newly constructed and more sustainable campus in Lower Gwynedd for the seminary’s 193rd academic year.
The new campus features new chapels and a student life center, which includes a dining hall, classrooms, library, administrative offices, fitness center, and additional housing for seminarians and resident faculty.
With new, state-of-the-art facilities, the seminary will be able to run more efficiently, reducing its operating costs and enhancing the learning and formation experiences of priests preparing to serve in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the broader Church for many years to come.
Through the generosity of the faithful people of the Diocese of Allentown, $ 1.15 million dollars was contributed to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary to assist with the construction costs, and to provide for the education and formation of future priests for the Diocese of Allentown and beyond.
The buildings at the former Overbrook campus were constructed between the 1880s and 1920s, and though architecturally beautiful, the aging buildings eventually became inefficient and required much maintenance.
In 2016, the seminary decided to relocate to strengthen its programs and facilities.
Construction was completed earlier this summer, and the cost of the project – including the purchase of property from Gwynedd Mercy University – came to $54.5 million.
Of the new campus, Bishop Keith Chylinski, Rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, said he’s most looking forward to “carrying out the sacred work of priestly formation in these new, beautiful and updated facilities.”
“This campus is truly designed and built for this kind of work in the 21st century,” he said. “It’s a much more intimate setting than at Overbrook, which will help to form the men more deeply with the understanding that the Church is a family, and that we are all in this together.”
Efforts were made to preserve the history of the Overbrook campus wherever possible. In constructing the new main chapel – named the Immaculate Conception Chapel – altars, stained glass windows, and pews were moved from the old campus to the new one.
Other chapels on the new campus include the St. Therese of Lisieux Chapel in the College Division’s residential hall and the St. Pio of Pietrelcina Chapel in the Theology Division’s residential hall. A small faculty chapel is also in the works.
The St. Jerome Library resides on the new campus and is named in honor of Dick and Angela Clark, whose donation to the seminary’s capital campaign made it possible.
The library includes 87,000 circulating and reference books, 3,000 special collection books with several dating back to the 15th century, 900 journals and newspapers, as well as a variety of digital media.
Diocese of Allentown Transitional Deacon Robert Rienzo, 32, described the planning of the new seminary campus as “very intentional,” as the layout provides more accessibility and convenience.
“They thought about our program and how it functions,” said Rienzo, who previously had a half-mile walk from his dormitory on the upper side of the Overbrook campus to get to classes and facilities on the lower campus.
A Macungie native whose home parish is St. Thomas More, Allentown, Rienzo started his sixth year at the seminary.
He says anticipation of the campus move has been ongoing during his whole time of priestly formation, “so it’s nice it finally happened,” he said. The Overbrook property sold during his second year at St. Charles. “We can grow into where we are now.”
Though he admits there are some feelings of sadness for the Overbrook campus, recalling that much of his time in formation “was spent praying in those chapels.”
At the Aug. 27 dedication of the St. Therese of Lisieux Chapel in the College Seminary residential hall at Lower Gwynedd, Rienzo found “a freshness” to this new chapel, as it incorporates much natural light through stained-glass windows from the faculty chapel at the Overbrook campus.
“Its colors, pinks, and greens, are very representative of her. The gentle stained-glass looks like a flower,” he said of the chapel named after the saint lovingly known to many as “The Little Flower.”
Diocese of Allentown seminarian Hy (James) Gia Ngô, 30, said he’s “very excited” to start a new chapter in the seminary’s history at the Lower Gwynedd campus, though he has beautiful memories of the Overbrook campus.
Starting his sixth year at the seminary, Ngo is from Vietnam and came to the United States to attend St. Charles.
Ngô said he feels the same “spirit of fraternity” at the new campus. For the seminarians’ first night on campus, they all attended vespers, followed by dinner and social time. In the mornings, seminarians meet for coffee and conversation before the day’s classes begin.
Ngô also enjoys the quiet and intimacy of daily prayer at the St. Pio of Pietrelcina Chapel, located in his residential hall.
He said he finds the campus’ blend of new buildings with much of Overbrook’s artwork and furnishings provides feelings of comfort and familiarity.
“We still feel like this is our home.”
St. Charles has established an endowment to ensure the long-term sustainability of its mission.
Bishop Chylinski said he’s “so grateful to the many people who have so generously contributed to our Comprehensive Campaign. Their generosity has made this new campus possible, and we cannot wait to show them the fruits of their generosity.”
The campaign is ongoing, and the hope is to reach a goal of $40 million by next summer. All proceeds raised between now and next summer will go directly to the endowment, which will help St. Charles to be financially sustainable for many years and decades to come.
Click here for more information about contributing to the Comprehensive Campaign for St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
Article and photos reprinted with permission of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from CatholicPhilly.com, with additional information from the Diocese of Allentown. Photos by Sarah Webb.
