Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology (German: Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen) is a higher education Jesuitcollege in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
The school offers a 10-semester Magister in Catholic Theology and a 6-semester Bachelor in Philosophy. Post-graduate students may earn the degrees of Licentiate (Lic. theol.), Doctorate (Dr. theol., Ph.D.), or Habilitation (Dr. theol. habil.). Additional interdisciplinary programs are offered as well.
Campus and Institutions
The campus, situated within a historic park in the Sachsenhausen district of Frankfurt, contains the classroom building, the office building (Lindenhaus), the academic library, the college restaurant (Mensa), the major seminary, the college church, and the Jesuit community.
The campus hosts as well two institutions founded by the German Bishops' Conference: the "Institute for Global Church and Mission (IWM)" and an Institute for Christian-Muslim relations ("Cibedo"). Its library, with more than 12,000 volumes, stands out as the largest library for Christian-Muslim dialogue in Germany.[1] The main college library, which incorporated the collections of various Jesuit libraries and holds nearly 500,000 volumes, is known for its rich collection of Jesuit-related literature.[2]
In the interdiocesan major seminary, 30 seminarians of several German dioceses, mainly of Limburg, Hamburg, Osnabrück, Hildesheim, are studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood. 20 post-graduate students, mostly priests, from all over the world are living in the same seminary, pursuing doctoral or licentiate programs.
History
The 2005 classroom building and the park behind the college
The school was founded in 1926 by the Society of Jesus as an academic seminary for training candidates to the priesthood, initially only for the Diocese of Limburg, but soon for other German dioceses as well. Until 1951 the school was exclusively an (inter-)diocesan seminary, led by Jesuits. From 1951 until 1975, the school included two parallel institutions: the "Philosophical-Theological Academy" for diocesan candidates and the "Theological Faculty S.J." for Jesuit students. In 1976, the school began admitting lay theology students (male and female), and these quickly formed the majority of students.[3]
In 1986, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, since 13 March 2013 Pope Francis, spent a few months at the Sankt Georgen PTH to consult with professors on a dissertation project, however he has not further pursued the project.[4]
The 1993 college church and the 2005 classroom building are both notable works of modern architecture.
In 2009 the Institute for Global Church and Mission (IWM) (German: Institut für Weltkirche und Mission) was founded. In 2010–2017, IWM students ran the Student Initiative Rahel, which organised the financing of scholarships for disadvantaged young people in Adigrat, northern Ethiopia.
