Woodstock College
Woodstock College, c. 1920
TypeSeminary
Active1869–1974
AffiliationJesuit
FounderAngelo Paresce
Location
Woodstock
,
Maryland
,
U.S.

39°20′08″N 76°52′12″W / 39.33556°N 76.87000°W / 39.33556; -76.87000[1]

Woodstock College was a Jesuit seminary that existed from 1869 to 1974. It was the oldest Jesuit seminary in the United States.[2] The school was located in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore, from its establishment until 1969, when it moved to New York City, where it operated in cooperation with the Union Theological Seminary and the Jewish Theological Seminary.

The school closed in 1974.[3] It was survived by the Woodstock Theological Center, an independent, nonprofit Catholic research institute located at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

History

Cemetery and sepulchral chapel at the college
Library outfitted for the college's golden jubilee
College building, c. 1871

Woodstock College was originally located along the Patapsco River in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore. It incorporated in 1867, and opened on September 22, 1869.[4]

In the 1960s, the college began considering affiliating with an urban university.[5][6]

The argument to move the school into a city and place it in affiliation with a broader network of institutions of higher learning received decisive support from the newest ideas of theological education and priestly formation emerging from the Second Vatican Council and the Jesuits' own Thirty-First General Congregation. In consequence, the college closed its original campus and moved to New York City, New York in 1969[7] where it operated in cooperation with the Union Theological Seminary[8] and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Controversies over the merits of the move into the city, specific controversies arising over the life style of the Jesuits in training in New York, and a general desire of the order to consolidate its theology schools nationally led to the school's closure in 1974.[3]

It was survived until 2013 by the Woodstock Theological Center,[9] an independent, nonprofit Catholic research institute located at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The theological library retains its independence through an affiliation with the library at Georgetown University, where it is still housed.

Campus

The original campus buildings in Woodstock, Maryland are now used as a Job Corps Center, while the campus grounds are part of Patapsco Valley State Park.

Rectors and Presidents of Woodstock College

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)
No. Name Years Ref.
1 Angelo Paresce SJ 1869–1875
2 James Perron SJ 1875–1881
3 Joseph E. Keller SJ 1881–1883
4 Pierre O. Racicot SJ 1883–1890
5 Edward V. Boursaud SJ 1890–1893 [10]
6 Joseph Jerge SJ 1893–1897
7 Burchard Villiger SJ 1897–1901 [11]
8 William P. Brett SJ 1901–1907
9 Anthony Maas SJ 1907–1912
10 Joseph Hanselman SJ 1912–1918 [12]
11 William Clark SJ 1918–1921
12 Theodore Daigler SJ 1934 [13]
13 Edward J. Sponga SJ 1957–1960 [14]
14 Michael F. Maher SJ 1963
15 Felix Cardegna SJ 1965–1970 [15]
16 Christopher F. Mooney SJ 1969–1974 [16][17]

Notable people

See List of people associated with Woodstock College

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ "Feature Detail Report: Woodstock College". Geographic Names Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1979-09-12. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
  2. ^ "A Death in the Family". TIME. 1973-01-22. Archived from the original on November 1, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Blau, Eleanor (1973-01-09). "Woodstock Jesuit College Here, Experimental Seminary, to Shut". The New York Times. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Leading Catholic Seminary". The Times (Ellicott City). 31 March 1965.
  5. ^ Fiske, Edward B. (1966-12-16). "Jesuit Seminary Weighs Urban Tie". The New York Times. p. 52.
  6. ^ Doty, Robert C. (1967-09-02). "Jesuit Seminary May Move to City". The New York Times. p. 15.
  7. ^ Fiske, Edward B. (1968-02-28). "Jesuit Seminary From Maryland To Move to Morningside Heights". The New York Times. p. 16.
  8. ^ Lissner, Will (1969-10-23). "Protestants Greet Jesuits Here". The New York Times. p. 49.
  9. ^ "Jesuit College Plans Transfer". The New York Times. 1973-12-02. p. 105. Woodstock College, the Jesuit theology school being phased out here, will transfer some of its resources and assets to a new Jesuit research center to be established in Washington.
  10. ^ Obituary: Father Edward V. Boursaud 1902, p. 279
  11. ^ "PROMINENT JESUIT VERY ILL.; The Rev. Burchard Villiger of Philadelphia Not Expected to Recover". The New York Times. 1902-11-04. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Presidents - Hanselman". College of the Holy Cross.
  13. ^ "Archbishop v. Sun". TIME. 1934-07-23. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010.
  14. ^ "What I Wanted as a Person". TIME. 1968-07-26. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008.
  15. ^ "The Jesuits' Search For a New Identity". TIME. 1973-04-23. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008.
  16. ^ "Mooney Is New Head Of Woodstock College". The New York Times. 1969-10-18. p. 9.
  17. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (1993-09-28). "C. F. Mooney, 68, Religion Professor And Noted Author". The New York Times.

Sources

External links

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