The Beginning…
EST. 1967
In 1967, Archbishop McEntegart established Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception in Douglaston. This full four-year college seminary served the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre, as well as the Archdiocese of New York. At its peak in the early 1970s, the college housed more than 370 students, and offered baccalaureate degrees in nearly a dozen majors. In 1987, Cathedral College was closed and would soon be repurposed within the Diocese of Brooklyn.
The Quest…
Times may change, but in every age Jesus calls some to embark on a quest of discernment and formation for the priesthood. Just like the seminarians of Cathedral Seminary today, these men answered Christ’s invitation: “Come follow me…”
A Time of Transition…
In 1988, Bishop Francis J. Mugavero, the fifth Bishop of Brooklyn, established the Immaculate Conception Center at the site of the then-closed Cathedral College. A portion of the property was sold to fund the renovation of the building, and at that, the Diocese of Brooklyn had its first pastoral center.
A college and pre-theology program continued on the grounds, as the Cathedral Seminary Residence of the Immaculate Conception.
The Seminary Today…
In 2012, His Eminence, Cardinal Dolan (Archbishop of New York), Most Rev. Nicholas DiMarzio (Bishop of Brooklyn), and Most Rev. William Murphy (Bishop of Rockville Centre) established the St. Charles Borromeo Partnership for the formation of clergy. Through that partnership, Cathedral Seminary House of Formation was created as the new college and pre-theology seminary for the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The seminary continues to be housed in the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, New York. Since 2012, many dioceses and religious orders have sent their seminarians to Douglaston, including the Dioceses of Scranton, Syracuse, Albany, Rochester, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and the Idente Missionaries.
“Jesus went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out…”