JOSEPH PONTIFICAL SEMINARY
Carmelgiri, Alwaye
The Beginnings (1682-1690)
The Carmelite Missionaries, who were sent to Malabar by Pope Alexander VII in the year 1657, started a small Seminary at Verapoly in 1682. The Seminary worked satisfactorily for some time, but it had to be closed down owing to some adverse circumstances. The Re-organized Seminary (1764-1886)
On 14th September 1764, the Sacr
ed Congregation of Propaganda Fide wrote to the Vicar Apostolic of Verapoly asking him to re-open the Seminary at Verapoly for the formation of both the Latin and the Syrian Clergy. During 1774 - 1866 we find candidates of both Syrians and Latins receiving formation in the Verapoly Seminary. The Central Seminary at Puthenpally (1866-1932)
The Seminary at Verapoly was shifted to the new buildings at Puthenpally in the year 1866. In 1888 the Seminary at Puthenpally was constituted the Major Central Seminary for the whole of Malabar, and was placed under the immediate jurisdiction of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide. Important changes were made in the curriculum of studies as demanded by the exigencies of the time and circumstances. It was during this time that the study of languages such as Sanskrit, Greek, Hebrew and Malayalam was introduced in the curriculum. The Central Apostolic Seminary at Mangalapuzha, Alwaye (1932)
Owing to the increase in the number of students at Puthenpally, a new seminary with better accommodation was built at Mangalapuzha, Alwaye. On 1st June 1932, the Theology Section was transferred from Puthenpally to the new Seminary, which was still under construction. In December of the same year, when more accommodation was made available in the new Seminary, the Philosophy Section too was transferred to Mangalapuzha. The official inauguration of the new Seminary was held on 28th January, 1933 by the Most Rev. Leo P. Kierkels, C.P., the then Apostolic Delegate of India. The Seminarians at that time numbered 274. On 2nd January 1951 there took place the blessing of the newly constructed chapel of the Seminary. Carmelgiri, New Seminary for the Philosophy Students
The increase in the vocations to priesthood necessitated further extension. A nearby hillock was bought and a new building was constructed on it and it was to become the new Seminary for Philosophy students, named “St Joseph Apostolic Seminary, Carmelgiri.” On 24th November 1955 His Excellency the Most Rev. Martin Lucas, the then Apostolic Internuncio to India, blessed and inaugurated it. Seminary Raised to Pontifical Status
In 1964 the Seminary was raised to the “Pontifical Status” by the Holy See. His Excellency the Most Rev. James Robert Knox read the Papal Brief at a public meeting in the Seminary on June 14, 1964. K.C.B.C. Entrusted with the Direction and Administration of the Seminary
The Carmelite Order continued to administer the Seminary until its transfer to the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Conference on June 12, 1976. On October 27, 1973, a formal request for the transfer of the seminary was made by the Superior General of the Carmelites which was jointly approved by the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The Statutes of the Seminary made by the two Congregations state that “St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary is a pluri-ritual Institution, common to the three Rites, namely the Syro-Malabar, the Latin and the Syro-Malankara.” It was also stated that “the Seminary belongs to the Holy See and that its direction and administration is entrusted to the Conference of the Bishops of the three Rites of the Kerala region, subject to the high authority of the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Churches and the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples.”
The Church of Kerala is greatly indebted to the dedicated missionaries of the Carmelite Order for the best kind of formation they imparted to the clergy of Kerala for three centuries and more. It is a matter of great joy and honour for the Seminary that the cause for the beatification of two of its Professors, Rev. Aurelian O.C.D. and Rev. Zacharias O.C.D., has been taken up. Rev. Aurelian was declared venerable on 26 March 1999 and Fr. Zacharias on 27 January 2014. Aurelian had served the Seminary for 51 years and Fr. Zacharias, for 45 years. Pontifical Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Alwaye
On February 24, 1972, the Congregation for Catholic Education issued a decree erecting a Theological Faculty in the Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye. On 1st October 1974 a similar decree was issued by the same Congregation erecting a Faculty of Philosophy in the Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye. Carmelgiri: Major Seminary for the Latin Rite Community
In compliance with the request of the K.C.B.C., made on June 5, 1995, for separate campuses on the basis of Rites, the Holy See has, without prejudice to the Pontifical Institute, Alwaye, which remains common to all the three Rites, issued its nihil obstat by Prot. 4368/96, dated October 7, 1996, to re-organize St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Alwaye. As per the above decree, in view of promoting better formation in matters of Liturgy, spirituality and tradition of each sui iuris Church, the Carmelgiri campus was assigned to the Latin Rite.
