The Major Seminary of Lorraine is a venerable institution with a long history, and at the same time a house full of youth and open to the future.
is at Pont-a-Mousson in 1595, he must seek traces of the first seminary established in Lorraine to the training of priests on the initiative of a bishop of Metz, Cardinal Charles II of Lorraine Vaudémont. In 1661, after many vicissitudes, he moved to Metz, where he became the "Seminar Sainte Anne" in tribute to Queen Anne of Austria, who defended his foundation. Rue de la Fontaine, near the present buildings Asfeld Street, near the Place Saint Louis, he is then considered a "Saint-Lazare Station in Paris" and it is entrusted to the Vincentian that direction initially. But soon enough, the diocesan clergy who will take up.
In 1735, the bishop of Metz, Bishop of Saint-Simon, obtained from King Louis XV to erect a house of charity, under the title of Minor Seminary, to train for free over a hundred poor boys at ecclesiastical status. In 1743, at the instigation of the governor, Marshal Belle-Isle, the King granted the land "from 1875 fathoms 4 feet 6 inches" which is the site today. November 15, 1745, "Minor Seminary" Metz is inaugurated. It teaches philosophy, while St. Anne's is taught theology. Crossing the revolutionary turmoil, it becomes "Grand Seminaire" when the seminary of St. Anne, too old and decrepit, closed its doors in 1794.
The nineteenth century was marked by important developments. In 1833, a first community of Sisters of Saint-Christian moves into its walls, to the infirmary (now the White House occupied by the seminarians). With exemplary dedication, they will remain loyal to the service of the house until 2001. In 1863, the seminar was entrusted to the Society of St. Sulpice to be hunted by the Germans in 1890.
In 1907, Monsignor Benzler launches the main chapel (see photo) dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo, while buildings are being renovated. During the Second World War, the episcopate of Bishop Heintz, the seminar is closed. The seminarians are scattered mainly in Speyer in Germany and elsewhere in France. The buildings became the headquarters of the Gestapo. Many seminarians find themselves under arms, and a number die in battle.
period of Vatican II opened up new opportunities for intellectual development. In 1965, Monsignor Schmitt welcomes Metz, a branch of the Faculty of Theology in Strasbourg, to become the Centre for Independent Education of Religious Pedagogy (CAEPR), opened in 1970 and affiliated with the University of Metz.
The 70s are also, alas, those of the collapse of priestly and religious vocations. In 1972, the decline in the number of seminarians led the bishops of the region to consolidate the undergraduate training at Nancy in the area of the ass, and the second round at Metz. A few years ago, the diocese of Saint-Die and Verdun had joined respectively seminars Nancy and Metz in training their future priests. These are the first beginnings of a major inter-diocesan seminary.
In June 2001, the bishops of Metz, Nancy, Verdun and Saint-Die decide to keep only one training site for the region and founded the Grand Séminaire de Lorraine. Major rehabilitation work is then conducted briskly! Opened October 21, 2002 in the presence of Mgr Raffin, Bishop Papin, Bishop William and Bishop Maupu, the house still resembles a huge construction site, in which seminarians and trainers must learn to live for several months.
Today, the Seminar is open to other regions and foreign countries. In recent years, Lorraine seminarians alongside colleagues from the diocese for the Army, Luxembourg, Vietnam, Africa. And so the story of the Grand Séminaire de Lorraine, rich almost three centuries, continues expanding to new horizons.
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