Figure 1.-These boys were seminarists in the Franciscan order. It was taken in San Giovanni in Fiore, Calabria region durung 1923. They are wearing the Franciscan habit, but without the hood. At the time many seminarists entered after primary school and included boys from working class, especialy among friars, but there were also from middle class boys.

The Church's modern education system was formulaed by the Council of Trent (1545-63). This was the Church gathering that addressed the challenge of the Protestant Reformation. One of the many decisions tken at the Council required the creation of diocesan seminaries with the canon 'Cum Adolescentium Aetas', adopted during the council's twenty-third session (1563). It became compulsory for every diocese to erect a seminary for the purpose of educating the local clergy. A poorly educated clergy was an ussue throughout the medieval era. Not only did the dioceses establish seminaries, but so did the various orders (Dominicans, Francisians, Jesuits, etc.) The Jesuites were especially known for fostering learning. The seminaries at first accepted boys with limited schooling or eventually primary--level schooling. Seminaries were a way that working-class boys could obtain an educatiion. Another rend at play affecting the semjinaries was the increasing working-class turn to socialism which meant the groth iof atheism. Middle-class boys also enrtered the seminaries, but in smaller numbers. After World War II, as secondaru education became more common and thus available to the working class. The seminaries became more focused on boys after they completed secondary school. The number of seminarians has decreased in recent years with the increasing secularization of European society. A Wiki page lists about 50 seminaries in Italy, but many were no longer active. Another Wiki page suggests there are about 1,250 seminarianns in Italy. Graduates of the seminaries are essentiually university graduates. A range of theological institutes are essentially graduate-level studies.

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Created: 8:30 AM 12/4/2022
Last updated: 8:30 AM 12/4/2022