26-470: Holy Cross College or Holy Cross Seminary is the national Roman Catholic seminary of New Zealand for the training of priests. It was first opened in 1900 in Mosgiel and was relocated to Auckland in 1997. In the late nineteenth century, although there were 90,000 Catholics constituting about 14 per cent of the total population, New Zealand had no seminary for training priests In 1850 Bishop Pompallier
52-463: A printery, bindery, butchery, darkroom and farm separated it from the life of the surrounding community. New buildings were added as the twentieth century progressed. In 1963 a new chapel, called the Verdon chapel, was completed and the remains of Bishop Verdon were reinterred there during a Pontifical Requiem Mass offered by Archbishop Liston The function of preparation for entering Holy Cross College
78-633: A student of Verdon's 28 years before at St Patrick's College, Manly ) celebrated the Requiem Mass and preached the panegyric. Verdon was interred in the Southern Cemetery alongside his predecessor Bishop Moran in the mausoleum erected for the first bishop of Dunedin. There his body remained until 1963, when it was transferred to the chapel built in his memory at Holy Cross College, Mosgiel . In an editorial The Otago Daily Times compared Verdon with his predecessor Patrick Moran . Moran
104-535: The 98 years that the college was at Mosgiel (1900-1997) it had 1302 students. Of those, 648 were ordained at the end of their studies as priests. From the 1980s the college had fewer enrolments. Also there had been a negative review carried out by the University of Otago of the courses offered by Holy Cross College which greatly diminished the Bishops' commitment to staying at Mosgiel. The population of New Zealand
130-651: The Church in the Modern World"). The emphasis changed to interaction with the world. The college collaborated with the University of Otago in the introduction of Bachelor of Theology degree and courses in pastoral studies were introduced in addition to the traditional focus on theology and philosophy. The college was staffed by secular clergy and others until 1934 and then by the Vincentian order until 1989. In
156-827: The St Vincent de Paul Orphanage and St Philomena's College . Later they set up many other primary schools in the Dunedin diocese. Verdon also invited the Little Sisters of the Poor to Dunedin to care for the aged poor. In 1918, in the midst of the influenza epidemic, Verdon went to Rotorua for health reasons and improved greatly there. However, on the return journey he caught a cold which developed into Bronchitis . He died at St Gerard's Redemptorist Monastery, Wellington on 23 November 1918, aged 79. His remains were brought to Dunedin. Bishop Brodie of Christchurch (who had been
182-680: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.236 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 949108767 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:50:53 GMT Michael Verdon Michael Verdon (19 December 1838 – 23 November 1918) was the 2nd Catholic Bishop of Dunedin from (1896–1918). Verdon was born in Liverpool , England on 19 December 1838 His father came from County Louth , Ireland and his mother came from County Kildare . He
208-519: The college with his own priests. The seminary, with eleven students in residence, and with Bishop Verdon as its first Rector, opened on 3 May 1900, the Feast of the Holy Cross . A later teacher at, and Rector (1910-1920) of, the college was James Michael Liston . In August 1900 work began on a new chapel for the college. It was blessed and opened on 3 May 1901. Its architect was Commanditori Leonardi,
234-552: The ecclesiastical seminary of Dublin, the Holy Cross College, Clonliffe , of which nine years later, he became president. He enlarged the buildings there, constructed a "magnificent church" and considerably improved the quality of the teaching to raise the prestige of the college. In 1879 he was appointed a canon of the Cathedral Chapter, Dublin, by Cardinal MacCabe , Archbishop of Dublin. Verdon then joined
260-487: The first bishop, had established a seminary in Auckland, St Mary's Seminary , which resulted in the ordination of more than twenty four priests over two decades. Hampered by financial difficulties and personality problems, the seminary closed in 1869. Various bishops, particularly Patrick Moran first Bishop of Dunedin , had expressed concern over the absence of a national seminary. Its lack became pressing when New Zealand
286-573: The first six priests from the seminary. In 1911 he celebrated his golden jubilee of the priesthood. During the 22 years of his tenure, Verdon generally went about his work quietly. He took no part in public affairs but confined himself to church matters. He encouraged new schools established by the Dominican sisters . He introduced the Sisters of Mercy in South Dunedin, where they established
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#1732783853722312-481: The first six priests from the seminary. The establishment of Holy Cross College was a significant step forward for the Church in New Zealand ensuring an adequate supply of clergy trained in New Zealand and also creating "a very real bond between the secular priests of the country". From the beginning Holy Cross Seminary was designed to equip priests to minister within an established minority community and to preserve
338-510: The identity of that community. The seminary gave to its students a monastic type formation. Only by separating people from the world and giving them a new vision would they be able to re-enter the world and save people from it. Over the next 50 years the college became even more like a monastery. Even though it was located near the bustling city of Dunedin, it was yet set apart in relative isolation. It became an oasis of prayer, study and seclusion. The gradual establishment of various institutions like
364-723: The north). Holy Cross Seminary opened in Ponsonby, Auckland for the 1998 academic year. Lectures are undertaken at Good Shepherd College which is located near Holy Cross Seminary and is jointly staffed by Diocesan Clergy, clergy of the Society of Mary and members of other Catholic religious congregations. Most New Zealand Catholic secular priests ordained since 1900 are graduates of Holy Cross College. 36°51′13.67″S 174°44′34.39″E / 36.8537972°S 174.7428861°E / -36.8537972; 174.7428861 Mosgiel Too Many Requests If you report this error to
390-467: The papal architect for Pope Leo XIII and a friend of Verdon's. Built in true Roman style, with semicircular windows, marble altar, gilded copper ceiling and classic ionic pilasters, the chapel was an important part of Verdon's attempt to recreate at Mosgiel the spiritual atmosphere of Rome. The first ordination in the chapel occurred in 1902 when Patrick O'Neill was ordained a deacon. In 1902 the enrolment had doubled to 22. On 12 December 1909 Verdon ordained
416-519: The pope and the magisterium . He encouraged his priests to wear Roman clerical garb and to decorate their churches "in the fashion of contemporaneous Roman basilicas". This attitude was inherited by Verdon. He had great reverence for the Italian Catholic Reformation Sants, Philip Neri and Charles Borromeo . He also preferred to send talented seminarians to Rome for further training and he decorated Holy Cross College in
442-461: The see of Dunedin. Verdon was consecrated bishop in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin , on Sunday, 3 May 1896, by Cardinal Moran , assisted by Archbishop Redwood of Wellington , Bishop Murray of Maitland and Bishop Grimes of Christchurch . It was the first time that a bishop was consecrated in New Zealand. One of Verdon's first concerns was the establishment of a national seminary in Dunedin and, with
468-875: The staff of the Irish College in Rome, where as vice-rector he also made improvements and was raised to the dignity of a domestic prelate . In 1888 he was recruited by Cardinal Moran to go to Sydney to take charge of the newly erected St Patrick's College, Manly . Under his rule, the number of students rose to 65. At the Provincial Council, held in Sydney in 1895, he was elected by the Bishops of Australia to represent them and act as their agent in Rome, and, in February 1896 when he had reached Melbourne on his way there, Verdon received news of his appointment to
494-435: The support of the other New Zealand bishops, Holy Cross College, Mosgiel was opened on 3 May 1900, exactly four years after Verdon's consecration and Verdon was himself its first rector. It was a significant step forward for the Church in New Zealand ensuring an adequate supply of clergy trained in New Zealand and also creating "a very real bond between the secular priests of the country". On 12 December 1909 Verdon ordained
520-427: The venture. The other New Zealand Bishops accepted his offer. The seminary was to be a minor (high school, preparatory) as well as a major (arts, philosophy and theology) seminary. On 12 April 1899 Bishop Verdon purchased a house on an 11-acre site at Mosgiel built in 1878. Verdon thought that he could staff the seminary with Vincentian priests. But he was unsuccessful in obtaining their services and decided to start
546-605: Was a nephew of Cardinal Cullen , Archbishop of Dublin, and a first cousin of Cardinal Moran , Archbishop of Sydney. Verdon received his early education in Castleknock College, Dublin , conducted by the Vincentian Fathers . In 1855 he proceeded to Rome, where he continued his studies in the Irish College . He was ordained priest on 28 December 1861. In 1861, Verdon was appointed a professor in
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#1732783853722572-519: Was becoming increasingly located in the North Island. The Bishops decided to move the seminary to Auckland to join the Marist seminary already relocated there a few years previously. The main reasons given for the shift were the possibility of finding it easier to get qualified staff and also the need for the seminary to be more open to Maori and Pacific cultures (heavily concentrated in Auckland and
598-773: Was created an ecclesiastical province with Wellington as the Metropolitan See in 1887. Prior to this the New Zealand Bishops were largely influenced by Cardinal Moran in Sydney to send seminarians to his Manly seminary where Bishop Michael Verdon , the second Bishop of Dunedin (1896-1918) had been Rector. In 1896 Verdon expressed the need for local training from a particular perspective when he complained that his "most promising student James Liston had returned from Manly to New Zealand "undernourished and unwell". Verdon wrote to Dr. Murphy (Verdon's successor as Rector at Manly) complaining that Liston: " ...
624-672: Was fulfilled from 1947 by the founding of Holy Name Seminary , Christchurch, a minor seminary operated by the Jesuits . From 1954, this seminary assumed responsibility for teaching the Philosophy section of the seminary curriculum as a major seminary. The monastic and separatist ideal was challenged after the Second Vatican Council and the publication of Gaudium et spes ("the Pastoral Constitution on
650-497: Was in very poor health indeed when he came home in December and his parents were greatly troubled about him. They brought him to the best doctor in Dunedin who forbade them to send him again to Manly. His parents will keep him at home for some months and then will probably send him to Ireland to continue his studies". Verdon was determined that New Zealand should have its own seminary and offered to take full personal responsibility for
676-554: Was physically slight but vibrant with "mental activity, nervous energy and fiery eloquence". Verdon was a large man with a massive frame, but he shunned publicity and was not widely known outside the Catholic community. Verdon's delight was in building new churches, expanding Catholic education and in philanthropy. He had "simple tastes, a singularly winning manner, deep sympathies, and profound wisdom". Verdon's uncle and mentor, Cardinal Cullen had insisted on complete loyalty to Rome,
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