The celebration for the 90 years of the seminary of Naples with Archbishop Battaglia
For 90 years it has welcomed seminarians on the Capodimonte hill in Naples, in a structure with a large hemicycle terrace that overlooks the gulf and ideally embraces the city. This morning the celebration of remembrance and celebration, presided over by the archbishop of Naples, Mimmo Battaglia, with the president of the Campania Episcopal Conference and bishop of Acerra, Antonio Di Donna, and the rector of the seminary Don Francesco Cerqua, as well as bishops and priests who completed their training in the seminary named after Cardinal Alessio Ascalesi. In fact, it was he who inaugurated the structure on 24 June 1934, the construction of which was suggested by Cardinal Alfredo Idelfonso Schuster, who was visiting Naples, because the old headquarters no longer met the pedagogical and training needs of the seminarians.
The exterior of the Naples seminary – .
Archbishop Battaglia refers to Saint John in his homily, underlining «the steadfastness of the Baptist and his ability to question himself without ever ignoring Christ. A sign and model – said Battaglia – for those who are preparing to receive the ministry.”
Rector Cerqua proposes to make the celebration of former students stable, every 24 June, as happened this morning and to «create a former fund to help seminarians in difficulty or to renovate areas of the structure that need maintenance. Like, for example, the presbytery of the main chapel.”
Benedict XVI’s visit to the seminary in Naples in 2007 – .
In the hearts of seminarians, 90 years were characterized by many significant events: the visit of Saint John Paul II in November 90 who invited them to “rebel against the mediocrity of a comfortable life”. And, again, in 2007 the visit of Benedict XVI, while in 2023 the meeting with the ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew I.
A celebration that becomes an opportunity to question future challenges. From Naples, which is experiencing the XXXI Diocesan Synod, the focus is on «a Church that announces the Word and the faith, becoming a Samaritan of wounded humanity, in which the priest is asked for a clear conversion to the mission, in the logic of the Cross and the paschal mystery preparing for the total and joyful gift of self. A Church where the need grows and must grow to verify in those who decide to undertake a path of training for the priesthood, sufficient rooting in a community, stability in friendly relationships with peers, in commitment to study or work, in contact with poverty and suffering”.
Sunday 30 June, in the Cathedral of Naples, the next diaconal ordinations of Antonio Cirillo, Giuseppe Marsei, Claudio Mennella, Antonio Sades and brother Alessandro Carmelo La Rosa.
