By Sarah Hofius Hall / Published: October 26, 2016
SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. — A fraternity of Catholic priests will move its North American headquarters to where Baptist men learned how to better serve Christ.
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter bought Clarks Summit University’s seminary building for $1.2 million this month and will relocate from Elmhurst Twp. The former Baptist Bible College already vacated the seminary on Venard Road, holding most of its seminary classes online and with room to accommodate classes at its main academic building on campus.
Twelve lay people will work at the fraternity’s headquarters, helping administer and coordinate the work of 100 priests who work in the United States and Canada, said the Rev. Gerard Saguto, F.S.S.P., district superior.
The Gregory the Great Academy, a boarding school for boys in the Catholic tradition, will acquire the Elmhurst headquarters on Griffin Pond Road. The school is the former St. Gregory’s Academy, closed by the order in 2012, but reopened shortly after by a group of alumni acting independently.
The seminary building is a smaller, more manageable space and better fits the order’s needs, the Rev. Saguto said. He hopes to make the move by February. A bookstore and chapel inside the building will be open to the public. The $1.2 million purchase price includes a total of 3.86 acres.
With about 100 seminary students at CSU, the program is doing well, said Mel Walker, vice president for alumni, communications and external relations. About 80 percent of seminary classes are done online, even for the doctoral programs. Classroom space is available in Jackson Hall.
“The seminary is not in trouble,” he said. “The day-to-day practice of having a building for a few students” didn’t make sense anymore, he said.
The college’s board of trustees decided that half the purchase price would pay down long-term debt, and the other half will be used to help with expenses this year, Mr. Walker said.
“We’re thankful to have them as neighbors,” he said.
Contact the writer:
shofius@timesshamrock.com, @hofiushallTT on Twitter
