Séminaire de Québec facts for kids
The Seminary of Quebec (also known as the Séminaire de Québec in French) is a special Catholic community of priests in Quebec City. It was started by Bishop François de Laval in 1663. He was the very first bishop of New France, which was what Canada was called back then. The Seminary's main job was to help the Catholic Church grow in North America.
History of the Seminary
The Séminaire de Québec was founded on March 26, 1663. Bishop François de Laval created it to support the Church's work across North America. In 1665, it joined with a similar group in Paris. This new group was called the Seminary of Foreign Missions of Quebec.
The first goal of the Séminaire de Québec was to train young men to become priests. These new priests would then serve in churches and missions. Some of these missions were very far away, even as far as Louisiana. So, the Seminary also included a Major Seminary, which is where future priests got their training.
In 1668, a French minister named Jean-Baptiste Colbert wanted to spread French language and culture. Bishop de Laval decided to open the Seminary to local Indigenous people. He also welcomed children of settlers who loved to study and wanted to become priests. This was the start of the Petit Séminaire de Québec, which means the Minor Seminary.
Before 1760, the Minor Seminary was a boarding school for students. Classes were held at the Jesuit College. After the Jesuits left, the Seminary took over the teaching. The Minor Seminary became a full school, open to all boys who wanted to learn.
In 1852, the school's excellent teaching was recognized by Queen Victoria. This led to the creation of Université Laval. It was the first Catholic French-language university in North America. Today, Université Laval and the Minor Seminary are separate from the Quebec Seminary. Université Laval became its own organization in 1970, and the Minor Seminary did the same in 1987.
Today, the Séminaire de Québec still trains priests. It also helps people explore if they want to become priests. It supports Catholic activities at Université Laval and helps train other church leaders. Priests from the Seminary also serve in local churches.
Bishop François de Laval's original idea is why the Séminaire de Québec has been so successful in education. He left a large area of land, known as the Beaupré Seigneury, to the Seminary. This land has helped fund the institution's work ever since.
The Petit Séminaire Today
Since 1987, the Petit Séminaire de Québec has been a private Roman Catholic high school. It is no longer directly part of the Séminaire de Québec. Many important French-Canadian church leaders and scholars studied at the Petit Séminaire. This was especially true before higher education became widely available to everyone.
Buildings of the Seminary
The historical site of the Séminaire de Québec in Old Quebec has many buildings. Some of these buildings are very old, dating back to the 1600s. They show what French buildings looked like back then. Other buildings were added later, from the 1700s to the 1900s. These were built to meet the needs of Laval University, the Grand Séminaire, and the Petit Séminaire.
Two important buildings are the Camille-Roy Building and the Jean-Olivier-Briand Building. The Camille-Roy Building has special pointed roofs. On these roofs, flags fly with the coat of arms of Bishop François de Laval, the founder. The Jean-Olivier-Briand Building is where the priests live and where the Grand Séminaire is located.
The Seminary, located at 1 Rempart Street in Québec, was named a National Historic Site of Canada in 1929. It still trains Roman Catholic priests today. Part of the old Seminary buildings has been used by the University's school of architecture since 1987. The Camille-Roy building also has a restored room called the Promotions Room. This room can be rented for different events.
See also
- List of Jesuit sites
- Moulin du Petit-Pré, a water-powered flour mill built for the seminary
