The Jesuits entered Rachol in 1566 for the purpose of’ evangelization. In 1574, the College of the Holy Spirit was founded in Margao, attached to the Church. However, for security reasons, it was decided to shift the College in Rachol. Hence, the foundation stone to build a Church and a College was blessed and laid by the Jesuits on 1st November 1606. The Church and the College were inaugurated on the Vespers of the Solemnity of All Saints, 1st November 1610 and were dedicated to All Saints, and named as All Saints’ College. The College functioned as a multipurpose institution: a hospital, an orphanage, a catechetical school for catechumens a primary school (in Portuguese), a Konkani school for European missionaries, moral theology school, and a printing press. The press, which was the third in Goa, functioned for almost sixty years in the College. It printed/published sixteen books, the chief ones among them by Thomas Stephens being the Khrista Purana (in Marathi, 1616), Doutrina Christam em Lingua Bramana Canarim,
Ordenada a maniera de dialogo para ensinar os meninos (in Konkani in 1622) and Arte da Lingoa Canarim (Konkani Grammar in 1640).
Use of Telescope for the first time in Asia
On November 10, 1618, a Jesuit priest and astronomer Venceslaus Pantaleon Kirwitzer from Bohemia and resident of Rachol Seminary used a telescope for the first time in Asia to see a comet.
College of St. Ignatius of Loyola
The Church and the College originally dedicated to All Saints was re-dedicated to St. Ignatius of Loyola after his canonisation in 1622 AD.
Archdiocesan Seminary for the Formation of Diocesan Clergy Erected in 1762
In 1759, the Jesuits were expelled from Goa. Hence in 1762 AD, Archbishop-Primate Antonio Taveira da Neiva Brun e Silveira, by his decree of 4th January 1762, erected the Archdiocesan Seminary for the formation of diocesan clergy. The Seminary was erected under the invocation of the Good Shepherd (Seminario do Bom Pastor), in whose name the internal Chapel of the Seminary was blessed and whose picture is on the top of the retable of the altar.
Formation Entrusted to Goan Oratorians and Vincentians
The Goan Oratorians directed the Seminary from 1762 to 1774. In 1781, it was entrusted to the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians or Lazarists). From 1793, it was once again entrusted to the Oratorians.
Seminary Handed over to the Diocesan Clergy
In 1835, when all Religious Institutes were expelled from Portugal and from all its territories, the Seminary was handed over to the diocesan clergy. In 1886, the Seminary came to be known as the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol.
Apostleship of Prayer in India Started at the Seminary in 1884
Apostleship of Prayer was started for the first time in India in the Rachol Seminary on August 31, 1884 by the Director of the Central Apostleship of Prayer, Mons. Louis Prosperi in the presence of the Archbishop Dom Antonio Sebastião Valente and the local Director
of the Apostleship of Prayer, Rev. Fr. Jose Joaquim Lourenço de Souza.
Academic Excellence
Archbishop-Patriarch A. S. Valente (1882-1908) re-organized and improved the academic level of the Seminary, which consisted of a Preparatory Course, a Philosophy Course, and a Theology Course. In 1887, Pope Leo XIII, by his Apostolic letter Quum Venerabilis Frater, granted to the Seminary, the faculty of bestowing the academic degree of Bachelor in Theology but later in 1931 this privilege was revoked when Pope Pius XI in his Apostolic Constitution Deus Scientiarum Dominus reserved the granting of degrees to Universities or Faculties that were canonically erected.
Visit of Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda visited the Seminary Library on three days in October, 1892 in order to learn the basic tenets of Christianity and had discussions with the professors.
Two Storeyed New Wing
To accommodate increasing number of Theology students Archbishop Valente built, (1890-1894), a two storeyed new wing with forty single rooms and a dormitory-cum study hall for beginners, over which he put up a Library Hall. For the convenience of the students from North Goa, a Preparatory Course was also started in Mapusa. Students, called externos, were housed in nearby rented cottages (comensalidades) under a Prefect of Discipline, from where they would come to the Seminary for Mass and Classes. With the opening of the Minor Seminary of Our Lady, Saligao-Pilerne in 1952, the Preparatory Course at Mapusa as well as the comensalidades ceased.
New Academic Block
An Academic Block with an Auditorium was inaugurated in 2002.
The Good Shepherd Institute of Theology Erected in 2023
The Dicastery for Culture and Education, Rome erected the Good Shepherd Institute of Theology at the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol 23rd June 2023. The Institute has been affiliated to Pontifical Athenaeum Jnana Deepa, the Faculty of Theology, Pune, and is endowed with powers to confer a Degree of Baccalaureate of Theology to students who complete Three Years Course of Theology at the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol.
A Glimpse of Formation at the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol
The seminarians spend six important years of their formation in this formation house: Two Years of Philosophy, One Year of Regency and Three Years of Theology. After the completion of their Two-Year Philosophy Course, the seminarians have a Year of Regency. During Regency each seminarian has to have the experience of living for six months in a Parish under the guidance of the Parish Priest and for another six months the seminarian has to live with a Group of seminarians who are also in their year of regency. In this period the seminarians get a foretaste of their future ministry under the guidance of the Seminary Staff and the Parish Priests of the parishes where they do their Individual and Group Regency.
In the Second Year of Theology, the seminarians receive the Instituted Ministries of Lector and Acolyte. The seminarians of the Third Year Theology, at the beginning of the formative year, receive the Rite of Admission to Sacred Orders and at the end of their Theology Course they receive the Holy Order of Diaconate. The Fourth Year is at the St. Pius X Pastoral Institute, Old Goa, where the Deacons do a year-long Diaconate Ministry-cum-Pastoral Enrichment Course and are ordained to the Order of Presbyterate at the end of that year.
Holistic Formation:
The Seminary offers a holistic formation to seminarians which revolves around the four pillars of formation, namely, Human, Spiritual, Intellectual and Pastoral:
Human Formation aims at helping seminarians to be humane and grow in the human values of honesty, sacrifice, service, foster healthy relationships, respect for authority, community spirit, human maturity, discipline, and know one’s strengths and weaknesses. Various types of activities and sessions are organized to promote human formation of the seminarians: Apart from the daily community activities such as sports, cultural, group-wise outings/recreations as well as love for manual work through gardening, farming, different type of house work, etc., there are special sessions organized to help in their personality development,
self-discovery, psycho-sexual development, emotional and affective maturity, etiquette, psycho-spirituality, etc.
Spiritual Formation focuses on helping the seminarian to have a deep personal experience of Jesus Christ and to grow in the Spirit. A lot of emphasis is laid on making the seminarians have a love for prayers, both personal and communitarian prayers, Prayer of the Church, Scriptural and Spiritual Reading, active participation in the Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration, Spiritual Direction, Monthly Spiritual Recollections, Annual Retreat, Psycho- Spiritual Growth Groups, Silence, etc.
At the end of the First Year of Theology the seminarian has do a 30-day Retreat. The goal of the spiritual formation is to help the seminarian to be a person of God experience, who lives Christ’s values of intimacy with God, love of neighbour, detachment from material comforts, and value the gift of celibacy as a future priest.
Intellectual Formation:
The goal of the intellectual formation is to help seminarians develop their intellectual abilities
and be learned persons who can present, explain and defend the teachings of Catholic faith and morals as a future priest. In order to achieve this goal, the seminarians attend regular classes, answer exams, present research papers and participates in seminars, symposia, etc.
At present the Seminary academic curriculum includes:
At the end of the Third Year of Theology, they answer the Comprehensive Exam in Theology.
The Fourth Year is a Pastoral Enrichment Course cum Diaconate Ministry at the Pastoral Institute, St. Pius X, Old Goa.
Pope Francis says, “What distinguishes the academic, formative and research approach of the system of ecclesiastical studies, on the level of both content and method, is the vital intellectual principle of the unity in difference of knowledge and respect for its multiple, correlated and convergent expressions” (Veritatis Gaudium 4c).
The goal of the intellectual formation is to help the seminarian to be a learned person who can present, explain and defend the teachings of Catholic faith and morals as a future priest.
Regency: A second guiding criterion for reviving ecclesiastical studies, expressed in Veritatis Gaudium, is that of wide-ranging dialogue, not as a mere tactical approach, but as an intrinsic requirement for experiencing in community the joy of the Truth and appreciating more fully its meaning and practical implications (cf. Veritatis Gaudium 4a) The Archdiocese of Goa and Daman comprises people of different cultures especially in the mission of Daman. After the Two-year Philosophy Course, the seminarians have a year of pastoral praxis in parishes called Regency, during which they (individually and in groups) under the guidance of the Seminary and respective parish-priests are given a foretaste of the future priestly pastoral ministry.
Pastoral Formation
i) Missionary Formation: The Rector of the Seminary, being the Coordinator of the Pontifical Mission Organization (Goa), involves the seminarians in the World Mission Sunday in the Archdiocese in the following way:
ii) Liturgical Formation: Besides the Courses in Liturgy in the Academic Curriculum, the Animator of Liturgy forms the seminarians in the practical dimension for the animation of liturgy.
iii) Small Christian Communities (SCC): The seminarians are given opportunities to get involved the animation of the SCCs in the neighbouring parishes.
iv) Catechetical Formation: The seminarians who are sent to the parishes for gaining experience in imparting catechesis and in other pastoral activities like altar server, etc.; The III Year Theology Seminarians go for weekend ministry, while the I and the II Year Theology Seminarians and the II Year Philosophy Seminarians go for Sunday Ministry. Besides, the Catechetical Unit of Rachol Seminary also organises formation programmes for the Catechists.
v) Charitable Formation: St. Joseph Conference of Society of St. Vincent de Paul helps the seminarians to grow in the charitable dimension of their formation. They visit the poor, sick, elderly in their homes, hospitals, and old-age homes, every week. The economically poor are given financial help. The seminarians devise various means to collect funds. Besides, they also organise the annual Day of the Beneficiaries, Annual Visit to the poor and marginalised, etc.
vi) Prison Ministry: A group of seminarians, together with their animator visit the prison and organize relevant programmes (sports, cultural, religious) for the prisoners, and get them involved.
vii) Musical Formation: Music is part of the seminary academic curriculum: during the Two-Year Philosophy Course, the seminarians learn notation and theory of music; and during the Theology Course, they learn Indian Music, Gregorian Chant and Liturgical Music for the first, second and third year respectively. Besides, the seminary is known for its TTBB “Santa Cecilia Choir”, started in 1897 and conducted by the Professor of Music of the Seminary. It is composed of around 16 seminarians as its members. The seminarians also have the opportunity to learn string-brass woodwind and other musical instruments.
viii) Literary Formation: Literary and Cultural activities form part of the overall formation. L.A.C.A.R.S, i.e. Literary and Cultural Activities of the Rachol Seminary, helps the seminarians to discover and display their various talents, under the orientation of its Animator. Besides, L.A.C.A.R.S organizes Amchem Daiz (Seminar on Goan Heritage) wherein students from neighbouring colleges and schools take part.
ix) Inter-Religious Dialogue Formation: The seminarians, under the guidance of the animator, are formed to dialogue with other faiths by organizing seminars and meetings as well as visiting and participating in the festivals of our brothers and sisters of other faiths. The seminarians visit our Hindu families during the Ganesh Festival. Every year an Inter-Religious Meeting is organized on Gandhi Jayanti (2nd October).
x) Formation in Sports: The seminarians are motivated to actively engage themselves in sports activities both indoor and outdoor games. Various tournaments are organized, which culminate in the Seminary Sports Day.
xi) Eco-Friendly Formation: The seminarians are initiated towards the love for nature by means of taking care of the gardens, flower-vases, vegetable gardens, fruit trees, rice fields, piggery, etc. They also manage the waste and garbage produced in the seminary.