Traditional Seminary Plan Thwarted

The Institute of Christ the King Supreme Priest has been thwarted in its efforts to open a second seminary.


The former papal seminary of Cuglieri in Sardinia has been empty since 1970.  In that year, ownership was transferred to the Conference of the Bishops of the Mediterranean Islands.  They, having no use for the buildings, sold the property in 1976 to the regional government of that part of Sardinia. 


The seminary continued to be unused until 2012 when The ICKSP reached a deal to purchase the property with the view of opening a second seminary for their order.  We now hear that the bishops of Sardinia intervened and persuaded the owners not to sell to the ICKSP, but instead to allow the buildings to be developed as an inter-religious and inter-cultural centre.  This is now what is happening.


The buildings, which date back to 1927 and are set in unspoiled countryside, would have been ideal for the ICKSP, whose seminary at Gricigliano near Florence is bursting at the seams with students.  As a former papal seminary, it is not surprising that the buildings are rather grand, and include a chapel that would suit the style of ceremonies that the Institute favour.


It really does seem more than a coincidence that, after the buildings lying empty for more than 40 years, the bishops came up with their scheme at exactly the time that the Institute were negotiating to purchase. Could it be that traditionalists were unwelcome!


This story has been picked up from Eponymous Flower, and was in turn picked up from a German site.