Rectors consider consolidating seminaries

Dutch seminary rectors have been discussing the consolidation of the country’s six seminaries into one or two after a newspaper reported there were only 76 seminarians, two-thirds coming from abroad, writes Tom Heneghan.

“The group of seminarians is too small to be spread out over five or six seminaries,” Fr Patrick Kuipers, rector of the Utrecht Archdiocese seminary, told the weekly Katholiek Nieuwsblad. Utrecht has 12 seminarians. Jan Vries, rector of the Limburg Diocese seminary, said just one of his 33 seminarians was Dutch. But the bishops may not agree. Six of the seven Dutch dioceses still maintain their own seminaries.