Good Shepherd Institute of Theology established at Rachol Seminary
The Dicastery of Culture and Education in Rome established the Good Shepherd Institute of Theology at Rachol Seminary. This institute, which is affiliated to the Faculty of Theology at Jnana Deepa, Pune, will have the power to confer a Degree of Baccalaureate of Theology to students who complete the Three-Year Course of Theology.
Rachol Seminary has a history as an Ecclesiastical Institute of Education for a very long time. Built by the Jesuits, it began as a Catechetical School, a Primary School in Portuguese and Konkani School for European missionaries and went on to be a School for Moral Theology.
After the Jesuits were expelled by the Portuguese it was established as the Archdiocesan Seminary under the invocation of the Good Shepherd and hence called Seminario do Bom Pastor in the year 1762. In 1885 the seminary was handed over to the diocesan clergy and in the following year it was renamed as Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol.
In 1887, Pope Leo XIII, granted the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol the faculty of conferring the academic degree of Bachelor of Theology. The Seminary awarded degrees for forty-four years.
In 1892 Swami Vivekananda before proceeding to address the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago visited the Seminary Library (15-17 October 1892) in order to learn the basic tenets of Christianity and had discussions with the Teachers.
In 1931 when Pope Pius XI changed the rules and established that academic degrees in Theology can be only awarded by Universities or Faculties canonically established and approved, the Seminary lost the faculty. It was a long felt desire to restore the conferring of an Ecclesiastical degree however there were many conditions to be fulfilled.
In the year 2013 on the advice and direction of the Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão, the then Rector Rev. Dr. Aleixo Menezes took the initiative to approach the Jnana Deepa Institute of Philosophy and Theology expressing the desire of seeking approval for affiliation. The Jnana Deepa Institute having assured itself about the qualification of the Teachers in the Seminary, and the infrastructure, guided them through the different stages of the affiliation process and. requested the Seminary to adjust the syllabus to that of Jnana Deepa.
The changes in the norms by Pope Francis required that the Academic program be entrusted to an institute distinct from the Seminary. Keeping in mind the original name, it was decided to establish the Institute under the invocation of the Good Shepherd and a request was sent to the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
The decree which was communicated to the Seminary Rector on 8th July 2023 is a culmination of a long process which was followed with determination, dedication and perseverance. determinedly followed. By holding a Baccalaureate degree through this Good Shepherd Institute, Rachol the students passing out will find it easier to get admission in Universities granting Licentiate degrees. Also having a healthy cooperation with Jnana Deepa, Pune the students of this institute will have a better academic and other related exposure. Besides the Good Shepherd Institute is also conducting a Theological-Pastoral Formation Course for lay faithful in which 100 lay faithful are participating.