San Carlos Seminary

San Carlos Seminary

Seminaryo ng San Carlos
Official Logo of the Royal, Conciliar, Manila Archdiocesan Seminary of San Carlos
Latin: Seminarium Sancti Caroli
Motto	Humilitas
Motto in English	Humility
Type	Seminary
Established	April 28, 1702
Affiliation	Archdiocese of Manila
Rector	Very Rev. Fr. Joselito Martin
Dean	Fr. Enrico Emmanuel Ayo (theology) and Fr. Isidro Marinay (philosophy)
Director	Fr. Edwin Mercado (theology), Fr. Kristoffer Habal (philosophy), Fr. Godwin Tatlonghari (pre-college), Fr. Ramon Jade Licuanan (integration year)
Procurator	Fr. Cesar Buhat
Location	Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Patron Saint	St. Charles Borromeo, Patron of Seminaries
Colours	Red and Blue
Sports	Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Badminton
Nickname	SCS
Website	http://scs.edu.ph/
The first diocesan seminary in the Philippines.

The Royal and Conciliar San Carlos Seminary is the archdiocesan seminary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. It was established in the year 1702, by decree of King Philip V of Spain. At present, the institution houses seminarians belonging to various dioceses in Luzon, particularly from the Metro Manila region.

There are ten priests of the Archdiocese of Manila that cater to the formation program of seminarians for the School Year 2015–2016.

San Carlos Seminary was the first diocesan seminary established in the Philippines. In 1562, the Council of Trent decreed that every bishop should establish in his diocese a center of clerical education which would serve as a seedbed of the diocesan clergy. In 1581, Bishop Domingo Salazar, OP, decreed the establishment of a seminary to prepare the indigenous natives for the priesthood and for ecclesiastical dignities. Even if, in spite of several attempts, his dream could not crystallize until a century and a quarter later, the church and the state did what the poverty of the colony and other adverse circumstances would allow as a provisional solution. Colleges where ecclesiastical and religious native vocations might be fostered were founded, from the beginnings of the 17th century onwards: Colegio de San José (1601) of the Jesuits, Colegio de Santo Tomás (1611) of the Dominicans, Colegio de San Juan de Letrán and Colegio de San Pedro y San Pablo (1632). Although these schools fostered training for future priests, a diocesan seminary was still needed.

In 1592, King Philip II of Spain enjoined that the pertinent decree of Trent be implemented in the “Indies.” He ordered all archbishops and bishops of the Indies to found and support seminaries decreed by the Council of Trent for the formation of a local (native) clergy.

Since the Philippines was then under the “Patronato Real” system, on April 28, 1702, King Philip V of Spain ordered the establishment of a seminary in Manila for eight seminarians. However, this plan was modified by Abbe Giovanni Battista Sidoti, an Italian priest accompanying Archbishop Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon, papal legate to Peking, on the way to China. He worked for the erection in Manila of an Asian regional seminary for seventy-two seminarians of the Far East, with the approval of Archbishop Diego Camacho y Avila. The seminary was named Real Colegio Seminario de San Clemente in honor of Pope Clement XI. Having learned of the development, the King ordered the closure and demolition of the seminary building, the execution of his original plan, and the transfer of Archbishop Camacho to Mexico.