History of the Seminary
Pius XII Seminary, the bust of Pius XII located in the Seminary Chapel, and the Seminarians of 1948.
Lanigan House, Wavell Heights.
The Queensland Seminary, located in Brisbane to serve the Brisbane Archdiocese and the Queensland Dioceses of Cairns, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Townsville was established as Pius XII Provincial Seminary in 1941. The decision by the Bishops of Queensland to proceed with the foundation of the seminary was on the day of the election of Pope Pius XII. Under the patronage of Saints Peter and Paul, the new seminary accepted its first students on the 22 March 1941. Buildings were erected to a design by Bishop Romuald Hayes, of Rockhampton, on Beehive Hill, Banyo.
The first Rector of Pius XII Seminary was Father Vincent Cleary, who led a staff of 12, four of whom were Christian Brothers, engaged to teach students of the Minor Seminary and provide them with a secondary education. The remaining eight full-time staff members were priests who taught in the Faculties of Philosophy and Theology. The first class of 14 seminarians to be ordained was in mid-1948.
In 1997, the Queensland Bishops approved a plan for seminarians when they had completed their academic studies would engage in an Internship Year. Previously this pastoral year, established in 1980, was during the fourth year of a seminarian’s course. Rather, they substantially completed their academic courses prior to Internship, from which they continue into a Post-Internship phase.
It was also in that year, that the Bishops of Queensland approved of a plan for the seminarians to live off site. The Wavell Heights Parish offered the seminary a building that was surplus to its requirements. This building was named “Lanigan House” and the first students occupied this building in 1999. The move to a parish based setting ensured that the seminarians would be involved in the faith and life of a parish community during their formation.
The Bishops of the Queensland Province long considered the model of seminary formation and at their meeting in March 2000 decided to provide the major element of the intellectual formation of the seminarians through a separate theological college. At the March 2000 meeting, the bishops created the position of ‘Rector’ of Pius XII Provincial Seminary and ‘President’ of the Theological College. Later that year, on December 6, 2000, the Bishops decided to name the Theological College ‘St Paul’s Theological College’. The division of the Seminary and Theological College became effective on January 1, 2001. The Bishops of Queensland (The Trustees) renamed the seminary as the ‘Holy Spirit Seminary of Queensland’ at their meeting on 19 December 2001.