One of the oldest ecclesiastical institute in Goa, the Rachol Seminary is now eligible to confer a degree of Baccalaureate of Theology to students who complete the three-year course of Theology.
The Dicastery of Culture and Education in Rome established the Good Shepherd Institute of Theology at Rachol Seminary. This institute is affiliated to the Faculty of Theology at Jnana Deepa, Pune. They have the power to confer the degree of Theology on students.
FROM CATECHETICAL SCHOOL TO A SEMINARY
Built by the Jesuits, the Rachol Seminary began as a catechetical school, a primary school in Portuguese and Konkani school for European missionaries and went on to be a school for imparting 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. It was later renamed as Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol.
SWAMI VIVEKANADA'S VISIT TO RACHOL SEMINARY
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.
Interestingly, Swami Vivekananda visited the Rachol Seminary in 1892. He came here before proceeding to address the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago. He visited the Seminary Library (15-17 October 1892) in order to learn the basic tenets of Christianity and had discussions with teachers.
RULES CHANGED
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.
PROCESS FOR AFFILIATION
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.
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 OF AFFILIATION
On July 8, 2023, the seminary rector received the decree that it was the culmination of a long process. And, any student passing out of Rachol Seminary with a Baccalaureate degree through this Good Shepherd Institute will find it easier to get admission in universities granting Licentiate degrees.
This will also give the students of this institute better academic and other related exposure.