HOLY FAMILY SEMINARY, SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND (1946)Our priests of the North American Viceprovince have been for many yearsevangelizing the remote corners of New Mexico and Colorado in a trulyapostolic and zealous spirit of total self-denial and commitment. Duringthose same years we have been attempting to "nazarethize" both the familyand the home, and through them society itself, by means of a developmentalchildren and youth ministry and a family life apostolate patterned on thefollowership and devotion of the Holy Family. However, during all these yearswe were also hoping to locate ourselves somewhere in the East of the UnitedStates where we would be able to establish our national headquarters and acenter of formation, vocations and propaganda for the nurture andfurtherance of our charisma and mission regarding the Family of Nazareth inthe salvation of God's family scattered throughout the world.Consequently, it was no wonder that, during the canonical visit of 1945,our then Superior General, Fr Martin Millet, set into motion a feasibility studyfor such a Center and House of Formation around the Washington, D.C, area,as close as possible to the Catholic University. He appointed a "Commissionfor Vocations" made up of Fathers Joseph Ruensa and Peter Siguan andallowed his Secretary General, Fr Joseph Rossell, to remain for a while in theUnited States to help out in the project. On his return to Spain, Fr Milletcontinued to push for this study, carefully analysing every possibility thatpresented itself for consideration. The searching efforts of Father Ruensa and Siguan ended in a mostwonderful find, and, it would seem, in record time. At the end of February,1946, they cameacross a piece of property outside SilverSpring, Maryland,about 12 miles distantfrom the CatholicUniversity. In his ownwords Fr Ruensa givesthe following account:"After a lot of looking around —and alot of fussing with Saint Joseph, Saint Anthonyand even with ourFounder and martyrs of our Congregation —weat long last found anideal place, not only appropriate for our students, but also very promising forthe future of our Institute. The place is lovely! There is a very well kept house on the premises,more than sufficient for our present needs and number of students. All in all,
some 30 acres holding forth a great promise for our future here. It is, though,somewhat distant from the Catholic University, but there exists a good roadand a better one is planned for the future when the whole area will be fullydeveloped. There is no need of any renovation and we can move inimmediately. It made us sweat a little, but it was not in vain. Thanks be toGod and our holy protectors!"On the 13th of May, 1946, the deed of purchase was officially signed. FrRuensa with the help he received from our priests in the West was able toget it ready for students to begin the following term.Even though at the time Fr Ruensa had left Del Norte only temporarily—he was being substituted by Fr Joseph Rossell while in Washington, D.C. —when the new school term began in the Fall of 1946, he was appointedsuperior and rector of the new "Seminary" in Silver Spring, Maryland. Fr JohnSierra whocompleted hisstudies and hadbeen ordained inRome, Italy, wasreassigned toWashington, D.C,as Prefect of ourincipientScholasticate. The firststudents to enterthe new Seminarywere the ItaliansBenedettoCastellucci, Palmo Valente and Nicola Troiano and the Spaniard SebastianPerez. The first two began the first year of philosophy and the other two thefirst year of theology. During that first year the small community was joinedby Brother Lorenzo Buira and the Italian Benedetto Castellucci returned toItaly.As the weeks became months and the months years, the new Seminarywas gradually transforming itself into the center of life and activity of theSons of the Holy Family in the United States. It was not until 1958, however,when Fr Dominic Morera was transferred to Silver Spring, that the Seminarybecame finally the new headquarters of the North American Delegation. Yet, in 1955, a new development took place in the Seminary. Followingten years of studies and formative preparation in Spain, the second group of young American students —James P. Beiriger, Charles L. Stoeber, Louis J.Hoffman and Donald Douglas — returned to their native homeland tocomplete their theological studies at Catholic University and were ordainedto the priesthood in February of the following year. Soon there-afterwards,other American students, who had already been studying in Spain for several
years, began also to return, accompanied by fellow Spaniards who wanted tostudy for the priesthood here in the United States. From 1958 to 1966 therewere a total of nine students who completed their theological studies atCatholic University. The third stageof developmentregarding theSeminary got underway in 1960. Underthe new Delegate, Fr Joseph Pratt, workbegan on analtogether newfacility that wouldprovide us with aSeminary worthy of our cause andaspirations. The oldhouse no longersufficed for ourincreasing needsand, according toplans, a new buildingwas constructed on another area of the property. In the words of our thenSuperior General, Fr Magin Morera (brother of Fr Dominic Morera):"In the United States we are taking a great step forward: we are going tobuild what is hoped will become the heart and soul of our Institute in theland of America. It is a daring step, but one ever so worthy of our nazarenecause which the glory of God demands as well as the needs of our apostoliccommitment to the human family." The first part of the project was completed in nine months. Thus, on 3September, 1960, that part of the building was blessed and inaugurated asthe new Holy Family Seminary. The main speaker for the occasion was Fr John Sierra:"When we look upon this building, dedicated to the honor of theAlmighty, for the glorification of the Family of Nazareth and the sanctificationof his people, we begin to realize that his unerring and almighty hand wasthe main factor that brought our superiors here some fifteen years ago. Theypurposely chose this place on the outskirts of the city of Washington, D.C,because they wanted the first mother house of the Sons of the Holy Family inthe United States to come under the benefic influence of and be backed upby the association of the many varied and expert religious Communities andInstitutions which have made Washington, D.C, into a center of coordinationfor the ever expanding activities of the Catholic Church in this country.
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