Foundation and first location After the creation of the
diocese of Crema, the decision to establish the seminary was made during the first synod of September 15, 1583 by the vicar of the bishop
Girolamo Diedo, Monsignor Eugenio Sabino who had arrived from Rome, who decreed that, according to the
Council of Trent, all beneficiaries should pay half a tithe. In 1584 Monsignor Diedo assigned some benefices to the Seminary to make it financially autonomous by taking them from some parishes: two (called Santo Sepolcro) from the
church of the Santissima Trinità, and San Lorenzo his successor,
Pope Gregory XIII, assigned the funds to the newly established
episcopal mense. In 1583, during his apostolic visit, Monsignor
Gerolamo Ragazzoni ordered the demolition of the old church, which was done in 1592, and in 1601 the was built. Vescovo-pietro-emo.jpg|Pietro Emo, bishop from 1616 to 1629, founded the second site. Vescovo-faustino-griffoni.jpg|Faustino Griffoni di Sant'Angelo, bishop from 1702 to 1730, had the second site enlarged. was bishop of Crema from 1730 to 1751. Bishop
Lodovico Calini had the building enlarged again in 1745, but ran into trouble with the Capuchin nuns because of the windows overlooking their convent; the nuns appointed Count Ernesto Griffoni di Sant'Angelo (brother of Bishop Faustino) as their lawyer, who took the matter to the city authorities, who ordered the bishop to intervene in the construction. Faced with what the prelate considered insults and slander, Monsignor Calini appealed to the
Council of Ten; the
Doge himself,
Pietro Grimani, sent a letter to
Podestà Lorenzo Orio, dated March 8, 1749, asking him to review the documents presented against the bishop and to remove any offensive expressions. Lombardi also decided to entrust the institution to the
Jesuits, A turbulent period began with the arrival of the French: in 1797 the complex was confiscated and used as a public school and (in 1801) as barracks; the seminarians were forced to move into the bishop's palace, while for educational purposes the Ministry of the Interior authorized the use of the guest quarters of the convent of Santa Maddalena and two rooms of the convent of San Francesco; . It now houses the
Luca Pacioli Institute of Higher Education.In 1806 the seminary returned to the diocese when Monsignor Tommaso Ronna became bishop and bequeathed the institution to his universal heir. During
World War I, the building was requisitioned for military use. After the transfer to the new location in Via Dante Alighieri in 1937, the complex was sold in 1941 to the
Comboni missionaries, who set up an apostolic school there. They remained there until 1977, when it was purchased by the
provincial administration of Cremona and designated as the headquarters of the
Luca Pacioli Institute of Higher Education. For this project, an entire block in the center of the city, between the streets now called Via Giacomo Matteotti, Via Goldaniga, Via Vincenzo Petrali, and Via Dante Alighieri, was purchased, including the and the demolition of the dilapidated house of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, providing a surface area of 6,500 square meters. Subsequently, initiatives were planned to repay the debt incurred, such as the proclamation of a
Seminary Day to be held in all the parishes with a collection for this purpose. the entire building was militarized and an anti-aircraft post was set up on the roof. Although in 1957-1958 there were 78 students, The rector from 1957 to 1970 was the priest
Marco Cé, future auxiliary bishop of Bologna (1970), later patriarch (1978) and cardinal (1979) of Venice. Under his guidance the seminary was reformed, anticipating some of the guidelines that were later introduced by the
Second Vatican Council; until the end of the fifties, entering the seminary meant accepting its strict rules, in particular the observance of absolute obedience in a closed, rigid and cloistered community; the rectors were particularly concerned about the holidays, during which it was strongly recommended not to go to the movies, not to watch television, not to listen to the radio, not even to read newspapers; the greatest care and prudence were to be exercised in interpersonal relationships and in personal hygiene. Monsignor Cé, in full agreement with Bishop Carlo Manziana, introduced a less monastic seminary life, which did not involve the denial of personality and was much more open to dialogue; without the difficulties (or even, in some cases, the ostracism) of the older prelates. and promoted the project of a more suitable structure in the hamlet of Vergonzana, inaugurated in 2002. The building was therefore intended for exclusive school use. While Bishop
Oscar Cantoni, during a council in 2016, had already considered other options, his successor, Monsignor Daniele Gianotti, consulted with the bishops of
Vigevano and
Lodi, so that the studies of the seminarians from the year 2017-2018 would continue in the city. On January 29, 2018,
Pope Francis promulgated the
Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium, which introduced a reform of theological formation; == See also ==