Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide

by Bernini The college was established in Rome by Pope Urban VIII. In a brief on January 27, 1624, he ordered the investment of money and the acquisition of the palazzo Ferratini in the Piazza di Spagna; by the Bull “Immortalis Dei Filius” on 1 August 1627, the college was established. One of the greatest benefactors of the new college was Urban VIII's brother, Cardinal Antonio Barberini. In September 1633 he bought all the houses and gardens between the college building and the Church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte. On May 5, 1634, he laid the foundation stone of the college church. The college prepared them for taking holy orders, after which they were to return to their homelands as missionaries. Between 1633 and 1703 a total of 451 students attended the college. Of these, 48 were Armenian, 42 Dutch, 34 Dalmatian, 33 Greek, 25 Syrian, 25 Valtellinese, 22 German, 17 Indian, 10 Ethiopian, 8 Persian and one from New Spain. In the first half of the nineteenth century the college had as its spiritual director Saint Vincent Pallotti and among its students, at different times, were Saints Oliver Plunkett and John Henry Newman. On 27 June 1641 a further Bull of Urban VIII abolished the college's autonomous administration and brought it directly under the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. This arrangement lasted until 1809, when even this last remnant of the college was suppressed. In 1814, however, some of the Propaganda students were again received by the Lazarists, and in 1817 the Urbaniana was reopened. From 1836 until 1848, it operated under the direction of the Jesuits. cassocks after a game. (A.D. 1932) In 1925 the Cardinal Prefect, Willem Marinus van Rossum (1854–1932) purchased the hospital of Santa Maria della Pietà on the Gianicolo Hill, and the seminarians transferred to this site, their current residence, on 2 November 1926. In the meantime, Van Rossum also began the construction of the Pontifical Urban University. After the teaching functions moved to the new university, the college building has continued to serve as the residence for the seminarians, which was inaugurated by Pope Pius XI on 24 April 1931. ==Current arrangements==

The Collegio Urbano comes under the direct authority of the Dicastery for Evangelization. The most recent change to the statutes of the college were made in 2001 by Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe. The new regulations were approved on 11 November 2006 by Cardinal Ivan Dias. At present the college has been led by don Armando Nugnes, of the diocese of Aversa. As of 2022 the Collegio Urbano had 158 students from various parts of Asia and Africa; none of the seminarists are from Italy. To be admitted to the college, candidates must be recommended by a bishop and are required to have an understanding of Italian. The first stage of training for the priesthood lasts five or six years, during which the seminarists study philosophy and theology as well as languages. In some cases a period of licentiate lasting two or three years is required before ordination takes place. == Alumni ==

• Germanos Adam, Melkite bishop and theologian • Stefano P. Israelian, Armenian bishop and martyr • Venerable Augustus Tolton (first openly African-American priest) • William Augustine Williams (first openly African-American Catholic seminarian) == Rectors ==

The following is a chronological list of rectors of the college. • Giuseppe Matraia (1605–1610) • Juan Bautista Vives (1610–1632) • Sebastiano Pietroardi (1632–1637) • Domenico Cerroni (1637–1641) • Marco Romano (1641–1646) • Cosimo Riccardo Accolti (1646–1648) • Vincenzo Greco (1648–1650) • Sebastiano Panaceni (1651–1654) • Giuseppe Cruciani (1654–1655) • Annibale Saletti (1655–1658) • Michele Columera (1658–1662) • Andrea Bonvicini (1662–1696) • Giulio Cesare de Rossi (1696–1708) • Nicola Castelli (1708–1710) • Guido Della Porta (1710–1719) • Teodoro Moriconi (1719–1731) • Francesco Sosio Tramontana (1731–1744) • Domenico della Rocca (1744–December 1744) • Ildefonso Tarditi (December 1744 – 1771) • Paolo Lazzarini (1771–1776) • Bernardino Ficoroni (1776–1777) • Giovanni Battista Canonici (1777–1793) • Filippo Biagioli (1793–1818) • Raimondo Serdominici (1818–1830) • Carlo Augusto Conte di Reisac (1830–1836) • Liberio Figari (1836–1840) • Giovanni Antonio Grassi (1840–1842) • Giovanni Batta Dessi (1842–1844) • Maksymilian Stanisław Ryłło (1844–1846) • Antonio Bresciani (1846–1848) • Paolo Cullen (1848–1849) • Filippo Tancioni (1849–1869) • Loreto Iacovacci (1869–1872) • Gustavo Corrado (1872–1889) • Filippo M. Camassei (1889–1904) • Giovanni Bonzano (1904–1912) • Bartolomeo Cattaneo (1912–1917) • Paolo Giobbe (1917–1925) • Torquato Dini (1925–1934) • Pietro Parente (1934–1938) • Lorenzo Maria Balconi (1938–1939) • Domenico Brizi (1939–1945) • Carlo Cavallera (1945–1947) • Felice Cenci (1947–1970) • Pellegrino Ronchi (1970–1977) • Natalino Fumagalli (1977–1985) • Angelo Lazzarotto (1985–1990) • Carlo Tei (1990–1991) • Francesco Pavese (1991–2002) • Fidel Gonzales Fernandez (2002–2005) • Fernando Domingues (2005–2013) • (2013–2021) • Armando Nugnes (2021–present) ==See also==