HISTORY OF THE WIGRATZBAD SEMINARY
"If you remain close to Christ, with Christ and in Christ, you will bear much fruit, as He promised. You did not choose Him, but He chose you."
"This is the secret of your vocation and your mission!"
Pope Benedict XVI, August 19, 2005, Address to seminarians
O SEMINÁRIO DE WIGRATZBAD
The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter also has two international seminaries for the formation of future priests: one European, the Saint Peter Seminary in Wigratzbad (Germany), where instruction is given in two language sections (French or German); and another American, the Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton (USA), where courses are taught in English.
Multicultural community life offers a unique opportunity for mutual enrichment, and the spiritual environment of Wigratzbad allows for ideal retreat into a relationship with God. In fact, the seminary is located in a Marian sanctuary, in a picturesque area of Bavaria, at the foot of the Alpine mountains, near the border with Austria and Switzerland, constituting a kind of spiritual and natural oasis.
The International Seminary of St. Peter in Wigratzbad is not only the Fraternity's first seminary, but also its first canonically erected house. Its establishment fulfilled long-held aspirations at the sanctuary. In fact, Wigratzbad has been an important place of pilgrimage since the supernatural events experienced by a young woman named Antonie Rädler starting in 1936. She was convinced that in the future an international center for priestly formation would be established in Wigratzbad.
Pilgrims from all over the world venerate Our Lady according to the invocation of "Immaculate Conception, Mother of Victory," which Antonie Rädler is said to have heard from a multitude of angels in chorus.
The spiritual director of the visionary wrote: “Who can blame us for desiring and praying that one day a Major Seminary will be founded here, in which priests will be formed who are totally dedicated to Mary and Jesus, to the Blessed Sacrament, and consumed by an untiring zeal for souls?” This desire was fulfilled when, in August 1988, the Bishop of Augsburg, Joseph Stimpfle, agreed to the founding of the first seminary of the FSSP.
Currently, more than 180 young men from all over the world are preparing for the priesthood, and the European seminary already has 8 Portuguese seminarians.
Spiritual and intellectual formation is the foundation for preparing priests for a fruitful ministry. In accordance with the repeated recommendations of the Popes, the Councils, the Code of Canon Law, and with the approval of the Holy See, the FSSP proposes a Thomistic philosophical and theological formation, following the traditional seminary model, capable of responding to the challenges of our times, in the cultural, social, and doctrinal fields.
