English College of St Gregory

English Catholic College in Seville, Spain

English College of St Gregory
El Colegio de los Ingleses
Other names	English College Seville
Type	Seminary
Active	1592–1767
Founder	Robert Persons SJ
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic (Jesuit)

The English College of St Gregory was an English Catholic seminary in Seville, Spain. It was founded by the English Jesuit Robert Persons in 1592, when Roman Catholicism was illegal in England, to provide his native country with priests. The dedication of the college to St Gregory recalls the Gregorian mission of AD 596, which resulted in the Anglo-Saxons being converted to Christianity.

In 1596, in Seville, Persons wrote Memorial for the Reformation of England,^[1] concerning how England might be returned to the Roman Catholic faith. Teaching staff included Richard Smith who developed different ideas from Persons about the project. Smith returned to England in 1603.^[2]

Persons died in Rome in 1610, but the institution continued, although short of funds. It was supported by the Jesuits until 1767 when Charles III, in a surprise move, expelled the order from Spain.^[3] Its assets were then transferred to the English College in Valladolid, which had also been founded by Persons. This continued to function under the protection of the Spanish crown.

Alumni

Archbishop Patrick Fitzsimons STD, Irish Bishop, served as Archbishop of Dublin
Bishop Michael Fitzwalter, Irish Bishop who served as Auxiliary Bishop of Seville.

Other English Catholic Colleges

English College, Douai, a past Catholic seminary in Douai, France, closed in 1793
English College, Lisbon, a past Roman Catholic seminary in Lisbon, Portugal, closed in 1973
English College, Valladolid, a residence and training centre for the training of Catholic priests in Valladolid, Spain
English College, Rome, a Roman Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy

References

^ A Memoriall for the Reformation of England conteyning certayne notes and advertisements which seeme might be proposed in the first parliament and nationall councell of our country after God of his mercie shall restore it to the catholique faith [...]; gathered and set downe by R. P., 1596. Houliston, Victor. "Persons, Robert". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/21474. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Bergin, J. Smith, Richard (1567–1655), vicar apostolic of the English church. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 10 Dec. 2021 (subscription or membership of a UK public library required)
^ Martin Murphy, St Gregory's College, Seville 1592-1767, Catholic Record Society, 1992