Derived from the Latin word seminarium, meaning “seed-plot”, a seminary is an institution where men discerning a vocation to the Catholic priesthood live, study, pray and receive their formation. Future priests are prepared academically, spiritually and pastorally before beginning their ministry in the Catholic Church. The Seminary of the Good Shepherd is Sydney’s seminary, located in Homebush and serving men preparing for priesthood in New South Wales and beyond.
Yet the seminary is more than a place of study and formation. It is also a community with its own history, memories, people and stories. After visiting the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, I began to see this history as a fascinating opportunity for a public-history project.
The Seminary of the Good Shepherd has been located in Homebush since 1996, but its history reaches much further back. Before moving to Homebush, Sydney’s seminarians were formed at St Patrick’s Seminary in Manly. The imposing sandstone building overlooking Manly Beach can still be seen today, although it now serves a very different purpose. My project will focus specifically on the history of the seminary in Homebush from its beginnings in the 1990s to the present, as much has already been written about St Patrick’s Seminary.
When I first met the Rector, Rev. Fr Michael de Stoop, he gave me a tour of the Homebush seminary and the opportunity to look inside its small archive room. I was unsure what to expect, but among the material were journals dating back to the 1940s, including photographs from the former Manly seminary, as well as albums documenting the Homebush seminary from its establishment in 1996 to the present. There was also a register containing the names of seminarians who have studied at the institution. While looking through it, we even identified information that could potentially be updated.
Nevertheless, while photographs can show us what the seminary looked like and who was there, and registers can tell us who passed through the institution, these sources cannot necessarily tell us what it actually felt like to live there.
For that, we need memories and stories.
As part of the project, I will interview people who either studied or held significant posts at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd from its early years to the present. Their recollections will help explore what life was like within the seminary community and how the institution developed. These memories can then be considered alongside the archival material, allowing different forms of historical evidence to work together.
The timing is particularly appropriate, as the Seminary of the Good Shepherd will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. This provides an opportunity to look back at how the institution has developed and the people who have contributed to its history.
My final project will build upon the seminary’s existing “History” webpage for their website (https://sgs.org.au/) by bringing together photographs, archival material, oral histories and academic literature. Rather than simply producing a timeline, I hope it can give viewers a better understanding of how the formation of future Catholic priests has changed over time in New South Wales.