THE NEW AESTHETICS OF THE REDEMPTORIS MATER SEMINARY

A new seminary concept

"Second millennium! We need new priests, and here you have a seminary with a new aesthetic. Here it is not about any luxury, quite the opposite! We want a fundamental pedagogical thing in these seminaries: that these priests feel loved by God. We have seen the evil that causes man to be treated like a dog: then he bites, he bites! And we have many people like that, because today the family is torn apart and our young people carry very deep wounds because their parents are separated. We must make them understand that in this seminary we want to give them the best we have: beauty, love, so that, feeling loved, they can love everyone. This is the spirit that exists here in these Redemptoris Mater Seminaries... The whole world is in our hearts, in the heart of every Christian, because we have received the very spirit of Christ, the spirit of Jesus."

Kiko Argüello, Co-initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way. Inauguration of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Macerata, January 16, 2000.

"In this Seminary we would like to give an aesthetic, a love, an idea of what the Way does for all of us, which is to love each other: to love! The thing that should be at the center of this seminary, of the seminarians, of the catechists, of all of us! God is close to us, he loves us, he is with us and he sends us to evangelize!"

Kiko Argüello, Co-initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way. Inauguration of the Aula Magna of the Redemptoris Mater seminary of Macerata June 29, 2021.

GET TO KNOW OUR SEMINARY

Chapel

Library

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Sanctuary of the Word

Dining room

The Chapel: the liturgical assembly as a community

"Holy Mother Church ardently desires that all the faithful be led to that full, conscious, and active participation in the liturgical celebrations which is required by the nature of the Liturgy itself."

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council "Sacrosantum Concilium"

The first "lung" of the seminary, the chapel is the place where the Eucharist is celebrated daily in a beautiful setting that inspires giving thanks for the marvelous work of Redemption. The liturgical assembly reflects the ecclesiology of Saint Paul recovered by the Second Vatican Council: the Church as the body of Christ. With the priest, figure Christi, as head, after hearing the Word of God proclaimed from his mouth, the ambo, the members of the community gathered around the Eucharistic table celebrate the wedding banquet of the Lamb who has made us with his blood pass from death to eternal life.

Shrine of the Word: form a relationship with Scripture

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!" - St Geronimo

Together with the chapel, the Sanctuary of the Word is the second "lung" of the seminary: it is the place where we enter into conversation with the Lord through His Word. All the aesthetics of this environment – the texture of the walls, the lamps, the stained glass windows, the chairs, etc. – is a catechesis on the Word of God and its fundamental role in the life of the Christian. Here the seminarians learn to grow in their intimacy with God to become priests who are "men of the Word", so that the Word, read, heard, contemplated, becomes flesh in their lives.

Library: Study as a means of sanctification and service

"La fede e la ragione sono come le due ali con le quali lo spirito

umano s'innalza verso la contemplazione della verità." - Saint John Paul II

It is the place of study for seminarians. Along with their spiritual and human maturation, a fundamental part of the formation of these seminarians to the priesthood is their academic studies. Part of the duties of the priest is to know the sound doctrine to be able to lead the people of God well. Here too, the beauty and dignity of the environment motivate the seminarians to put effort into their studies to give back to the parishioners what they have received.

Dining Room: build relationships with the community

"Among the pots walks the Lord" - Saint Teresa of Jesus

In the dining room we share not only food but also our spirit: it is not only a place to fill our stomachs, but also a place to commune with our brothers and sisters and where we learn to relate as children of the One Father. Round tables facilitate conversation and fellowship. The dining room is a place designed with great beauty, to reflect the dignity that God wishes to give to his children and to remind us that we are called to be saints in every aspect of our daily lives.