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Divine Word Seminary opens in Perrsyburg, Ohio

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During a visit to North America in 1949 the SVD Superior General suggested that the US Western Province, which extended from Ohio to the Pacific Northwest, should open new high school seminaries in hopes of increasing vocations. Europe had been ravaged by World War II, and the worldwide Society of the Divine Word had become quite dependent on American money and manpower to keep itself going. After five years without any movement on the topic, a letter was sent from Rome. Techny was pressed into action.

Based on an increasing Catholic population around Toledo, OH, the province began its search there. On December 15, 1954, the Bishop of Toledo wrote a letter granting formal permission to the Society to open a preparatory seminary in the Diocese of Toledo in the vicinity of Grand Rapids, Ohio. In early 1955 the SVDs had located a property south of Toledo near the community of Perrysburg, which was purchased in June of that year.

Brother Richard Krick SVD was sent to Perrysburg in early 1956 to supervise the preparation of the building so that school could begin in September. The old stone house on the property, after some remodeling, would serve as the priests’ residence and provide dining space for 25 priests, Brothers and students. In early August, Rev. Emil Lesage SVD arrived as the first rector of Perrysburg. Rev. Frederick Rudolph SVD, the newly appointed prefect, arrived in August to prepare for the pioneer class of seminarians. 

The seminary was dedicated to St. Peter, but by this time the SVDs no longer referred to their seminaries by the names of dedicatees but rather by the term “Divine Word Seminary” and the place, in this case Perryburg. 

The first students arrived in September, quickly adapting to life as minor seminarians. No sooner had this first class become comfortable in their surroundings when the planning shifted in order to accommodate another 40 young men when the next class arrived in September 1957.

On December 24, 1958, Rome granted permission to build a new permanent seminary building. The dedication of the completed structures was held on May 28, 1961. From its opening in 1956 and for the balance of its first decade of existence, the student body grew, reaching a peak of 170 in 1965. The largest graduation class was 29 in 1966. For six years in the mid-1970s and into the early 1980s, a summer camp was conducted for eight weeks, with 290 children in attendance each week.

As candidates for a religious order with far-flung missions, the students were members of the “Catholic Students’ Mission Crusade,” and each student belonged to a mission study club. Missionaries returning to the United States would frequently visit and talk about the work of the missions and describe the cultures and living conditions.

A dramatic decline in numbers began in 1968 when a 30 percent drop in enrollment was experienced. A program that sent students to a local Catholic high school replaced the self-contained seminary program in 1981, and over the following five years there was a steady decline in enrollments. Divine Word Seminary at Perrysburg closed in June 1986 at the conclusion of its 30th year of educating young men for the priesthood. The seminary property was sold in July 1993 and the buildings were later razed to make way for a residential development.


The text of this page is an adapted version of Communities of the Word, "The Perrysburg Story" by Mr. George Irish.
 

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