Heythrop College, in London, has reopened its ecclesiastical
faculties of Philosophy and Theology after receiving copies of decrees
of the Congregation for Catholic Education.
The ecclesiastical faculties were first approved almost 50 years ago
in November 1964 when the college was located near Chipping Norton in
Oxfordshire.
On joining the University of London in 1970, the college
focussed on the award of university degrees rather than on teaching for
ecclesiastical programmes and the ecclesiastical faculties have since
then been suspended.
Since the 1920s, Heythrop has been dedicated to St Robert Bellarmine,
the sixteenth century Italian Jesuit, Cardinal and Doctor of the
Church. The ecclesiastical faculties together form a specialist
institute of the college known as the Bellarmine Institute. The decrees
were signed on St Robert Bellarmine’s feast day on September 17.
In recent times the college offered Jesuit scholastics, seminarians
and members of other religious congregations studying for the
priesthood, the opportunity to prepare for an ecclesiastical bachelors
degree in conjunction with the University of London Bachelor of Divinity
programme. Success with this initiative led the college to investigate
how it might be extended.
Now the faculties have been revived, students will be able to study
for ecclesiastical bachelors , licentiate and for doctoral degrees in
Theology and Philosophy in conjunction with degrees of the University of
London. A ceremony to mark the re-opening of the faculties will take
place in January 2014.
Archbishop Nichols, the patron of the Bellarmine Institute and
Visitor of Heythrop College, University of London said: “I am delighted
that Heythrop College will once again be offering the full range of
ecclesiastical qualifications alongside its existing University of
London degrees. This development will give new opportunities to those
training for the priesthood and those already in ministry to study for
ecclesiastical licentiate and doctoral degrees in philosophy and
theology.”