SEWARD – St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward (SGGS) has educated young men discerning a vocation to the Catholic priesthood for 23 years.
When the seminary began in 1998, the student body came from the Diocese of Lincoln. Over the years, other dioceses and religious orders have sent their candidates to St. Gregory the Great for undergraduate education and formation.
In those early days, one small room contained the entire library. There were no computers, electronic databases, online cataloging services or other forms of automation.
“To put it another way,” said librarian Dr. Terrence Nollen, “we were the little library on the prairie!”
However, humble beginnings did not limit possibilities. From the very beginning, Dr. Nollen said, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz realized that a strong academic college program necessitated having a fine library. During the first seminary expansion in 2000, thanks to the generous donations of several benefactors, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Library was built.
Staffed by a professional librarian and constructed on ideas from the American College and Research Library guidelines, SGGS soon had a beautiful library on campus.
However, Dr. Nollen pointed out, “a library is only as good as the collection.”
St. Hyacinth Seminary in Massachusetts closed in 1999. Having made inquiries, Bishop Bruskewitz and the seminary rector at the time, Father John Folda – now Bishop of Fargo, N.D. – authorized the purchase of 15,000 books from the St. Hyacinth Library. Four faculty members from SGGS made several trips to examine the collection and handpicked 15,000 books from the collection of nearly 60,000 books.
“The St. Hyacinth books are a remarkable collection and form the heart of our library,” Dr. Nollen said.
During the next 20 years, the cataloging of collection after collection took place at SGGS. As more electronic journals and databases became available, the seminary added these to the library resources. These electronic search engines allow students to access resources formerly restricted to major university libraries.
Today, the seminarians at SGGS have a rich mixture of books and electronic research tools to perform all types of reading and study. During the North Central Accreditation Review, SGGS gained a 10-year national accreditation, the highest review granted in the United States. In their comments on the seminary, the reviewing committee complimented the library and noted that it was an “institutional asset.”
“None of this would have been possible,” Dr. Nollen said, “without the support of Bishop Bruskewitz and his fine successor, Bishop Conley, together with the administration of SGGS.
“In its 23 years of operation,” he continued, “Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Library is likely the only library in Nebraska that has never had its budget cut.”
The rector of the seminary, Father Jeffrey Eickhoff purchased a replica of the beautiful, intricately decorated eighth-century Irish monastic “Book of Kells,” the Latin translation of the Four Gospels, while visiting Trinity College in Dublin. As good fortune would have it, Bishop Folda was with Father Eickhoff when the “Book of Kells” was purchased. That book became the 50,000th book in the collection at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Library Oct. 2 and the faculty, staff and seminarians marked the occasion with a celebration.
“Remarkable things can occur anytime and anywhere,” Dr. Nollen said. “Book by book and year by year that happened at seminary. Now, the Book of Kells, the 50,000th book at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Library blesses this effort. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!”
The annual Bishop’s Appeal for Vocations is underway in the Diocese of Lincoln. The collection supplies some of the cost of expenses for seminarians in their studies, training, and formation for the priesthood.
The 2019-2020 vocations budget is more than $1.5 million, 25% of the Diocese of Lincoln operating budget. The parish goal is $800,000, and further funds will be needed though the Catholic Foundation of Southern Nebraska seminary endowments and burses. Visit www.lincolndiocese.org/vocation/bishops-appeal-for-vocations for more information.
