HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE SEMINARY

In the last quarter of the 20th century, it was noted that there was an increase in the vocation to the priesthood in the then Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province of Nigeria. Accordingly, the concern for a qualitative formation of seminarians motivated the bishops of the then Ecclesiastical Province of Onitsha to build a new seminary to decongest the already overpopulated existing ones: Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu and St Joseph’s Major Seminary, Ikot-Ekpene. Providence made this dream come true for the bishops of the then Ecclesiastical Province of Onitsha when the news of the approval of a new seminary was announced in the year 1982. The bishops deemed it necessary to cite the new seminary at Owerri, the capital city of Imo State. Welcoming this news, the then local ordinary of Owerri diocese, Most Rev. Mark Unegbu provided a temporary place for the Seat of Wisdom Seminary at 160 Wetheral Road, Owerri, near the Pastoral Center.

The Initial Take-off

On the 15th day of November 1985, with Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Theophilius Ibegbulam Okere as the Rector, the new seminary functionally took off. The other priests who constituted the community of formators at the inception of the seminary included: Rev. Fr Dr Clement Nginikanwa Obielu (Academic Dean in the Department of Philosophy), Rev. Fr. Dr. Frederick Nnabuife (Bursar) and Rev. Fr. Dominic Okafor (Spiritual Director). On the shoulders of these four priests on the staff at the beginning were laid the responsibility of the formation of 102 pioneer philosophy seminarians.

MOVING TO TH PERMANENT SITE

A few years later, the combined efforts of the bishop-proprietors, priest-formators, seminarians, clergy and laity materialized into getting the permanent site ready. It is with immense thanks to God that the movement from the temporary at 160 Wetheral Road to the permanent sites at Ulakwo-Obube (off Aba Road) saw the light of day in October 1989. The official opening of the new site took place on January 6th 1990. The permanent site of the Seat of Wisdom Seminary is registered under the Land Perpetual Succession Act Cap. 98 of the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Since the establishment of Seat of Wisdom Seminary, the seminary has maintained a good relationship not only with the parishes around it but also with the villagers where the seminary is situated. 

The Seat of Wisdom Seminary admits seminarians mainly from dioceses and religious congregations. The current population of seminarians at the time of this documentation (March 2024) is at 457, while the resident priest-formators are 19. There are also 21 part-time lecturers whose duty in the seminary is mainly academic. In 1993 the seminary witnessed the ordination of her first set of priests and since then more than 800 priests have been ordained. These priests participate in the realization of the missionary vision of the church both locally and internationally. 

PAST RECTORS OF SEAT OF WISDOM SEMINARY

The Seat of Wisdom Seminary has had five rectors since its inception. These rectors have, in many ways than one, contributed immensely towards the overall wellbeing of the seminary. They include the following:

Monsignor Theophilus Okere             1985 – 1992.

Monsignor Clement Obielu                1992 – 2003.

Very Rev. Fr. Dr. John Iwe                    2003 – 2012.

Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Jude Njoke                2012 – 2021.

CURRENT RECTOR OF THE SEMINARY

Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Cajetan Ehiem         2021 – till date 

THE FOUR PILLARS OF THE SEMINARY FORMATION

The first aim of the seminary is to train suitable, good, and holy priests for the universal and local churches. The seminary does not operate on a one-dimensional outlook. She prepares her candidates to embrace the four pillars of formation with the aim of producing useful and balanced candidates. These four pillars are briefly discussed.

Human Formation

The whole work of priestly formation would be deprived of its necessary foundation if it lacked a suitable human formation as Pope John Paul II noted in his Pastores Dabo Vobis no. 43. To candidate for the priesthood must be a human being and not a robot, and so be open to formation. The human aspect of formation focuses on the development of the candidate’s personality: The goal is that he may become a man of communion, responsible for his personal hygiene, physical fitness, and be culturally well adjusted. To measure the progress attained within this aspect of formation, the seminary has sets of rules and regulations under which the dispositions of seminarians are evaluated.

Spiritual Formation

St. Augustine was right when he said that our hearts are restless until the rests in the Lord. As men who will stand in the name of Christ at the table of sacrifice while acting as mediators between humanity and divinity, the priests-to-be must therefore be trained in spiritual matters, ready to serve God and dedicated to evangelization for their own salvation and those of their fellow men.  The Seat of Wisdom Seminary’s daily regulation makes provision for common prayers, at four different times every day: at Lauds, Sext, Vespers, and Compline in addition to the Daily Mass, Weekly  One Hour Adorations of Jesus Christ in the tabernacle, Weekly Spiritual Conference, Monthly Recollections, the common Rosary Prayers in the months of May and October, group devotions to saints, and moments of private reflections. There are priest-formators who serve as Spiritual directors and provisions are also made every week for external confessors who provide opportunities for reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the seminarians. In this aspect of the seminary formation, the uniqueness of the Seat of Wisdom Seminary is such that in addition to the Main Chapel, which unites the whole Wisdom family as a community of prayer during the midday prayers, solemn vespers and dominical Eucharistic celebrations, there are also chapels for each of the three hostels: the Mayer Hostel Chapel, the Wetter Hostel Chapel and the Tomko Hostel Chapel. This makes for a decentralization of spiritual activities and aids the auto-formation tradition which every seminarian is supposed to embrace as part and parcel of the necessary personal spiritual development required of the future priest. 

Intellectual Formation

The intellectual formation in Seat of Wisdom Seminary is designed to help seminarians synthesize reason (philosophical studies) and faith (theological studies). To ensure that ecclesial and national educational standards are maintained, the two departments of philosophy and theology at the Seat of Wisdom Seminary are affiliated to both Pontifical and local universities. The Department of Philosophy had been affiliated to the Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome in the year 1989 and the pioneer seminarians had sat for their first-degree examination in philosophy in June, 1990. In turn, the Department of Theology was later affiliated to the Pontifical Urbaniana University in 1993. Similarly, additional affiliations in a bid to adapt to local needs and culture were made to the Imo State University, Owerri (IMSU) in two departments namely philosophy and religious studies in 1998. The first group of student-affiliates to IMSU had their matriculation on the 22nd day of November 1999.

The internal regulation of academic life and intellectual formation in the Seat of Wisdom Seminary places a premium on academic discipline, intellectual honesty, respect for culture, historical consciousness, and openness to dialogical communion. To this effect, every seminarian is expected to be present and punctual lectures from Monday through Friday, every week. The seminary has equally drawn rules that promote honesty in research as well as guarantees a zero tolerance for examination malpractice. This aspect of the seminary formation helps the candidate to be better equipped to meet the changes and chances in the evolving world and times. 

Pastoral Formation

The pastoral dimension imbued in the training of seminarians has its source in the total consecration to Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd who pastured the sheep entrusted to Him by His Father. A priest as a pastor, shares in this mission of supporting and guiding the Christian community entrusted to his care. Central to this pastoral formation is service, dedication exercised in sincerity, charity, and strength. To realize this, the seminary makes sure that seminarians live and work for the common good of one and all. Pastoral sensitivity and responsibility are so stressed so that the future priest may work to draw men closer to God through selflessness, sacrifices, dedication to duty not in mere words, but through concrete actions. This aspect of formation helps the seminarians to be empathetic, sympathetic, and sensitive to the plight of the people and to wake up to the demanding responsibilities of a proper pastor after the mind and heart of Christ.