BOYNTON BEACH  |  What do more than 650 priests have in common? They are all graduates of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. This year the seminary turns 60.

On hand for the celebration were numerous priests from around the state. At vespers Sept. 26, just before the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, Bishop John Noonan addressed those present, sharing a bit of the seminary’s history from its early days as part of the Diocese of St. Augustine.

It was Archbishop Joseph Hurley’s vision to establish a seminary for the burgeoning diocese in Florida. In 1955, he purchased more than 100 acres in what was then rural Boynton Beach, intended for a seminary. His dream came true in 1963 when then-Bishop Coleman Carroll, first bishop of Miami who was named archbishop in 1968, established the first Catholic theological seminary in the southeast, appointing the Vincentian fathers to its administration.

Today the seminary is the only fully bilingual seminary in the United States. It welcomes seminarians and lay students from the seven dioceses across Florida, as well as students from Georgia, the Carolinas and the Caribbean. Today St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary instructs 125 seminarians.

Staff Report, September 29, 2023