About the Venerable English College

The Venerable English College prepares men for the Catholic priesthood.

The seminary was founded in 1579, as a place for preparing priests to serve on the "English Mission", but there has been an English presence on via di Monserrato since 1362, when the site was acquired by a confraternity of Englishmen living at Rome. The English Hospice, as it came to be known, offered a welcome to generations of pilgrims.

As well as seminarians and formation staff, there are also priests doing further studies living at the College. There are currently about thirty people who live and work at the seminary. Fr Stephen Wang, of the Archdiocese of Westminster, is the present Rector.

We welcome many people in the course of the year: groups and individuals can make pre-arranged visits for a tour of the College or simply turn up for one of our regular Masses or other advertised events.