Welcome to the website of the

Grand Seminary Saint Thomas Aquinas Philosophicum of Kabgayi

Brief history

The Grand Seminary Saint Thomas Aquinas-Philosophicum of Kabgayi opened its doors on 04/11/1989 with an enrollment of 120 seminarians. It is under the authority of the Episcopal Conference of Rwanda.

The genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi in 1994, which shook Rwanda, did not spare it. It led to its closure, following massive destruction of human lives and infrastructure. After the genocide, this institution was temporarily housed at Nyakibanda (from 1994 to 1998). Its reopening at Kabgayi took place on 30 October 1998.

The Bishops of Rwanda, at their ordinary session from 6 to 9 September 2011, subscribed to the Decree on the Reform of the Teaching of Philosophy in Ecclesiastical Institutes, extending the Philosophy cycle from two to three years.

Since 17 January 2015, the Grand Seminary of Kabgayi has been affiliated with the Faculty of Philosophy of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. As a result of this affiliation, it has awarded degrees in the canonical Baccalaureate in Philosophy since 30 October 2016.

Discover the seminary

The entire Philosophicum community gathered with the Cardinal and Bishops

View of the Grand Seminary of Kabgayi campus

Rear view of the Grand Seminary of Kabgayi campus

Portrait of the Rector, Abbé Claudien Muyimana

Rector's welcome

Praised be the Holy Trinity, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Source of Wisdom!

Welcome to the website of the Grand Seminary Saint Thomas Aquinas-Philosophicum of Kabgayi.

Dear readers, this website aims to share life at the Philosophicum of Kabgayi. It will serve as a means of communication and as an important instrument in the intellectual formation of student-philosophers.

On this website you will find the main activities of the Grand Seminary following the four dimensions of priestly formation: human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral. The Aréopage journal and the Saint Thomas Aquinas Circle also have a special place.

We entrust you to the maternal kindness of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Kibeho, and to the intercession of Saint Thomas Aquinas, our Patron.

May God bless you!

Abbé Claudien Muyimana, Rector

General presentation

The Grand Seminary Saint Thomas Aquinas-Philosophicum of Kabgayi is an interdiocesan major seminary hosting only the Philosophy cycle in the formation of future priests. Like other interdiocesan major seminaries of Rwanda, it is under the jurisdiction of the Episcopal Conference of Rwanda (C.E.P.R) and under the authority of the Dicastery for the Clergy and the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Geographically, this institution is located in the district of Muhanga, Southern Province, 55 kilometres south-west of Kigali, more precisely in the cathedral parish of Kabgayi, Diocese of Kabgayi.

« By definition, the Seminary prepares future priests for their apostolate, their activity, their state of life as priests in the midst of and at the service of the People of God. It must therefore be the setting where this noble vocation is discerned and consolidated, sought and affirmed, deepened. It is the place of the search for God, the desert where the thirst to know, love and serve Him becomes authentic. It is also an opportunity to measure oneself against one's own limits in order to feel and appreciate the divine help that corrects and strengthens. All the activities of the Seminary are therefore oriented toward this goal: to help the young men who enter to develop their personality, maturity, spirituality, intelligence and know-how so as to make them fit and motivated to work in the Lord's Vineyard as Christ Himself, Master who teaches, Priest who sanctifies and Shepherd who guides and gives His life. »

Mass concelebrated by the Cardinal and Bishops at the Grand Seminary of Kabgayi

Vision

To form priests, true shepherds of souls, in the example of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Master, Priest and Shepherd.

Missions

To ensure serious and effective integral formation (human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral) of major seminarians admitted to the Philosophicum of Kabgayi.

Values

Faith in the one and triune God, Source of wisdom
Promote the complementarity between faith and reason
Fidelity to the Roman Catholic Church
Passionately seek and live in truth

Objectives

To offer formation that helps the seminarian develop his personality, having Christ, the perfect man, as model and principle (cf. Pastores dabo vobis, n. 93).

Dimensions of formation

Following the four dimensions of priestly formation (human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral), the Philosophicum of Kabgayi accompanies each seminarian on the path to the priesthood.