Around the anniversary of the founding of the Colima Seminary, I had the honor of being invited to give a talk about this century-old institution, which has been responsible for the formation of hundreds of priests throughout its 180 years of existence.
It was precisely at the Cobano Seminary facilities that, on Thursday, May 7th, a historical overview was presented of the first priests and religious orders that arrived in our region. Who they were and what they did, their promoters, and the first rector were discussed, in addition to indicating the various locations where they operated.
A few years after the Spanish captain Gonzalo de Sandoval founded the old Villa de Colima in 1523, perhaps at the beginning of the following decade of that century, Don Francisco Morales, the first priest of whom we have record, arrived in the small town of Colima. He was sent from the Bishopric of Mexico, which was under the direction of Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the same friar who received Juan Diego with his tilma bearing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Years later, the Diocese of Michoacán was established, and this entire region of Colima and Jalisco came under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Bishop of Michoacán.
In 1554, the Franciscans began construction of the Convent of San Francisco de Almoloyan; the ruins of the old building can still be seen in that garden. The primary purpose of these priests was the care and protection of the indigenous people.
At the intersection of Independencia and Gildardo Gómez streets, the Convent and Hospital of San Juan de Dios operated for hundreds of years. Built by the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, it served all kinds of patients and was the only one of its kind in Colima and the surrounding area. A little further up Gildardo Gómez Street, between Torres Quintero and 16 de Septiembre, stood the Mercedarian convent, whose members arrived around 1608. Their purpose was to educate the local people and improve farming techniques. However, in the mid-19th century, Colima was invaded by hordes of Juárez supporters, who destroyed the hospital and the La Merced convent. The former hospital now houses a Masonic lodge, whose members are, of course, great admirers of Juárez.
At the end of the 18th century, Colima left the jurisdiction of the Bishopric of Michoacán and came under the authority of Guadalajara. Around the 1840s, Bishop Diego Aranda of Guadalajara suggested the construction of a seminary in Colima. Father José María Silva, parish priest of Tuxcacuesco, took up the matter. Having inherited a considerable fortune from his family, he stipulated in his will that the proceeds of his estate be used to build the Colima Seminary. For this purpose, Father Silva appointed Don Luis Michel, chaplain of San Francisco de Almoloyan, as executor.
The Colima Seminary began operating as an Auxiliary Seminary of Guadalajara in May 1846, 180 years ago. Its first rector was Father José Antonio González Tinajero, who came from Ejutla and had a bucolic surname. They started with about twenty students in a house located in what is now Villa de Álvarez. A year later, an earthquake destroyed the house.
Activities resumed in 1849, now here in Colima, in their own building located on the east side of the Núñez Garden; but a few years later, the Juárez regime’s bandits seized it. So the seminarians met wherever they could.
Providence never fails to intervene. A benefactor named Tomás Solórzano donated a centrally located property for the seminary, situated between Guerrero and 27 de Septiembre streets—the current site of the Torres Quintero school. It remained there from 1868 until 1914, when the Carrancistas seized it. Such were the Carrancistas, thieves like their leader. The building was briefly returned, but in 1925 it was permanently vacated.
From that year onward, the seminarians wandered from place to place, both within and outside the state, and even outside the country. During the time Father Enrique Ochoa—the one who built Maria Auxiliadora—was rector, the land where the minor seminarians are now located, on Regalados Street, was acquired.
When Father José Verduzco was rector of the seminary in 1953, he proposed to Don Nacho de Alba the construction of a seminary outside the city limits. For this reason, the current location in Cobano was sought and found. Mr. de Alba laid the cornerstone on December 21, 1958. The work, like that of old cathedrals, has been protracted. It is still not entirely finished. However, since 1970, several modules of the different buildings have been operational.
Thus, amidst so many vicissitudes and upheavals of different eras and political currents that our country has experienced, the Colima Seminary is proud of its perseverance and its 180 years of fruitful work.
Source: colimanoticias
