Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 15, 2005. On August 8th, the newly completed facilities of the Maria Mater Ecclesiae Seminary were inaugurated with a solemn Mass presided over by Bishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, Apostolic Nuncio in Brazil.

In his welcoming address, Bishop Emilio Pignoli, bishop of Campo Limpo, recalled the history of this seminary, starting from when it was first called for by his Holiness Pope John Paul II in 1990. The Maria Mater Ecclesiae Pontifical College in Rome was founded in 1991, and from the first moment it received numerous Brazilian seminarians. In the year 1999, the Legionaries of Christ launched a new project to respond to the urgent need of forming priests in Brazil, as requested by his Holiness John Paul II and more than 30 Brazilian bishops, headed by the late Cardinal Lucas Moreira Neves.

That same year, the first 13 seminarians, who came from various dioceses throughout

	Bishop Emílio Pignoli, bishop of Campo Limpo, during the inauguration of the Maria Mater Ecclesiae Seminary.

Brazil, were received in one of the buildings of the Legion of Christ’s novitiate in the diocese of Aruja (Sao Paulo), thus marking the beginning of the Maria Mater Ecclesiae seminary. Now the seminary has its own facility, inaugurated August 15, 2005.

Those present at the inauguration ceremony included Fr. Alvaro Corcuera, LC, general director of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi; Bishop Emilio Pignoli, bishop of Campo Limpo, where the seminary is now located; Fr. Manuel Aromir, LC, territorial director for the Legionaries of Christ in Brazil; 20 bishops from various regions of Brazil; and 50 priests.

During his homily, Bishop Baldisseri said: “I am very happy to be here today for the inauguration of this seminary. As a priest, I am very grateful, and I find myself becoming more and more convinced and enthusiastic. This is bringing to mind wonderful memories from when I was a seminarian, as well as a great sense of serenity for having received a solid priestly formation so as to be able to face the challenges of this ministry.

“With special affection, I greet the priests of the Legionaries of Christ, who are the ones responsible for this important work which is becoming increasingly more solidified.”

Presently, the Mater Ecclesiae seminary in Brazil has 117 seminarians and is directed by 8 Legionary priests, who serve as formators and professors. The first deacons to be formed all the way through are expected to be ordained at the end of 2005.

Bishop Lorenzo Baldisseri wrote the following in the seminary’s guestbook:

Campo Limpo (SP) 8-VIII-2005

My congratulations to the superiors and seminarians of the Mater Ecclesiae Seminary on this day of its official inauguration, with my best wishes as you continue this great work of forming future priests, who will be the new evangelizers of Brazil and the whole world. I bring you the special blessing of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.

Lorenzo Baldisseri

Apostolic Nuncio in Brazil