The Papal Seminary, Pune, celebrates its centenary year in 1993. The history of the Seminary goes back to the year 1893 when Pope Leo; KIH, with farsighted vision, aspired to establish a Seminary to train indigenous priests in India. It was opened in Kandy in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in May 1893. In, 1955 the Seminary was moved to Pune in India.
The Papal Seminary is an all-India institution, catering to students from various parts of the country, with their different cultures and languages. The Pontifical Athenaeum, today known as “Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth”, attached to the Papal Seminary has, in the course of its long history, trained some 5560 priests and religious. In 1968 it opened its doors to men and woman of different faiths. The Papal Seminary has the distinction of having given our country its first two Indian Cardinals (in Bombay and Ernakulam) and some 65 Bishops or Church leaders. The Papal Seminary is run by the Jesuit Order, which is famous all over the world for its educational institutions.
For a better service of our- countrymen and woman, the Seminary’s over-all programme embraces spiritual, intellectual and cultural training. The academic courses go from undergraduate to doctorate levels in Philosophy and Theology. The syllabus offers a wide variety of courses on Indian subjects, such as the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-gita, the Darshanas, Vedanta, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Jainsim, Buddhism, Islam, Modem Hinduism and Modern Indian Thought. Much emphasis is laid also on Indian spirituality, inter-religious dialogue and integration as well as social involvement.
The Centenary of the Papal Seminary is a significant event for both the Church and our country because, over the years, our students have reached out, in all India’s States, to thousands of our countrymen and worn an through involvement in the work for justice and uplift of the poor, for peace, dialogue and national integration - both religious and cultural - in order to help build a new and better India tomorrow. Indeed the Centenary Theme of the Papal Seminary, depicted in the form of a mandala design is : Sarva-jiva-sukham: sarva-dharma sakhyam - the happiness of all living beings and friendship among all religions. This design appears on the First-Day cover being issued.
The Department of Posts has been issuing commemorative and postage stamps from time to time to mark the centenary of institutions which have contributed greatly to the country’s upliftment, education and progress. The Department is happy to continue this tradition with a commemorative postage stamp on the Centenary of Papal Seminary, Pune.
Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India