St. Mary’s Spiritual Center and Historic Site

The Sulpician Fathers arrived in Baltimore in 1791 and settled at Paca Street to begin the first Roman Catholic seminary in the United States. The Sulpicians’ unique and successful ministry of priestly formation in France impressed Bishop John Carroll, and he invited them to come to his young diocese in the U.S. As a result, St. Mary’s College and Seminary was built.

Today, while St. Mary’s Seminary has moved to a larger campus in northeast Baltimore, the Spiritual Center on its original site remains a spiritual oasis in busy and hectic Baltimore. Lectures and programs on Christian spirituality and individual spiritual counseling are the heart of St. Mary’s Spiritual Center.

The seminary chapel, a national historic site, has been splendidly restored and a new visitors center has been built to introduce visitors to the Sulpicians’ rich history and  contribution to Catholicism in both the Archdiocese of Baltimore and Church in the United States of America.