It was on July 23, 1924, exactly 100 years ago, that the seminary was opened for the Vicariate of Southern Nigeria in Igbariam with the name St. Paul’s Seminary.
The Igbariam seminary began with six junior seminarians (namely, Charles Nweze, William Obelagu, John Aghanti, Simon Okoye, Frederick Anughere, and William Hinzpeter) and three students studying philosophy, viz., John Cross Anyogu, Charles O’Donoghue (Irish), and Patrick Doyle (Irish). The entire seminary began with only one formator, teacher, and lecturer, William O’Donnel.
It should be recalled that the plan to open a seminary in the region was already concluded by Fr. Alexander Lejeune in 1904, but its actualization was prevented by his untimely death in 1905, at the age of 44.
Fr. Joseph Shanahan, his successor, temporarily suspended the idea. In his mind, it was not yet time to begin the training of natives for the priesthood. To make up for the lack of priests, Shanahan increased the number of local catechists and imported more Irish priests.
The eventual opening of the seminary in 1924 by Bishop Joseph Shanahan was not unconnected with the epoch-making encyclopedia of Pope Benedict XV, Maximum Illud (1919), in which the pope strongly advised missionaries on the need and urgency of establishing indigenous clergy in mission lands without delay.
Despite the delay, the seminary was opened without serious plans: the environment was unsuitable for learning or formation; there were no good structures on the ground; the teaching staff was insufficient—only one teacher for the entire seminary. Thus, seminarians were both students and teachers to themselves.
However, the Igbariam seminary remains the mother of virtually all the junior and senior seminaries in the Vicariate of Southern Nigeria and Cameroon, which have produced cardinals, bishops, priests, and professionals.
C. Donoghue, one of the pioneer seminarians, said that Igbariam Seminary was neither “beautiful to look at nor comfortable to live in.”
In 1928, Igbariam Seminary was moved to Onitsha. In 1934, a senior seminary was opened at Eke to separate it from the junior. The senior seminary was later transferred to Enugu in 1939. In 1942, it was transferred to Okpala. In 1951, it was moved to Enugu, where it has remained as the Bigard Memorial Seminary.
It was named Bigard in order to immortalize the two French women, mother and daughter, Stephanie and Jeanne Bigard, who were the foundresses of the Opus Sancti Petri Apostoli society that funded the building of the seminary.
Fada Angelo Chidi Unegbu
