Collegium Russicum
The Collegium Russicum is a Catholic college in Rome dedicated to studies of the culture and spirituality of Russia.
It is located near the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, separated from the Pontifical Oriental Institute by the Church of Saint Anthony, and is known informally as the Russicum.
It was founded on August 15, 1929, by Pope Pius XI, who was touched by the large flow of immigrants from Bolshevik Russia and the persecution of Christianity in that country. The money for the college building and its reconstruction was taken from an aggregate of charity donations from faithful all over the world on the occasion of the canonization of St. Thérèse de Lisieux, placing the Russicum under her patronage.
The Collegium Russicum is run by the Society of Jesus and provides education and accommodation for Catholic and Orthodox students.Rectors
1. Vendelín Javorka, S.J., Slovak
2. Philippe de Régis, S.J., French
3. Francisco Echarri, S.J., Spanish-Basque, Vice-Rector
4. Philippe de Régis, S.J., French
5. Andrej-Gustav Wetter, S.J., Austrian
6. Bohumíl-Feofil Horáček, S.J., Czech
7. Josef Olšar, S.J., Czech
8. Paul Mailleux, S.J., Belgian
9. Gino-Kirill Piovesan, S.J., Italian
10. Josef Macha, S.J., German
11. John Long, S.J., American
12. Richard Čemus, S.J., Czech
13. Alojzij Cvikl, S.J., Slovene
14. Lionginas Virbalas, S.J., Lithuanian
15. Anto Lozuk, S.J., Croat
16. Peter Dufka, S.J., Slovak, Vice-Rector
17. Tomás García-Huidobro Rivas, S.J., Chilean
Notable Alumni
- Walter Ciszek, S.J. — American priest of the Russian Greek Catholic Church, GULAG survivor, author of With God in Russia.
- Ján Kellner — Slovak priest, missionary to USSR, executed in Kiev in 1941.
- Pietro Leoni — Italian priest of the Russian Greek Catholic Church, survivor of the GULAG, author of Spio dei Vaticano.
- Blessed Theodore Romzha — Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church Bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve, martyr under Joseph Stalin.
- Egon Sendler, S.J. — French priest.
Written references
- Russicum: Pioneers and Witnesses of the Struggle for Christian Unity in Eastern Europe The Catholic Historical Review - Volume 93, Number 3, July 2007, pp. 694–696
