HISTORICAL

In 1873 Father Theodoro Esch, coadjutor of the Mother Church, on behalf of the German Catholic community in Petrópolis asked the Municipal Council to be granted a plot of land for the construction of a church. With the approval of the Emperor D. Pedro the Second, the land of the old cemetery was eventually granted to the cathedral. Soon after that, a church was built devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and next to it were also built a school and the priest’s residence. When Father Esch returned to Germany, Monsignor Guidi, parish priest of the Saint Peter of Alcantara church, took over the pastoral care of the “Sacred Heart of Jesus chapel” at the week ends. With the arrival in the south of Brazil of the first German Franciscans from the “Restoration” in 1891, Monsignor Guidi began negotiations to ensure that the Franciscans would become responsible for the pastoral care of the German Catholics of Petropolis. In November 1896, the first six Franciscan “clergymen” arrived in Petropolis, coming from Bahia. After this the building of the convent began and later a school for poor children and a printing-house - Editora Vozes - were also established.

Several of the friars who arrived in Petropolis in 1896 had not completed their religious education. Thus, at the still unfinished Sacred Heart convent various courses (“Humanities” in 1896/1897, Rhetoric and Philosophy in 1898 and Theology in 1899) were administered. This was the beginning of a long and fruitful history. This small group of students was giving origin to what would be known up to our days as the Franciscan Theological Institute.

During its more than a hundred years of existence, the Institute graduated practically all the priests of the Province of the Immaculate Conception in Brazil. Moreover, priests from other Franciscan Provinces in Brazil or abroad, secular priests, religious men and women from other institutes and religious congregations all attended classes at the Franciscan Theological Institute. As the years went by, the facilities of the Sacred were adapted and it was necessary to build new premises in order to house the growing number of students. In the last decades, laymen and laywomen also were accepted as students at the Institute.

Tradition
Throughout its centenary history, the Franciscan Theological Institute, through its ex-alumni and teachers, has had a marked presence in the Brazilian Church and in Brazilian society as a whole: in the liturgical inspiration, in human development, in the development of leaders, in ecclesial assistance, in cultural production and its diffusion through the press, the radio and television. Entire generations of pastoral agents, missionaries of both genders, lay brothers and priests, as well as bishops chosen to run dioceses throughout Brazil, received at the FTI’s benches, their academic and pastoral education. Among others, we can mention the Cardinal and Honourable Archbishop of São Paulo, Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns, who was a student and later became a teacher at the FTI. These prelates’ actions within Brazilian society and towards the People of God are evidence of the high academic standards always sought by the Franciscan Theological Institute of Petropolis. Many of these bishops have, in addition to their mission as shepherds of the faithful under their care, played a very important role in the promotion of dignity and civil rights and in the defense of the human beings’ most fundamental rights.

The Franciscan Theological Institute has also left its mark in the Brazilian Universities. Several of its ex-alumni have sought specialization in Universities abroad and later held or are still holding important teaching positions in our Universities.

New premises
Since the second half of the 20th century we felt the need to find new premises for the work of the Institute. Finally, in 1992, after much research, the sponsor bought Saint Vincent College, at 550 Rua Coronel Veiga, from the Premonstratensian canons. Once the acquisition was completed, the works to adapt and improve the premises and also to build a large and modern library began. A new stage in the history of the Franciscan Theological Institute was about to begin. The move to the new premises happened in 2001. At the same time we began the negotiations that led to the officialization of the Theology studies by the Brazilian Ministry of Education and Culture. On the 30th September 2000 we applied for the necessary credentials and the authorization to offer the courses for the Baccalaureate in Theology.

Authorization for the Theology course
On 27th March 2002, by government directive nº 933 (published in the Diário Oficial of 28/03/02) the Minister of Education, Paulo Renato Souza, furnished the Franciscan Theological Institute with the appropriate credentials. On the same day, by government directive nº 934 (Diário Oficial of 28/03/02) the Minister authorized the Institute to offer the course of Theology. On the 28th March the public notice of the Selective Process was published. The first Selective Process was held on the 16th and 17th April and the first academic year of the Faculty of Theology had its official beginning on 22nd April 2002.

Between the 29th of September and 1st October 2005 the FTI received the official visit of appraisers from the Ministry of Education regarding the official recognition of the Theology course. The FTI was able to satisfy all the conditions established by the appraisers. The result of this visit was the government directive nº 965 of 28/04/2006, published in the Diário Oficial on 02/05/06.

Affiliation to the Pontificia Universidade Antonianum (PUA) in Rome, Italy
Another remarkable event in these years of the FTI’s recent history was its affiliation to the Pontificia Universidade Antonianum in Rome. After a period of negotiations that included a visit by the relevant authorities from that institution to the FTI’s headquarters, the latter was declared affiliated to the PUA by Protocol nº 89/2006, Convention of 14/03/2006. Through this affiliation the students who sit for the Baccalaureate examinations before the Antonianum representative have their title recognized by that University. At the end of the 2007 academic year, seven 4th year students sat for the Antonianum Baccalaureate examinations. This was the first class to have its title recognized both by the Brazilian Ministry of Education and by the Pontificia Universidade Antonianum.

New courses
In January 2005 the first group of students began the Lato Sensu post-graduation course in “Spirituality, Ecology and Education: An Interdisciplinary Approach”. These students concluded their studies in January 2007 and in January 2008 a new group of students began the same course.

During 2006 the first steps were taken to start a new post-graduation course at the FTI. After much thought it was decided that the Institute should give a further education course on Evangelization in partnership with the Antonianum. In 2007 the FTI submitted the request to the PUA’s Academic Senate and the necessary authorization was given at the end of that same year. On the 2nd March 2009, the Institute began its Master in Evangelization: contemporary scenarios and Franciscan perspective, with 15 students, 9 from various parts of Brazil and 6 from several other Latin American countries: 2 from Peru, 1 from Colombia, 1 from Bolivia, 1 from Mexico and 1 from Ecuador. The course is part of a wider project the objective of which is to open a second level Master course on Evangelization at the FTI. The course is open to students from all Latin American countries and the title is awarded by the Antonianum.

Besides these courses, the FTI holds courses on the various areas of Theology that are open to laypeople and are held in the evenings on week days. On the other hand, the Institute is seeking to strengthen its ties with other similar institutions not only in Petropolis but also in Rio de Janeiro and in other parts of the country.

The FTI library
In addition to the excellent facilities of its headquarters the FTI counts on a teaching staff with the highest academic standards. Both the teachers and the students can enjoy one the institution’s most valuable possessions: its library. One of the main reasons that led the Provincia da Imaculada to acquire a new plot of land for the FTI was the need for a more suitable area to house the huge bibliographic collection that accumulated during the hundred years of the Institute’s history. Thus, in the new headquarters, the building of the library deserved our special attention. The FTI’s library is one of the best of its kind in Latin America and at present holds more than one hundred thousand books and approximately 980 titles of different periodicals, many of which have been bound for decades.

Future prospects
From what was said above we can say that the FTI continues to be loyal to the huge and rich patrimony built in these more than a hundred years of history, always trying to offer to its students the highest standards of academic education. At the same time, aware of the demands and challenges that are being posited by the historical period in which we live, teachers and heads of the FTI realize that they must seek new, creative and current ways to respond to these demands. The constant search for excellence in the teaching of Theology, the opening of new courses, and an attempt to establish a dialogue with the various sectors of society are some of the tools that will help us to achieve our objectives.

The FTI’s mission
Our mission is to educate using the Franciscan charisma, through teaching, research and close contact with the community, promoting theological, religious, cultural and social values among the students, readers and pastoral agents.

Main FTI’s objectives:

• to prepare students for a BA degree in theology
• to prepare candidates for the presbytery, offering them a sound theological-pastoral education
• to qualify the students who are to become future priests, members of religious orders or pastoral agents with regard to the improvement of evangelizing practices
• to promote a dialogue between faith and culture
• to encourage the relationship between faith and social commitment

Authorization for the Theology course
Government directive nº 934 (Diário Oficial of 28/03/02)

Affiliation to the Pontificia Universidade Antonianum (PUA) – Rome
Government directive nº 89/2006 of 14th March 2006.

Acknowledgement by the Brazilian Ministry of Education of the Theology course
Government directive nº 965, of 28/04/06 published in the Diário Oficial on 2nd May 2006.

Management
Director: Fr. Sandro Roberto da Costa ofm
Vice-director: Fr. Antônio Everaldo Palubiack Marinho, ofm
General Secretary: Fr. Fernando de Araújo Lima, ofm
Steward: Fr. Antônio Everaldo Palubiack Marinho, ofm
Librarian: Fr. Elói Dionísio Piva, ofm

Address:
Instituto Teológico Franciscano
Rua Coronel Veiga, 550 – Centro
25655-151 Petrópolis, RJ (BRASIL)
Tel: (24) 2243-9959
Fax: (24) 2231-6409
E-mail: secretaria@itf.org.br
Internet:
www.itf.org.br