Archives and Records
1931: St. Edward's Seminary Dedicated

Bishop Edward J. O'Dea blesses the cornerstone for the construction of St. Edward's Seminary, 1930 (Click for full-size image)

In 1931, Bishop Edward J. O’Dea achieved his long-standing goal of establishing a seminary in the Diocese of Seattle.  St. Edward Minor Seminary was situated on a large property on Lake Washington.  Priests of the Society of St. Sulpice staffed the seminary, fulfilling their charism as teachers of diocesan seminarians.  Major seminary classes were added in 1935. The first class of 12 men was ordained in June 1939.  In 1958, with the opening of St. Thomas the Apostle Seminary, St. Edward’s resumed its status as a minor seminary exclusively.  St. Edward’s closed in 1976 and was sold to the State of Washington in 1977.  It is now St. Edward’s State Park.