Pontifical North American College

The Pontifical North American College is a Catholic seminary in Rome training candidates from dioceses across the United States. It was founded in 1859 by Pope Pius IX at the request of the American bishops; its first home was a former Dominican convent on Via dell'Umilta near the Trevi Fountain. In 1953 the main house moved to a modern building on the Janiculum hill overlooking St Peter's Square. Around 250 seminarians and several dozen ordained priests pursuing graduate studies in Rome live there today. The college operates under the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and holds a distinctive place in Roman ecclesiastical life.