Missio has a special, long-standing partnership with St John’s Regional Seminary in Hyderabad, whereby supporters can sponsor the training of a seminarian or future priest. You may have read the condensed version of the Rector’s message in Mission Today. Here is Fr Marreddy’s full message:
There are 80 seminarians studying in our Seminary, coming from 12 dioceses of the Andhra and Telangana states. Two congregations working in the two states are also studying here. There are 15 seminarians in the first-year theology, 14 seminarians in the second-year theology, 23 seminarians in the third-year theology and 2 seminarians in the fourth-year theology.
Between April and June of 2025, 17 Deacons were ordained priests. They are performing their priestly ministry in their respective dioceses.
Last year on 28 October, 24 final year seminarians were ordained Deacons by Most Rev Telagathoti Joseph Raja Rao, the Bishop of Vijayawada. The Deacons are doing their diaconate ministry in the Seminary during the week and on weekends, they work in the parishes of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. They will be ordained priests in their respective dioceses between April and June of 2026.
Our History and Growth
In India, the Church is growing steadily, thanks to missionaries establishing Churches and a Seminary. In 1883, the Mill Hill Missionaries worked in the Telugu-speaking parishes and in 1926, a major seminary was opened in Nellore.
Fr William Bouter, a Mill Hill Missionary, was the first Rector of this seminary. In 1928, Fr Bouter MHM became the first Bishop of Nellore and under his paternal care, our seminary – St John’s Regional Seminary – gradually developed and emerged as a big institution. By the 1960s, students were applying to become priests from all the dioceses of Telugu region.
In 1965, the Seminary was shifted to Hyderabad – the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. Until 1985, the Mill Hill Missionaries were serving on the staff and giving formation to the seminarians, laying a strong foundation to Church in the Telugu region.
The vital role of priests in India
Many priests from our Seminary have been ordained and are now doing marvellous work giving their spiritual services to the faithful. People here feel good about the Catholic Church, as priests are very much needed in India.
Priests and the religious play a very important role in giving their contributions to education, health and the social services. They run hospitals, homes for the elderly, homes for the disabled, homes for the destitute, leprosy homes, HIV/AIDS support centres, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres.
They also run many schools and colleges and provide quality education. Many families here join Catholic institutions to get valuable schooling, especially girls, despite occasional tension and discrimination against Christians by other religious people.
Celebrations and events in 2025
In 2025, there were many celebrations in the Seminary. Some of them were the Feast of Corpus Christi – Eucharistic Adoration, Procession and Benediction; Environment Day; the Feast of St John Marie Vianney; Independence Day; Bible Day; Sports Day; Marian Day; Music Day where seminarians exhibit their talents in singing and playing music, Pre-Christmas celebrations and Cultural Day.
For the Jubilee of Hope 2025, a special convention was held in the Seminary by Cardinal Poola Anthony, the Archbishop of Hyderabad. Also in attendance were many Bishops, priests, religious and around 1,500 representatives from the Telangana region.
It was a memorable two-day event. The speakers included Bishops, priests and laity who spoke about the history of the Christian faith in India, the first converts, the advent of missionaries and the growth of Catholics in the region. They also discussed the present Church and the pastoral plan for our future Church.
Another important celebration in 2025 was our Seminary Day. The golden and silver Jubilarians of the Alumni priests of the Seminary were invited to offer a thanksgiving Mass for receiving the gift of priesthood. They shared their practical and pastoral experiences, and the challenges they faced in their pastoral ministry, with the seminarians. It was really edifying to hear about their experiences as priests and their services to the faithful.
In the evening, the priests, religious and the faithful who help the seminarians in their pastoral ministry were invited to watch the seminarians exhibit their talents in different areas, like singing, religious dramas and dance, skits, etc.
The challenges we face
The seminarians who come from rural villages often have poor economic backgrounds as their parents are either poor farmers or daily wage labourers who are unable to contribute anything for their seminary education. To provide food, medicine and education to the seminarians is a big challenge. And as the Seminary buildings are old, they require a lot of repairs and maintenance.
The seminarians grow vegetables and take care of poultry to supply the Seminary. However, the locally generated amount is not sufficient to meet our needs. The prayerful support and monetary help from Missio supporters are indispensable and of great help in running the day-to-day life and activities of the Seminary.
The seminarians are formed to take care of the faithful and to be missionaries with a mission, entering the lives of people with the values of the Gospel preached by Christ.
Building a strong Church for tomorrow
Today, the Church is in need of dedicated missionaries who are willing to render their services anywhere in the world. It is vital to remember the purpose of the coming of Christ as a servant – to serve, but not to be served. Based on this, our hope is that the seminarians are formed to be true missionaries of Christ: well-formed spiritually, intellectually, humanly and pastorally to be effective ministers of God.
Our formation programme has been geared for pastoral orientation involving the media and modern pastoral challenges. The seminarians are also trained with holistic formation which prepares them to engage with marginalised communities.
A regular timetable is set for the seminarians to grow in holiness and be more prayerful and experience personal conversion. This is done to ensure that the seminarians gain psychological strength, moral integrity and pastoral understanding. They are trained to take care of the problems faced by the families and communities, especially those that are poor. And to preach the Word of God effectively to all people.
Thank you for your support!
The staff and seminarians always thank Missio sponsors in England & Wales for the great help their contributions make in the formation of priests, which is a difficult task, and pray for all the collaborators that God will bless them abundantly in all their undertakings.
We assure you of our prayers for God’s blessings in your mission.
Fr Marreddy, Rector