Student Facilities
Seminarians are housed in Good Shepherd Hall. Each room is fully furnished with a bed, desk and desk chair, lounge chair, closet, and private bathroom. Each residence hall room is equipped with internet access and each floor contains a kitchenette for seminarian use. Study lounges, TV lounges, and Laundry rooms can be found in the residence hall. Good Shepherd Hall is fully secure with passcode and fob security doors. A small Chapel of Sts. James and John is also in Good Shepherd Hall for individual and small group prayer or liturgies.
Fully renovated during the 2004-2005 academic year, St. Maur Hall is the principal administration and academic building for Conception Seminary College. Centered on the intellectual formation of our students, CSC maintains technology-enhanced classrooms and various classroom set-ups to facilitate learning including laboratories for the natural sciences and computer-assisted language instruction, and music practice rooms. St. Maur Hall also houses a large conference room where seminarians gather for Days of Recollection and conferences on human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation.
Holy Cross Oratory on the top floor of St. Maur Hall is the spiritual epicenter of the seminarian’s day. Student’s gather in the Holy Cross Oratory for the common praying of the Liturgy of the Hours three times a day and regular celebrations of Mass. The Oratory is also always available for private prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
The magnificent Abbey Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is the primary liturgical center for celebrations involving both the monastic and seminary communities. Raised to the status of a minor basilica by Pope Pius the XII in 1940, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception provides an ideal setting for the Sunday and weekday celebrations of the Eucharist as well as private prayer and devotion. Surrounded by Beuronese murals depicting the life of Christ and the Blessed Virgin and a chapel for the Blessed Sacrament, the Abbey Basilica is regularly used by seminarians, monks, and guests.
Located in St. Joseph Hall, the Conception Abbey and Seminary Library seeks to serve the spiritual, intellectual, and recreational needs of its patrons. With concentration in the fields of philosophy and theology, the library’s extensive collection of over 130,000 items includes:
- 123,000 volumes of books and bound periodicals
- 171,000 eBooks and 14,000 full-text periodicals online
- 150 subscriptions to print periodicals
- 1,400 DVDs
- and 3,000 CDs
Patrons also have access to over 27 million items cataloged by the Missouri Consortium of Academic Libraries (MOBIUS), an organization of 75 academic libraries, five public libraries, four special libraries, and the Missouri State Library.
The Library Reading Room provides space for study, research, and recreational reading as well as access to computers and a variety of periodicals. Librarians are also available to assist with the research needs of the students.
The library also houses an extraordinary collection of 3,000 volumes dating from the 16th to 19th centuries, given to Conception Abbey by its motherhouse in Switzerland.
The Alumni Union on the garden level of St. Maur Hall provides a communal and recreational area for students to convene on campus. Amenities include:
- Snack and drink bar
- Coffee shop
- Pool and ping pong tables
- Recreational lounge space
- Piano
- Large entertainment projector for seminary events
- and tables for study and recreational use
The JPII Fitness Center features basketball, racquetball, handball, badminton, pickleball, and handball courts as well as a cardio fitness area and strength training equipment.
St. Michael Hall also contains a gymnasium and a stage that houses the drama department. A studio for instruction in visual arts and recreational use can also be found in St. Michael’s Hall.
The beautiful grounds of Conception Abbey and Seminary College have various points of interest. Two sporting fields on campus are used for soccer, ultimate frisbee, softball/baseball, football, and other team sports as well as the annual Thunder Cup Soccer Tournament.
There are a variety of walking and running trails including a two-mile loop trail that crosses the abbey farm land to a Marian grotto. Other trails include the Lake Placid Trail and a Stations of the Cross Trail, as well as the Orchard Trail. The Island on Maria Locke also presents a quiet place for reflection or communal recreation.
The St. Michael's Infirmary is a modern facility for the care and isolation of the sick and the treatment of minor injuries. A nurse is on duty at specified times, and an aide is always in attendance. Private rooms, therapy equipment, and a dispensary are open to students.
Conception Seminary College makes reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. All College facilities to which a student must have access are zero-entry or ramp accessible. Classroom technology exists to aid students with hearing impairments. Other accommodations are made as needed.
