The Major Seminary of Coimbra now has, as of Wednesday 17th May 2023, 19 rooms with 40 beds, to accommodate seminarians, pilgrims or people who want to enjoy a spiritual retreat. The project, with a concept linked to "spiritual tourism", is aimed at people who, for example, "want to write a book", a person who wants to know this seminary "from its music to its history" or "someone who wants to be inspired", the rector of Coimbra's Major Seminary, Father Nuno Santos, told journalists at the end of the press conference.
It is a place with a capacity to accommodate 42 people, on floor two of the building, where one can sleep, eat, pray and meditate. "We present our space and then we try that people make this place a space where they also feel at home, but that has an added value. If they come here just to sleep like you would in a hotel, we suggest the nearest hotels," stated the rector clearly.
Guests can participate in the activities that the seminar offers, and the idea is to intensify these initiatives. The objective is to divulge "programmes with which they can combine culture and spirituality", underlined Nuno Santos.
The Major Seminary of Coimbra has mass every Tuesday, at 7pm in the church, and also mass, on Sunday, at 11am, in the garden. There is also daily prayer, from Tuesday to Friday, at 7:30am. Cultural activities include, for example, theatre shows and concerts.
The idea began to take shape in 2016 and in January 2017 it was presented to the public, with work starting in March 2020. The construction work on the central building project, where the seminary's accommodation is located, budgeted at around 5 million euros, is 60% complete.
The building, which opened its doors in 1765 and is a National Monument, continues to have a community of 10 priests living and praying in this place.
"The recovery of the Major Seminary and with this value enriches the heritage that Coimbra has to present to all those who visit us," said the Mayor of Coimbra, José Manuel Silva, who was also at the session.