Real Seminario Conciliar de Santa Catalina , is the largest building in the city of Mondoñedo ( Lugo province , Galicia , Spain ). Its origin dates back to the end of the 16th century , when, at the initiative of the city regiment, it was decided to request from the provincial council the creation of a College of the type that in the city of Trento had been arranged to have in each head of bishopric . It was inaugurated in 1572 , which makes it one of the first three to be erected in Spain . Since its creation it had different enclaves.
In the beginning, the Seminary was located in two houses on the current Alfonso VII street. But this building became small, and in the 18th century the building began to be built in its current situation. The construction works will last five years starting in 1770 . It was in 1775 when the center reached its greatest splendor under the royal patronage of Carlos III , who granted it the title of Royal Conciliar Seminary of Santa Catalina.
During the pontificate of Cos y Macho an extension of the Seminary took place, in which a floor was added. These works took place between 1888 and 1889 . In the times of Bishop Solís it was reformed again adding a pavilion for the kitchen and dining room of the seminary, which was destroyed in the middle of the 20th century , at which time Monsignor Quiroga Palacios began the great expansion of the seminary with the construction of new pavilions Works that will last ten years, and it will be under the pontificate of Monsignor Vega Mestre when the new main chapel is inaugurated and the works carried out by Quiroga Palacios are completed.
The last major reform of the seminary took place in 1992 when a priestly residence and a group of rooms for lodging were built, as well as the remodeling of the students' rooms and various reforms throughout the building.
The facade of the building, made of dark slate from the country, is framed by two small towers that rise at the ends. In the center of the façade there is a pediment with the image of Santa Catalina.
The Seminary's historical library, which started with 245 works, currently contains more than 25,000 volumes. Among them we must highlight a hundred incunabula and a manuscript from the end of the 13th century .
On the occasion of the Jubilee Year of San Rosendo in 2007 some rooms in the main cloister were arranged. The San Rosendo exhibition hall was created and next to it a projection and audiovisual room.
In this seminar important writers studied like Xosé Crecente Vega , Antonio Noriega Varela , Nicomedes Pastor Díaz , Xosé María Díaz Castro or Aquilino Iglesia Alvariño among many others.
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