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In 1563, the Council of Trent issued the decree on seminaries (Session 23, ch. XVIII). This decree, which was the final result of discussions begun at the Council in the mid-to late-1540s but suspended for nearly two decades, signaled a change in the theory and practice of both pastoral duties and religious education. Recognizing the gravity of continuous and widespread clerical ignorance and incompetence, the participants at the Council recommended a practical solution by imposing on each diocese the requirement to open a seminary to train secular priests. This acknowledgement of the problem and the proposed response to it were the culmination of discussion spanning several centuries. Since the early centuries of the Christian Church, diocesan, provincial, and ecumenical church councils had legislated—or had at least discussed the need for legislating—improved educational standards among the parish …