Seminary's First Graduation
Diocesan Press Service. June 5, 1963 [XI-11]
The two year-old Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Caribbean in Carolina, Puerto Rico held its first graduation ceremony May 8. Present for the occasion were members of the board of trustees, Bishop Mills of the Virgin Islands (recently consecrated), and most of the clergy of the Missionary District of Puerto Rico.
Three students, from Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Virgin Islands, received the degree of Bachelor of Sacred Theology, and two other students received certificates for the completion of one year of study.
As the Seminary is tri-lingual, the service included Morning Prayer in Spanish, hymns in French, and Holy Communion in English. During the service, Bishop Bentley, director of the Overseas Division of the National Council and president of the Seminary's board of trustees, addressed the graduates and guests on the church in Latin America.
It was also announced, on May 16, that the Very Rev. Gray M. Blandy, D. D., dean of the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, Texas, has been elected dean of the new Seminary. Bishop Bentley has said, however, that Dean Blandy has not reached an immediate decision about this matter.