Established in 1919,St Joseph’s Regional Seminary has been at the service of Church and Humanity in the right spirit of the wish of Pope Leo XIII who uttered once, “Oh India, your own sons will administer your salvation”. This wish and insight of the Holy Father has got pastoral, evangelizing,cultural and indigenous nuances and challenges. Josem family has integrated courageously these words into its life as its motto. The seminary is dedicated to the patronage of St Joseph, which we fondly respect and venerate through the symbol of a lily placed on the left side showing the founding year of the seminary and Josemfamily looks towards Mother Mary always as the Mother of God and Mother of priests to grow into the likeness of Christ. As a symbolic homage to her continuous accompaniment and intercession we place a Marian crown on the right side depicting the concluding year of the centenary.
The Mother India map in tricolor shows our deep respect and commitment to the nation as Indian Christians with sensitivity to the constitutional ideals and integrity of India. In the map of India, the federal states of UP, Rajasthan and Uttarakhandare highlighted with 12 twelve burning diyas/lamps representing the 12 dioceses which form the Agra ecclesiastical region, which has been primarily served and edified by the seminary as a channel of goodnews and liberation. Around the theme for the centenary: “Shepherds after God’s heart: To witness and to proclaim”, we have six stars each in crimson red representing the apostles and their martyrdom upon whom the Church is instituted by Christ.
Their experience and their faithfulness and mission at the command of Jesus encourage us today too to act like them. The theme highlights both the pastoral and missionary dimension of this seminary and the expectation of each member of the Josem family to imbibe these virtues in his life. Shepherd imagery used in Old Testament for God and God chosen kings and priests find its true fulfillment in Christ in New Testament who lays down his life for the sheep in order to inaugurate the Kingdom of God through washing of the feet and breaking himself as nourishment on the cross and in the Eucharist in order to form a redeemed humanity from sin and bondages. The image of Jesus, the Good shepherd on the emblem vividly reminds us who we are called to become. The Holy Bible stands for the witness and proclamation symbolizing the missionary thrust and dimension of Josem family and its role in North India. First, at the level of one’s own life through personal commitment and formation, and then it is lived and proclaimed to the poor and marginalized in a merciful and liberative manner including each one respectfully in the North Indian context of Agra ecclesiastical region. The Cross at the foot of the emblem touching the centenary shows our focused identity in Christ yet our being universally open to humanity and creation as the perfect symbol for our vision and mission. The blue colour spread in the inner part is a heavenly enveloping of grace as well as our openness of heart towards the future in hope and serenity.