Projet choisi par la Lieutenance de Monaco

Refurbishing of the Seminary Priests & Students’ Rooms, Beit Jala

The Latin Patriarchate Seminary was established in Jerusalem in December 1852, by Patriarch Joseph Valerga, and due to political reasons at the time, the Seminary was moved to Beit Jala in 1936, and hasn’t changed location ever since. The Seminary has formed 289 priests, including 15 bishops and 3 patriarchs: Giacomo Giuseppe Beltritti, Michel Sabbah and Fouad Twal. Founded mainly to train local clergy, the seminary has traditionally been, and remains, open to students from other institutions and countries who wish to prepare themselves on site for the service of the Church in the Holy Land.

The LPJ is aware that a better living environment contributes to improved health psychosocial state of the building residents. The Seminary building has hosted many generations of priests and students and most of its facilities (bathrooms, kitchens) are original to the building and have exceeded their useful life. The rooms that house students are no longer fit for purpose as modern student accommodation and are in need of significant improvement. Most of the rooms suffer from chipped plaster layers and damp spots in the ceilings and walls as a result of rainwater leakage from the roof. The bathrooms are in a poor condition and need of rehabilitation. The LPJ plan for Beit Jala Latin Seminary shall provide the accommodation section with a range of healthy spaces for studying and socializing to support the seminary students and their overall wellbeing. This project will rehabilitate these rooms and bathrooms to address sustainability issues by bringing them up to today’s standards and substantially improve the living conditions of the seminary residents and deliver an improved experience for the seminary students.

Project Description

With the aim to provide better-quality student accommodation and improve the overall student experience, the project specified the main features of the intervention which will include key renovation and repair activities that will be carried out in the student rooms and bathrooms. Renovations will include removal and replacement of existing toilets: toilet fittings, shower enclosures, flushing system, sinks, ceramic tiling, light fixtures, wall and floor finishes, doors and windows.

Given the overall good state of conservation of the building, the works will be concentrated on refurbishing the student rooms and fixing the false ceilings. The works in the rooms will also involve adding a fresh new coat of paint to the doors and windows. The works will also ensure improved sanitary conditions, insulation from cold and humidity and general cleanliness.

Moreover, the project will ensure an improved experience for our students in a more attractive and highly sustainable building with the primary objective of delivering an improved outcome for our students.

Beneficiaries

The direct beneficiaries of the project are the priests and students of the Latin Seminary in Beit Jala.