About
The Pope Benedict XVI Philosophical-Theological University, colloquially referred to as Hochschule Heiligenkreuz, is a private, Roman Catholic pontifical university located in Heiligenkreuz, Austria. Founded in 1802 by the Cistercian monks of Heiligenkreuz Abbey as a seminary, for much of the 19th century, the college remained very small, with less than 20 seminarians and several Cistercian instructors. During the late 19th century and 20th century, the college's profile grew, and more students arrived, made up of Cistercians, as well as diocesan and religious seminarians. In 1976 Hochschule Heiligenkreuz earned college status. In 2007 Pope Benedict XVI named Heiligenkreuz a pontifical university and Karl Wallner, OCist, became its first rector. In 2013 its library was gifted Benediktbeuern's 265.000 volume book collection.
