Catholic Theological College
Catholic Theological College (CTC) is part of the University of Divinity and is located in East Melbourne, Australia. It opened in 1972 when several dioceses and religious institutes joined to form a single Catholic college for theology. In 1973 it became a Recognised Teaching Institution of the Melbourne College of Divinity (now the University of Divinity) and began teaching the Bachelor of Theology.
Cardinal James Knox was a key figure in creating a central Catholic college in Melbourne to improve theological education for seminarians and lay students. A new campus was built near Monash University and opened in 1973, co-located with the Corpus Christi College seminary. CTC has its own head of college (the master) and serves students from Corpus Christi, other seminaries, religious institutes, and lay people. In its first year, religious institutes were invited to send students to study theology, with sisters becoming among the college’s major supporters.
Since 1978, the college has held the Knox Public Lecture each year to honor Knox’s vision. Notable speakers have included Archbishop Stylianos of Australia, Alan Jones, Davis McCaughey, Keith Rayner, Michael Tate, and Margaret Manion. The college’s main classroom is named in Knox’s honor.
In 2000, a new building for CTC, the Thomas Carr Centre, opened in East Melbourne. It houses administration, faculty offices, and the Mannix Library, and adjoins an older 1870s neo-Gothic building that was the Christian Brothers’ Cathedral College. Melbourne architect Gregory Burgess designed the project, which received several awards.
CTC operates as a federation of autonomous Melbourne-based seminaries, and several of its masters have also served as presidents of the Melbourne College of Divinity.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:53 (CET).