The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for priests who are pursuing graduate work at other pontifical universities in Rome. The NAC also has a continuing education program for veteran priests. The NAC is the responsibility of the Holy See's Congregation for the Clergy, which delegates its operation to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) acting through the NAC's episcopal board of governors. Founded by Pope Pius IX in 1859 to increase the number of American priests, most of the NAC seminarians come from the United States. However, the seminary is open to seminarians from all countries. The college has recently been at the center of major sex abuse allegations, and is currently involved in legal battles associated with the abuse of seminarians. History Background In 1854, Cardinal Gaetono Bedini, the secretary general of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith wrote to Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli expressing concern about American Catholics, most of whom were European immigrants. Bedini feared that many immigrants would leave the church due to strong anti-Catholic sentiment in the United States, plus aggressive evangelization by Protestant sects. He believed that these Catholics needed more priests to provide this increasing Catholic population with support and education. However, Bedini felt that priests brought in from Europe would only cause more tensions. Bedini's solution was to create a North American seminary in Rome, funded by American bishops, to train American priests. The plan faced opposition from some American bishops as well as from officials in the Roman Curia. However, Pope Pius IX, a Bedini ally, agreed with the plan and ordered its implementation. 19th century The North American College seminary was founded in 1859 by Pope Pius IX. He located the new seminary in a former Dominican and Visitation convent on the Via dell'Umiltà, near the Trevi Fountain.The NAC was opened ceremonially on 8 December 1859, and received a formal visit from the pope on 29 January 1860. This original campus, still owned by the NAC, is called the Casa Santa Maria. The NAC was granted status as a pontifical university by Pope Leo XIII in 1884. The NAC was incorporated in the United States by a special act of the Maryland General Assembly in 1886 as a non-stock