Abstract
The General Seminaries, a reform of ecclesiastical education introduced by Joseph II, aimed to increase state oversight of clergy training. This reform focused on preparing clerics for the practical aspects of their future profession and for effective communication with the general public. This study revisits and revises previous research on the General Seminaries, particularly areas that have been neglected. Using the Olomouc Seminary (Hradisko u Olomouce) as a case study, it explores the curriculum of key subjects, such as pastoral theology and national/modern languages, which were designed to equip students for interactions with the rural population. The study also sheds light on the seminarians and graduates- figures largely overlooked in past research-highlighting how their education in the General Seminary shaped their identity and understanding of their vocation within the lower clergy at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.