Pontifical Athenaeum also known by its Indian name Jnana Deepa has a history going back to 1893 when Pope Leo XIII founded the Papal Seminary in Kandy, Sri Lanka, and entrusted its direction and administration to the Society of Jesus.

The charter of July 27, 1926, issued by the Holy See, elevated the Papal Seminary to the status of a Pontifical Institute with the rights and privilege of conferring Baccalaureate, Licentiate and Canonical Doctorate in both Philosophy and Theology.

In the Statutes of 1940, approved by the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Pontifical Institute, comprising the Faculties of Philosophy and Theology, was given an autonomous status with its own academic and administrative setup.

In 1955 the Papal Seminary and, with it, the Pontifical Institute was transferred from Sri Lanka to Pune, in close proximity to De Nobili College, the Jesuit “formation house”, which was already in existence in Ramwadi.

The then Jesuit Superior of Pune supervised the transfer and relocation to Pune. Thereafter, the Pontifical Institute, which until then catered almost exclusively to the seminarians of the Papal Seminary, became more broadly open to the students of the Society of Jesus as well as of other Religious Congregations. In 1972 the Pontifical Institute adopted the Indian name of “Jnana Deepa Institute” (JD). The Faculties of Philosophy and Theology grant the Baccalaureate, Licentiate and Doctoral degrees.