THE future of the only college training would-be priests for the Roman Catholic Church in the North of England was under threat last night.

St Cuthbert's College, better known as Ushaw College, near Durham, could be axed under proposals outlined by the Roman Catholic Church.

A shortage of trainees coming forward for a life in the priesthood has left about half of the places at the country's four seminaries, or training colleges, unused.

Members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales therefore proposed merging Ushaw College with St Mary's, in Oscott, near Birmingham.

Under the proposals, one would close with the other remaining open to provide a single-site college serving the North and the Midlands.

A similar amalgamation, involving Wonersh Seminary, in Surrey, and Allen Hall, in south-west London, would provide a single South of England college.

Conference members ag-reed that the leaders of the four seminaries should meet their respective bishops before any decision is taken.

The general secretary, Monsignor Andrew Summersgill, said: "The numbers in the seminaries have fallen and are likely to remain at about that figure."

But he said the Church wanted to consider the "most appropriate way to train priests in the 21st Century", and discussions would be ongoing. He said the conference's desire to merge by September next year may be "unrealistic".

Father Jim O'Keefe, Ushaw College president, said last night he had only just heard of the proposals.

"No decision has been made yet. In fact, the only decision is that we talk about it, and that process could take up to two years," he said.

Father Paul Fisher, college director of teaching, said: "The only definite thing is that we have discussions with Oscott College to see how we can best use our resources."

Ushaw College's roots can be traced back to France, in 1568, in the anti-Catholic post-Reformation period.

It moved to its present site, in 380-acre grounds three miles west of Durham, in 1808.

Facilities now include a conference centre, and an institute of education, but numbers of seminarians have dwindled from a maximum of 200, to just 35 in recent years