Wales' only training college for clergy is to be developed into a centre of excellence for chaplaincy studies.

St Michael's College, Llandaff, has been given the green light to expand its facilities to attract more students from all over the world and continue training people for ministry.

The Church in Wales voted this week to invest in the college rather than put it at risk of closure. It also approved plans for the college to diversify and become a conference centre.

Principal of the College, Canon Dr Peter Sedgwick, welcomed the decision taken by members of the Governing Body meeting in the University of Wales, Lampeter, last week.

He said, " I am delighted with the decision of the Church in Wales to invest substantially in the college. We have an excellent staff team, that will in a few years make this place both a national leader in chaplaincy studies and create a first class conference centre.

"We already train clergy and readers to a very high standard for the Methodist Church and the Church in Wales. Now we can build on our success and make St Michael's College a place that Wales can be really proud of. The future is very bright, and I am full of confidence. "

St Michael's College, founded in 1892, prepares Anglican priests for ministry from all over the UK and abroad. This month 24 ordinands will start residential training with another 27 taking part in non-residential courses and 30 training for reader ministry also non-residential.

Last year 26 students studied for masters degrees in chaplaincy, with another 45 taking induction courses for roles in the armed forces, hospitals and prisons. Courses are also run to prepare chaplains for counselling prisoners and soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

About £650,000 will be invested in St Michael's over the next five years to fund improvement work to the building and the site. Accommodation, meeting room facilities and catering will be upgraded.

The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, said the decision reflected the Church in Wales' confidence in the college.

He said, "St Michael's now faces a challenging but an exciting future. As a college it has achieved consistently high standards in terms of academic provision and ministry formation.

"It is vital to the Church's future mission in Wales, and indeed to the future of the Church itself, that additional investment is made in providing training for ministry in its widest sense."