One of the beautiful landmarks in Lehigh Township is the former Mary Immaculate Seminary. Recently, a visitor to the Atlas Cement Company Memorial Museum shared some rare 1930 photographs showing the masons who set the stones for the building.
This writer was fortunate to be given a tour of the seminary when the Vincentian Fathers were teaching courses. The building’s impressive interior contains a chapel with stained glass windows, taking visitors back in time.
Years ago, I interviewed Mr. Monroe Hall of Treichlers, who remembered a freight train stopping in Treichlers loaded with stone. The stones were taken to the seminary site; he marveled watching the construction of the building.
The Lehigh Township Historical Society’s book, “Images of America: Lehigh Township” takes us back to 1930.
Mary Immaculate Seminary was built between 1935 and 1938 at a cost of $1 million.
In 1936, the Congregation of Missions of St. Vincent de Paul in Philadelphia announced plans to build a seminary in Lehigh Township for the Vincentian Fathers of Germantown.
“Images of America” states, “Located on 569 acres…it was designed as an interpretation of Romanesque architecture and was made of concrete, cut stone and limestone.”
According to “Images of America,” the seminary opened in 1939 to accept an overflow of students, and in 1990, it closed with fewer than 20 students.
“Images of America” details, “The last ordination service was held for two men in 1996. The Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia paid $4 million dollars for the seminary and changed its name to Mary Immaculate Center. It became a place for prayerful retreats and study.”
More than 15,000 people gathered at the cornerstone blessing for the seminary, which was built at a high point in Lehigh Township, near the Palisades of the Lehigh Valley River. His Eminence Cardinal Dennis Dougherty officiated at the ceremony. The doors opened for the first seminarians in 1939.
Over the years, the seminary has shared their building with the Northampton Area School District to conduct elementary classes and a local church during both of their building projects.
Today, the seminary stands silent in the sunset. The music and prayers echo in her past.
