Generating energy
One
unique feature of the facility was a “total energy system.” The seminary
would generate its own electrical power. Heat generated by the engine —
capable of burning natural gas or diesel — would be recovered, and used to
heat hot water, to provide supplemental heat in the winter, and to operate
the air conditioning in the summer.
Although labor disputes the previous summer delayed construction, the
building was ready for the dedication, which was conducted Aug. 22, 1966, by
Bishop Dworschak. Classes began Sept. 4 in the new building, with 70 high
school students and 22 college freshmen. All classes in the high school
program were offered in the new facility. The college students, while
residing at the seminary, divided their class time between the seminary and
NDSU campuses.
Facts about Cardinal Muench Seminary
•
The original name of
the seminary was to be St. Pius X Seminary. This is the name that appears in
all early correspondence. When Cardinal Aloisius Muench died in 1962, the name
was changed to Cardinal Muench Seminary.
•
At the time of its
construction, the seminary was the largest single building project the Diocese
of Fargo had undertaken. The final cost for building, furnishing and equipping
it in 1966 was approximately $1.75 million.
•
The seminary building
covers approximately 80,000 square feet, and includes a full-sized gymnasium,
a weight room, 55 dorm rooms, two outdoor tennis courts and six outdoor
hand-ball courts.
•
Father Edward Arth had
plans to eventually add an athletic field, an auditorium and an additional
dorm wing, if it was needed.
•
Originally there were
10 classrooms, today there are five; two were incorporated into the library,
the typing room was converted into a computer room, a classroom was sacrificed
for more office space, and another room was converted into an oratory.
•
When it opened, the
seminary library contained about 6,000 volumes. Today it contains more than
29,000 volumes.
The chapel was solemnly
consecrated Oct. 15, the feast day of St. Theresa of Avila and the
anniversary of Cardinal Muench’s consecration as bishop. The major portion
of the cost of the seminary chapel was met by a substantial gift of the late
Msgr. Joseph L. Andrieux, who had been pastor of St. Mark’s, Bottineau, for
50 years. The most prominent feature of the chapel is the 13-feet-high,
floor-to-ceiling windows, that surround the chapel on three sides. The
chapel houses an 11-rank organ built in Germany. Its diminutive size is
deceptive, as it delivers a full, rich sound.
Witnessing many events
In
the subsequent 40 years, the walls of CMS have witnessed many events:
competitive teams in Class B high school athletic events (especially
basketball and track), award-winning debate and public speaking teams,
student-produced literary publications, plays, music, talent shows and an
annual spaghetti dinner and carnival. For a time, there was even a hockey
rink out the back door. The trophy case bears evidence of the excellence of
the high school students in state competition.
Despite this, the number of students participating in the high school
program dwindled. It was decided to end the program in 2001. While the
number of men in the college program has varied over time, in recent years
the number has been on the rise. Today there are 21 men at CMS studying in
college.
Every spring, the seminary staff stands watch as the Red River rises, hoping
that it will stay within its banks. When the land was purchased in 1964,
engineers said that the land “has elevation sufficiently above any known
high water mark in the past to eliminate any possible danger of flood
damage.” The flood of 1969 brought the river waters close to, but did not
endanger, the buildings. The story was different in 1997. Father Brian
Donahue, the acting rector at the time, had an earthen dike constructed
along the banks of the Red River to protect the property to a water level of
40 feet, the predicted flood crest. His foresight was instrumental in saving
not only the seminary, but a good part of north Fargo.
At
the heart of the life at Cardinal Muench Seminary is the formation of men
for the priesthood. From CMS, seminarians have gone on to major seminaries
across the United States, some even to Rome, to complete their formation for
priestly ordination. In 1973, Father Robert Laliberte was the first student
who had begun his studies at CMS to be ordained a priest. Since then, 90
additional men have been ordained to the priesthood; others have been
ordained permanent deacons. Today, 50 of the active clergy of the Diocese of
Fargo are former students; 33 are pastors; seven of the nine pastors in the
Fargo metropolitan area are graduates.
Also among the graduates are the two vicars general of the Diocese of Fargo
— the priests who are second only to the bishop in the administration of the
diocese — as well as the vocation director of the Diocese of Bismarck. At
this time one seminarian and two priest-graduates of CMS are studying in
Rome
Other graduates, who discerned that they were called not to pursue priestly
ordination, include North Dakota State Sen. Tim Mathern, Catholic novelist
David Volk and others who have gone on to other leadership roles in local
communities (for example, school principals, advocates for agriculture,
etc.)
Forty years ago a different kind of field was planted on the north side of
Fargo with the mission to respond to the prayer of the people who heeded the
Lord’s request: “Pray the master of the harvest to send out laborers into
his field” (Luke 10:2).
For
more on the history of CMS and its programs, including pictures of the
facility, visit the Web site at
www.cardinalmuench.org.
Father Jasinski is Director of Formation at Cardinal Muench Seminary. Father Stelten taught Latin at the seminary from 1962 to 1977.
Floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows illuminate the CMS chapel on three sides.
