Under
the direction of Dr Thomas Gordon Smith,
dean emeritus of the school of architecture
of the University of Notre Dame and
Father Charles Van Vliet, F.S.S.P.,
Vice-Rector, construction was begun.
By the spring of 1999 the seminary had
assumed its structural form. Much of
the success of the ongoing construction,
and the reality of a traditional seminary
in North American, was attributed to
the never-ending prayers and the never-ceasing
generosity of the Fraternity’s
benefactors.
On
October 16, 1999, amid Gregorian chant,
venerable Latin prayers, brocade vestments,
incense and in the presence of several
hundred priests, seminarians and laity
Bishop Bruskewitz blessed the seminary’s
cornerstone. Pope John Paul II had
previously blessed a crucifix which
now hangs above the seminary's main
entrance.
Throughout
another Nebraska winter, through spring
and summer months construction continued.
In the fall of 2000 Our Lady of Guadalupe
Seminary, under the rectorship of
Father James Jackson, F.S.S.P., welcomed
nearly fifty seminarians.
|