✝ Rev. Justin DuVall, OSB 
Former Vice-Rector

     In 2009 Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary moved from its first location on the campus of Marian University to the current buildings formerly occupied by the nuns of the Carmel of the Resurrection.  At that point, the Carmelite community had declined in numbers but had increased in age, and so the sisters made a courageous and faith-based decision.  They sold the property to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and moved to a building on the grounds of the motherhouse for the Franciscan Sisters of Oldenburg, Indiana, who own and sponsor Marian University.  The Archdiocese then relocated the Seminary from the campus of Marian University to the grounds and buildings of the former monastery.  It was a transition that had begun 57 years earlier.

     In 1932 five Carmelite nuns came from a convent in New Albany, Indiana, to begin the foundation in the city of Indianapolis.  Mother Theresa Seelbach led her sisters in the establishment of the new Carmel, and in the course of the next several years, the community increased in number and the buildings began to go up.  The first construction resulted in part of the present wing that runs parallel to Cold Spring Road. 

     Gradually other wings were added.  In 1937 the first addition to the buildings was put on, giving the sisters more cells, workrooms, and storage.  A second addition went up in 1941-41, essentially completing the cloister square on the first floor.  Although an entrance for a church was built at this time, it remained the only feature of the church!  For the first time, bells were rung in 1951.  The final addition came in 1961 when the chapel was added, giving the nuns a cloistered space on one side, and the public a common space on the other.

     During the years that the Carmelite nuns occupied the monastery buildings, they were an integral part of the religious life of the Diocese and subsequent Archdiocese.  They led a life of prayer and meditation in the Carmelite tradition, and during the years when they sponsored a public novena for the feast of St. Teresa, thousands of faithful from near and far came to the Carmel to join them in spirit—the nuns remained in the cloister while the faithful spread across the front of the property. The nuns made altar breads for use at Mass, and in time produced several publications.

     In the years following the Second Vatican Council, the nuns examined the roots of their religious life, as did many other religious in the Church.  They experimented with prayer forms and traditional observances, all the while seeking to rediscover the spirit of the reform once put in place by St. Teresa of Avila.  In time the community numbers declined and new vocations fell off.  The nuns continued to pray and support one another until it became clear that they faced a decision about their future as a community.  At that point, they made the decision to move to Oldenburg. In the nineteenth century Bishop Simon Bruté had first desired a Carmelite presence in his diocese; in the twentieth century Bishop Joseph Ritter eventually welcomed the nuns to the Carmel in Indianapolis; and in the twenty-first century Archbishop Daniel Buechlein, O.S.B., oversaw the arrangements for their transfer to Oldenburg.

     After the Seminarians and staff moved to the present buildings in 2009, two additions were eventually made in 2013.  The Buechlein Dining Hall serves as place for community dinners and special events in the seminary, as well as a meeting space for weekly formation conferences and other community presentations.  St. Bonaventure Hall is a residence hall for students and some staff.

     The staff and students of Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary give thanks to Almighty God under whose providence the seminary has begun, grown, and flourished.  We are ever mindful of the Carmelite presence that has preceded us and that continues to surround us on these grounds and in the halls and rooms of this building as we discern the call of God in our lives.