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Mount St Alphonsus

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Mount St Alphonsus was built between 1904-1907. The Redemptorist Seminarians came to the Mount to do their theological studies, after having spent seven years in initial formation.

Prior to the Mount's construction, the land was owned by Robert Livingston Pell. The land was reputed as the greatest fruit farm in the country, with apples and grapes being shipped to European markets. When the Redemptorists found the land, the Very Reverend William Licking, C.Ss.R. was heard to say "This is my rest forever and ever, here will I dwell for I have chosen it."

The property contains many buildings, some were left over from its original use as a farm. Students had cattle, horses, pigs, chickens, and crops that included corn, potatoes, apples, and grapes. The wine used for Mass was made on the property. There was also a separate building for laundry. The property expanded beyond its original 235 acres because neighboring sections of land have been donated to the Redemptorists over the years. Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company was the subcontractor for the vaulting system used for the ceiling of the chapel of the main building.

Due to the diminishing number of seminarians, the theologate program was transferred to the Washington Theological Union in Washington, DC.

The Mount St Alphonsus www.msaretreat.com webpage says:

Mount St. Alphonsus is perfect for so many reasons!

Our castle-like building is located on more than 400 acres, and overlooks the Hudson River. With so much land, we guarantee that if you want to take a walk and have some quiet time to yourself, you will succeed in that goal!

Take a walk along the shores of the Hudson River, enjoy a walk through nature's beauty on one of our trails, sit and relax in one of our fields, walk through our outdoor Stations of the Cross--enjoy the grounds of the Mount!

Not only are we proud of our grounds, we're also proud of our enormous building! With hallways over 440 feet long (that's more than 30% longer than a football field), when we say our building is big, we mean it's big! We have over 100 bedrooms spread out over 6 floors, and can sleep 160 people. Our conference rooms can sit between 20 and 300 people, so we're capable of hosting just about any size group! Our professional kitchen staff takes pride in serving our guests 3 great meals each day in our very large dining hall, which seats up to 250 people!

Visitors to the Mount always remark about our incredible chapel. Known as one of the world's most beautiful chapels, you could spend hours just walking around our chapel and studying the beautiful stained-glass windows, statues (some dating back to the 1500's), marble floors, relics that line the walls, and other great items, including a cassock once worn by Pope Pius X!

Before heading home, feeling spiritually refreshed, don't forget to stop by our gift and book shop, home of many religious items from postcards to jewelry.

One thing we're pretty sure about… you'll want to come back and visit us again--we hope you do

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