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Orchard Lake: The School Fighting Its History
Where there is no vision, the people perish? Church, regents divide: demolish the historic victorian mansion, empty library
St. John Paul the Great made his first North American tours in 1969 and 1976 because Orchard Lake Seminary priests brought him here.
“Every person has a vocation in life, and on this vocation lies a person’s greatness,” the 49-year-old cardinal said in his first Orchard Lake homily. “All of this has one cause, the cause of Orchard Lake and what it stands for.”
After Bishop Francis Reiss retired in late 2015, he wanted to move into the beautiful, three-story brick Orchard Lake Victorian. Donors toured the historic 1892 mansion.
Funds were short, however, so Bishop Reiss moved into the nearby Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep dormitories. Last week, the Orchard Lake School officials demolished the historic lakefront mansion — without an email, news release, or social media post revealing or explaining the plans.
With Orchard Lake’s chancellor on leave due to a lawsuit, the remaining regents on Wednesday had contractors demolish the historic Orchard Lake Victorian mansion. Angry donors promised to sue.
