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Text Box: Welcome to The University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary - the major seminary and school of theology for the Archdiocese of Chicago.  The campus now resides on over 900 acres of woodlands including a serene lake of 180 acres. The first inhabitants of this land were Indians: the Sac, Fox, Miami, Kickapoo, Winnebago and the Illinois.  During the closing years of World War I, the young newly appointed Archbishop George Mundelein quietly purchased nearly 1000 acres of land in Area, Illinois (later to be renamed Mundelein, Illinois).  He was planning for this to be the site of the resurrected concept of a major seminary of the Archdiocese of Chicago named St. Mary of the Lake.  The original university charter had been granted in 1844 by the State of Illinois which empowered the university to grant academic degrees of a Bachelor of Arts degree and the Masters of Arts degree in religious studies.  The original seminary closed in 1868 – the building destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  Archbishop Mundelein reopened St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in 1921 at its present location under the original charter.  It has since been granted permission to confer the canonical degrees of baccalaureate, licentiate and doctorate in theology and the Master of Divinity.  In 1929 it was also recognized as a provincial seminary – open to students from other diocese.  USML welcomes students from 46 diocese around the world from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.  Mundelein is the largest of the 51 seminaries serving the United States with 204 seminarians.  USML has a total enrollment of 622 in its various programs.

Text Box: All of the buildings on campus were built between 1920 and 1934.  The first put to use was the now South Residence in February 1922 – the last was the Auditorium in 1934.  Campus buildings are meant to look American on the outside but Roman on the inside.  The Main Chapel marks the center of campus.  To the north of the chapel are the Feehan Memorial Library, the McEssy Resource Center, the North Residence Hall, Theology Classroom, Faculty Residence Hall, Auditorium, Grotto, and cemetery.  To the south of the chapel are the Administration Building, the South Residence Hall, Conference Center, gymnasium, convent, and Prist Center.  The Dining Hall, located behind the Main Chapel which has been serving three meals a day since 1922 when the building opened. The Main Chapel was completed in 1925 – a donation of $500,000 was made by the Hines Family (of Hines Lumber fame) in honor of their son Lt. Edward Hines Jr.  Now the gift would translate to over $6 million.  Chimes ring each quarter hour in ancient tradition of named bells; Mary, Joseph, Thomas and Catherine. The Conference Center was an original classroom building.  Officially dedicated on November 1, 1925, the building is styled as a Virginian adaptation of Georgian architecture.  On the right of the entrance is St. Thomas Aquinas - the “Angelic” Doctor of the Church and chief exponent of Scholastic Philosophy – to the left is St. Catherine of Alexandria – patron of Christian philosophers.    

Text Box: A major expansion of the Feehan Memorial Library is underway with the addition of the McEssy Theological Resource Center.  When completed, the Library will include a museum and gallery and will host cultural programs for the University and Lake County community.