MOUNT ST. BERNARD'S COLLEGE AND SEMINARY

MOUNT ST. BERNARD'S COLLEGE AND SEMINARY. Predecessor of LORAS COLLEGE. Not satisfied with St. Raphael's Academy in Dubuque, Bishop Mathias LORAS planned another school outside the city. Mount St. Bernard's College and Seminary was founded in Key West, south of Dubuque, in 1850 with a group of stone buildings to house the faculty and students.

Father Andrew Trevis was president of the institution for the first five or six years. The faculty changed frequently with new priests from Europe taking the place of those who had become “Americanized” during their stay in the rural seminary.

The financial crisis of 1857 led within two or three years to a rapid enrollment decline. The institution was closed permanently in 1860. The site of the college is now a secluded private home along the MILITARY ROAD.

On May 31, 1951, the archbishops and bishops of Iowa first announced their plans for a new theological seminary to be constructed in Dubuque. At that time it was announced that the name for the seminary would remain Mt. St. Bernard Seminary.

On August 16, 1951, the SISTERS OF MERCY announced that they had sold their novitiate, Mount St. Agnes Villa, as the location for the new seminary. (The site had once been the home of Fannie STOUT).

Domestic duties of the seminary were accepted by the Sisters of Saint Francis. The initial class of seminarians moved in on September 17, and the Seminary was formally dedicated December 12, 1951.

At the time of the dedication, Catholic school children were asked to make contributions during Lent toward the purchase of a statue of St. Bernard. Dr. Christian Petersen, a famed Iowa sculptor on the staff of Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) was given the commission. The resulting statue stood twelve feet high and weighed fourteen tons. Because of the softness of the stone, the figure had to be transported upright for ten hours to reach Dubuque. The progress of the unique cargo through small Iowa communities was carried by several TELEVISION and RADIO stations as well as the Associated Press news bureau.

Upon its arrival in Dubuque, the statue was slid from its trailer onto two beams positioned over the statue's base. Between the beams were two one hundred-pound blocks of ICE that allowed the beams to be removed. Fifteen hours later, as the ice gradually melted, the statue settled into place.

In 1969 the property was taken over by the SISTERS OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (PBVM). The site is now called Mount Loretto.