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Save America’s Treasures sites.
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| Exterior of Feehan Memorial Library at Mundelein Seminary. Photo courtesy of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/ Mundelein Seminary. |
Feehan Memorial
Library, Mundelein Seminary
The Treasure: The
Feehan Memorial Library at Mundelein Seminary is home to a remarkable special
collection of rare books and Americana .
Accessibility: The
Feehan Memorial Library is open daily.
Check the website for hours.
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| Cardinal George Mundelein in 1932. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Background: Cardinal
George Mundelein (1872-1939) had a passion for collecting. A widely respected
Roman Catholic leader who served as Archbishop of Chicago from 1916 until his
death in 1939, Cardinal Mundelein cherished his country and his faith. For him, this meant a commitment to
preserving records of the past. Mundelein’s collection of Americana , Presidential signatures, and
autograph manuscripts of saints comprises a significant portion of the
treasures of the Feehan Memorial Library at Mundelein Seminary. Other treasures
can be found among the library’s rare books, many collected by John E. Rothensteiner
(1860-1936), a parish priest who served in Fredericktown and St. Louis , Missouri
Nearly 75 years after his death, much of the campus of the University of Saint Mary Chicago
needed a seminary for the formation of priests, Mundelein
revived St. Mary’s College, which existed here from 1844 until 1866. Renamed
the University of Saint Mary on the Lake, Mundelein ’s
new seminary opened in 1921.
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| The ceiling of the Feehan Memorial Library. Photo courtesy of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. |
A great school needs a great library and Mundelein
had a vision for it, as well. He had the
architects base the interior of the Feehan Memorial Library on the 16th century Barberini Palace in Italy
where Mundelein had completed his seminary
training. Mundelein had his coat of arms
incorporated into the tables and ceiling beams, with representations of bees (a
symbol of the Barberini family) and the Virgin Mary. He named the building the Feehan Memorial Library in
remembrance of Chicago ’s
Archbishop Patrick Augustus Feehan (1829-1902).
Of course, the library is primarily focused upon books that
serve for the education of priests—thousands of books on theology, scripture
studies, and church history. But the
special collections are an unexpected surprise, full of treasures you might not
expect to stumble across in this environment. Here you find a land survey by George
Washington, a collection of first-edition Charles Dickens books, a signed
edition of Napoleon’s memoirs, a 15th century illuminated “Book of
Hours,” a 1515 edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy, the first Bible printed in
Gaelic, and major sets of autographs of American presidents and Catholic saints
personally collected by Cardinal Mundelein.
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| Interior of the Feehan Memorial Library. Photo courtesy of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. |
Other Recommended
Sites: Mundelein Seminary is located in Lake County , Illinois Lake County Discovery Museum
in Wauconda , Illinois
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| Overhead image of the Feehan Memorial Library. Photo courtesy of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. |
Tour America's History Itinerary
Coming next: A tour of Pennsylvania’s Save America’s Treasures sites.
© 2013 Lee Price
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