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While Father Stevens was in residence at the monastery, the
Monks Nonprofit was able to pay its bills. The Monks Nonprofit
borrowed money from a bank to build the monastery building and
obtained a bequest to cover much of the construction debt. The
Monks Nonprofit also accepted donations but did not solicit them.
To avoid burdening the Catholic Church, the Catholic Church
required that the monastery show its financial stability before
accepting monks in residence. Although the Monks Nonprofit was
able to pay its bills, the Monks Nonprofit was unable to show
sufficient ability to operate financially independently to meet
the standard required by the Catholic Church. As a result, the
monastery never had any monks in residence, although a few people
came to inquire about it.
In 1991, Father Stevens experienced some health problems and
departed Nebraska for Nova Scotia, anticipating that he would
die. He left the monastery in the hands of the Monks Nonprofit.
The Archbishop became the president of the Monks Nonprofit, which
meant that the Catholic Church had both legal and ecclesiastical
responsibility for the monastery. The Archdiocese invited the
Patrists, a religious group from Singapore, to move onto the
property, and the Patrists accepted. The Patrists constructed a
third building on the land, a two-story dormitory. The Patrists
experienced conflicts within their group, and the Archdiocese
forced the Patrists to vacate the premises in about 1994.
Faced with the possibility that no religious order was
willing and able to occupy the premises, the Archdiocese
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Last modified: May 25, 2011