Willowbrook Seminary

Forming priests, serving communities

In June 1946, Father Albert D’Amours, provincial superior, announced the Eudists’ intention to establish a formation house in the United States for English-speaking candidates. Boston was his first choice, but unsuccessful efforts led him to choose Hyattsville, Maryland, near Washington. After considering several properties for sale, he purchased a large house surrounded by a magnificent park, formerly owned by a secretary at the British Embassy.

The purchase involved many legal and administrative difficulties, but they did not prevent the institution from opening in the fall of 1947. Its first seminarians were young men recruited in Ireland by an Eudist.

The undertaking soon proved difficult to sustain: several young Irishmen had to leave because they were not prepared for philosophical and theological studies; recruitment prospects in this predominantly Protestant area were limited; and the property was expensive to maintain. The remaining seminarians moved to Sacred Heart Seminary in Charlesbourg in 1950. The house served as a residence for students and missionaries until it was sold in 1963.

Seminary life in photographs

20 archival photographs of buildings, people, and community life.

Eudist Archives slideshows

Charlesbourg Archives Service

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