Talk on Pope puts focus on seminary

The four yearbook photos of Robert Prevost at the St. Augustine Seminary in Laketown Township show the changes from the 13-year-old freshman to a 17-year-old graduating senior.

The images from 1970-1973 show a teen from Chicago maturing, said Elizabeth McEwen, executive director of the Felt Estate, during the final presentation of the Summer Speaker Series in Park Township on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026.

“We’re watching a kid grow up,” she told the crowd of more than 60 people that filled the Pump House Museum and Learning Center, 2282 Ottawa Beach Road.

Only in hindsight can people now look at the face of Pope Leo XIV.

“I hope that after spending this time together you leave here knowing a little more about Robert Prevost, but I also hope that you leave here knowing something about the hundreds of other young men who called St. Augustine Seminary home, about the Augustinians who taught them and cared for them,” she said.

For a video of the talk, visit here.

Seminary history

McEwen shared the history of the seminary in context of changes along the lakeshore, from the acquisition of the land by Dorr Felt, inventor of the Comptometer, the first machine that could do all four math functions, to the construction of the mansion starting in 1925, the purchase of the land in 1949 by the Augustinian order, the sale to the state and the opening of a prison in 1978 and the acquisition of the prison property by Laketown Township in 1996.

That property is now Shore Acres Park and the Felt Estate.

She praised the volunteers who preserved the mansion, 6597 138^th Ave., and, she said, “decided it was worth saving even though they couldn’t possibly know all the stories that it still had to tell.”

Commemorating the seminary

Prevost was named the first American Pope in May 2025.

The estate is studying how to commemorate the Pope’s years at the seminary.

“In light of Pope Leo’s wishes that this not be about him, we are working on putting together an exhibit about the seminary years. It’s in the planning stages now,” McEwen told the crowd.

The estate is working with former seminarians to gather information.

“How can we really do justice to this really fantastic piece of the story of the estate that really hasn’t had a light shown on it before?” she said.

The project could be completed in several years.

McEwen’s talk capped off the speaker series that started July 1. Topics have included the significance of trees in the Grand Haven area, Tulp Trime, Native American history and a local woman who helped refugees escape Nazi-occupied Europe.

Mansion tours

The Felt Mansion is open for self-guided and guided tours for a fee. Check the Felt website here for available dates, times, and tickets.

The mansion is open for free self-guided tours during its Free-For-All Day from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6.

A self-guided tour generally takes about 45 minutes to an hour with direction by a tour booklet, which includes architectural and historical details about the estate, plus two videos that play on repeat. The Felt Mansion can accommodate groups of any size, and visitors of all ages are welcome.

Only the first floor of the mansion is handicap accessible. All other floors are accessible via stairs only.