St. Josaphat’s Monastery
Glen Cove, NY
It was built in 1916 and belonged to John E. Aldred who made his fortune as chairman of Gillette. He was also president of various water and power companies and was hired by Mussolini to help provide electricity to Italy. This got him into major trouble and he lost everything. He was forced to sell his estate. The Basilian Order of St. Josaphat bought it for $75,000 in 1944.
Nearly all the building materials were brought from England or Ireland, plus some of the trees. The stone floors are from a castle in Ireland and the wood paneling inside is from the Sherwood Forest.
The place is absolutely beautiful, but is sadly falling into disuse. Besides the one student, there are two Basilian Sisters, three priests, and a former student (my friend) who is staying there.
