Monastery of the Precious Blood - Portland, ME - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

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Monastery of the Precious Blood - Portland, ME

in American Guide Series

Posted by:  T0SHEA

19T E 397908 N 4834051

Built in 1807, since 1934 this has been a monastery and prior to that a girls' school. In the late 1930s, when the American Guide Series writers passed through Portland, the house was still known as the Mellen-Fessenden House.

Following is the excerpt from the American Guide Series book, Maine, a guide 'down east,' which relates to the monastery, which had opened as a monastery not long before the book was written. The monastery is number 30 on the book's list of points of interest in Portland.


At one time cloistered in at least twelve monasteries, the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood are now housed in seven, this being one of the seven. The order was founded in 1861 by Catherine Aurelia Caouette in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada.

At one time their monasteries could be found from one end of the continent to the other, from Portland, Oregon in the west to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in the east.

This monastery, built in 1807 as a private residence, remained a private resident, passing through several hands, until being purchased by Bishop Louis S. Walsh of the Catholic Church in 1918. On January 6, 1919, the building was dedicated as a girls' school called King's Academy, remaining open until 1926, at which time the students were transferred to St. Joseph's Academy in Deering. In October of 1934, ownership of the property was transferred to the Sister Adorers of the Precious Blood, who remain there still.

Within is a chapel which one may visit daily while a local priest holds mass once a week.

Monastery of the Precious Blood

This building has a long, rich history. It was built in 1807 for Chief Justice Prentiss Mellen (1764-1840). In 1846 James Deering became owner, residing here two years while he built a mansion behind Deering Oaks. He then transferred title to his son-in-law William Pitt Fessenden (1806-1869), upon whose death Judge William L. Putnam, mayor of Portland, acquired the residence. These men and their families were very prominent Protestant Portlanders.

Bishop Louis S. Walsh purchased the home in 1918 and on January 6, 1919, he dedicated the building as girls' school called King's Academy. The Sisters of Mercy taught here until 1926, when the students were transferred to St. Joseph's Academy in Deering.

In October 1934, Bishop Joseph E. McCarthy transferred ownership of the property to the Sister Adorers of the Precious Blood, a cloistered order of nuns, who continue to reside here. There is a chapel inside which anyone can visit on a daily basis.

For most of their existence, the sisters have sold what are called Mass cards to the local Catholic population. They are purchased for a nominal fee when a loved one has died and the sisters offer up Masses for their souls. A local priest celebrates Mass in the chapel weekly. The Rev. Nicholas J. McNeil, S.J., a teacher at Cheverus High School, was the chaplain here from the 1950s until the 1980s.
From the Maine Irish Heritage Trail