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BC Agreed To Buy Historic Stained-Glass Windows From a Missouri College. When the Deal Fell Through, BC Sued.

Boston College filed a federal lawsuit against Urshan University, alleging the Missouri-based Christian institution violated federal law by breaking an agreement to gift 13 stained-glass windows to BC.

“At the eleventh hour, after Boston College had already incurred expenses in preparing to remove the Windows from the property and engaged a contractor to safely remove and restore the windows, Urshan repudiated the agreement without justification, based on its desire to sell the property—including the windows,” BC wrote in a federal complaint.

BC sought to acquire the historic windows—depicting Catholic saints, martyrs, and religiously significant moments in the history of the Jesuits—to store in its new Catholic Religious Archives.

“The windows are unique and religiously significant, beautifully portraying Jesuit saints and martyrs,” BC wrote in its complaint. “As such, the windows carry particular value to Boston College, a Jesuit, Catholic educational institution seeking to preserve significant Jesuit and Catholic artifacts and history.”

The windows are installed in a chapel on the historic St. Stanislaus Seminary property, which has sat vacant since 2019, when Urshan relocated its primary campus and ceased educational activities there. 

Since the move, the property has deteriorated due to alleged vandalism and weather-related damage, BC claimed.

“The buildings there have deteriorated and fallen into disrepair,” BC wrote. “The chapel, and the windows, now stand at grave risk of increased property damage from vandalism, neglect, and adverse exposure to the elements.”

After its move, Urshan has been attempting to sell the entire property—including the chapel and its historic windows—in the hopes that a developer would be able to maintain and preserve the entire site, according to a signed declaration by Aaron Frei, a liturgical design expert, submitted in support of BC’s lawsuit.

Preserving a Jesuit Legacy

The St. Stanislaus property is an important historic site for the Jesuit community. Established in 1823, it served as a novitiate—or religious school—for Jesuit priests. According to the Jesuit Archives, it was the longest continually operating Jesuit novitiate in the United States. 

In 1971, St. Stanislaus Seminary, including the chapel, was sold to the Gateway College of Evangelism, Urshan’s predecessor, and Urshan has remained in possession of it since. 

In November 2023, while Urshan was searching for a new owner, Rev. Casey Beaumier,  S.J., vice president, university secretary, and director of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College, began corresponding with Urshan about helping preserve the windows. 

Beaumier proposed making a $5,000 donation for this cause, according to a signed declaration by Jennie Russell, executive vice president of Urshan University.

Urshan informed Beaumier that it was not willing to gift the windows to BC, as it intended to sell the St. Stanislaus property in the hopes that a new owner would be able to maintain or even restore it. 

But in March 2024, Urshan reached an agreement with a third party to donate two of the historic windows in exchange for a $25,000 donation.

Several months later, in July, Beaumier contacted Urshan again, amending his initial proposal to offer $25,000 for all 13 windows. 

Urshan later claimed in a filing that Beaumier pressured it to renege on its agreement with the third party and accept his offer instead.

Emails referenced in the filing suggest that Beaumier noted the importance of keeping the windows together for easier removal and restoration.

“I wonder if there might be a way to reverse the agreement as we want the windows in their entirety,” Beaumier wrote in an email to Urshan. “All of them will need to be restored and it will be easier to have them as a set for removal and restoration, I believe.” 

Ultimately, Urshan canceled its agreement with the third party, and in September 2024, it signed a new agreement with BC to transfer all 13 windows in exchange for a $27,000 donation. 

Earlier that same month, however, Urshan was contacted by a developer interested in revitalizing and restoring the entire campus. The developer indicated that preserving the windows in the chapel was crucial to securing a tax credit for the project, according to Russell. 

Based on the offer Urshan received from the developer and its desire to maintain the historical significance of the site, Urshan moved to withdraw from the agreement with BC, as it had previously done with the third party. In response, BC filed the lawsuit.

Urshan’s Change of Heart

University Spokesman Jack Dunn declined to comment on specifics of the pending lawsuit but expressed confidence in BC’s position.

While we expect to prevail in court, given the pending court case, Boston College is unable to provide further comment at this time.”

Urshan has maintained that it is within its rights to withdraw from the agreement, just as it did with the third party, and that BC understood this possibility when it made the agreement.

“In discussions between the parties, Father Beaumier knew that gifts can be revoked or rescinded before they were completed through delivery of the ‘gifted’ items,” Urshan argued.

Urshan also argued that BC is attempting to “rip out” the windows and remove them from their original location, claiming that BC’s real true interest is in acquiring them as collectible artifacts for its archives.

“Urshan is desirous of having the entire property redeveloped to maintain and protect the property for historical purposes,” Urshan wrote in response to BC’s complaint. “To this end, the ability to save the property is far too important to the Jesuit Order, the religious history of the Midwest, the City of Hazelwood, and its residents than a ‘gift’ of the Windows and Plaintiff’s desire to obtain these ‘collectibles.’”

February 2, 2025

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