abstract
| - Plans for building an institution were approved by the State of Oceana in 1896; work started three years later. After much delay, because of financial problems, the institution was finished in 1909. James Smith was the first priest. At that time the Saint George's Chapel was still officially called the Roman Catholic Episcopical Institute of Saint George. It consisted of a monastery, nun's quarters, priest offices and a church. In 1920 an episcopical boarding school was added for locals. James Smith was known for his megalomania. He wanted his religious institution to "expand beyond its limits". Because of a lack of money and interest most of his plans were never realised. He died in 1937 and was replaced by Cornand Lenoir. He succeeded in making the boarding school popular in Oceana and Sylvania and also children from other states were sent to the episcopical education institution. He died in 1944 because of a heavy fever and was replaced by Yarislav Locke. Yarislav Locke was the first priest of the institution from Oceana origins. He renamed it to the Episcopical Education Institute of Saint George in 1953. Under his term the institution had its peak with about 300 internal children. However, church attend diminished in the fifties and sixties and at the end of his term there were only 200 internal children and 129 monks and nuns left. He died in 1967 and was succeeded by Christian Ský who died in 1973. Michael Hrad-Hladovka became the main priest in 1973. He decided to abolish the educational part of the institution and renamed it to the Saint George's Chapel, the name which it still bears today. He also demolished several buildings. He died unexpectedly in 2007 which caused a succession problem. From 2007 until 2008, the Dutch priest Johan van Buustenraedt lead the chapel, from 2008 until 2010 John Thomas was the main priest, but he left because the chapel was near bankruptcy and there were hardly any followers. From 2010 Kurt Fromfields is leading the chapel. In the early twenty-first century rumors became known about possible sexual abuse with children at the episcopical institute, just like those in European Catholic boarding schools. Investigations are still running.
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