Holy Spirit Hall

    It began with a single gift of waterfront property with a house, twenty-seven miles from the city - on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, to Bishop John Quinlen in 1874. The property was originally used as a summer residence for the orphans at St. Mary's Home in Mobile.
  Then, in 1937, Miss Julia Russell of Mobile gave her summer home, adjacent to the original property, to His Excellency, Most Revered T. J. Toolen. The facility hosted its first season of summer camps in 1939 for underprivileged children from throughout the diocese.
  From the report of the first summer, we have the following information:

There are four buildings on the camp site, main building consisting of recreational hall, dining room, kitchen, pantry, storage pantry, two dormitories and sleeping porch. To left of main building is seminarian’s cottage, back of building is wash house, showers and laboratories, to the rear a cottage of two rooms and a work shed.
The camp can accommodate thirty children and staff. It is equipped with electric light, Butane gas, which supplies hot and cold water, gas for cooking and electrical ice box. The furnishings of the camp are modern, convenient and plain. It afforded an unusual privilege for 180 children from the diocese during the summer months.

  Medical examinations and services were provided to the campers during the sessions. During the first summer records show: 180 campers from Mobile, Birmingham, and Pensacola, 142 medical exams administered, 70 children treated for tonsilitus, 50 children received dental care, and 2,024 quarts of milk distributed. 
 The staff was comprised of the Sisters of the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity and the Brothers of the Missionary Servarnts of the Most Holy Trinity. There were six physicians and eight dentists who volunteered their services, as well as 8 dentists and three women assisting them. 
  Over the next 8 decades, Camp Cullen, as it came to be known, has been a source of happiness, spiritual retreat, and beautiful respite for many young people throughout the Archdiocese of Mobile and its surrounding areas.