On May 1, 1864, the abbey opened their church in the public wing of their basilica to the general community, and France sent a priest by the name of Jerome Moyen to lead them. On November 15, 1866, Gethsemani's abbatial church was consecrated by Archbishop Purcell of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, assisted by the bishops of Louisville and Buffalo. Present at the consecration was Bishop Spalding of Baltimore, who gave the homily. That same year Gethsemani was given control over a nearby parish, and Dom Benedict also founded a religious order for women—the Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis—who were assigned to teach at an all-girls school in Mount Olivet, Kentucky. At this time, the abbey was not bringing in many new postulants, in part due to the strict leadership of Dom Benedict. In 1878 the abbey had roughly the same number of monks as when it was founded, and none of those present were American. As a result, Gethsemani leased some of its land to local farmers to avoid closure. In 1884 the abbey suffered a devastating blow. Their grain mill—a major source of income and nourishment—was destroyed by fire. Despite this, Gethsemani managed a very large and productive farm by this time. In 1885 the community received its first lifelong American monk, a former cowboy from Texas. The number of monks at Gethsemani, however, had dropped to 34 by the end of Dom Benedict's tenure. In ailing health, Berger retired in 1889 and was confined to the abbey's infirmary until his death in August 1891. Abbot Edward Chaix-Bourbon's resignation amidst scandal Dom Edward Chaix-Bourbon was the next Abbot of Gethsemani, installed on May 9, 1890; his abbatial benediction took place in September. Dom Edward applied himself to caring for the all-boys school the abbey ran on the grounds, transforming it into Gethsemani College (or Gethsemane college). The college received numerous applications, mainly from Kentucky. Abbot Edward initiated the construction of new buildings and hired Darnley Beaufort as principal of the boarding school. Beaufort claimed to be an aristocrat and an expert educator, but he was subsequently convicted of sexual abuse. The 1895 scandal remained with the monastery and its school many years. Abbot Edward knew about Beaufort's offenses but did not intervene for years. After the scandal was made public, he submitted his resignation at the General Chapter, but it was rejected twice.