ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE STANDISH, ME HISTORY   Saint Joseph's College of Maine is a Catholic liberal arts college in Standish, Maine, that grants bachelor's degrees in a traditional on-campus setting, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees via online education. The college’s 430-acre campus in southern Maine is located on the shore of Sebago Lake, just 18 miles from Portland, Maine’s largest city. It is the only Catholic college in Maine.      From the time the Sisters of Mercy arrived in Portland in 1873, they dreamed of establishing a college in the area—and worked toward it. Saint Joseph’s was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1912 as an institution for women. The college, run by a lay and religious Board of Trustees, was located on the convent grounds of the Sisters of Mercy Motherhouse in the Deering district of Portland.  In 1949, the name of the College was changed from Saint Joseph’s to The College of Our Lady of Mercy, but in 1956 when it moved to its lakeside location in Standish, the name reverted back to the original St. Joseph’s. In 1970, Saint Joseph’s became coeducational and six years later began a distance education program for working adults. Saint Joseph's College Online offers its online programs to 2,400 students in 50 states and nine countries in conjunction with the Sebago Lake campus..       I   THE HAUNTING OF ST. JOSEPH'S      Xavier Hall, once known as the Verrill family home, was built in 1925. It is situated such that it overlooks Lake Sebago with a direct view of Mt. Washington, 60 miles away in New Hampshire. It is surrounded by green lawn and fronted with a stonewall enclosing beautiful flower gardens.      When Saint Joseph's College first moved to Standish, this building served as a residence hall for the senior women. As the operations of the College increased, the building was gradually given over to the President and other senior officers for their use.      Xavier Hall is one of the few remaining pre-World War II estate houses on Lake Sebago. Its grand styles, location on a 330-acre parcel of land, and extensive use of native stone is representative of Lake Sebago region estates of the period from about 1880 until 1930.       Xavier Hall is said to be haunted by the spriit of a nun. She has been seen by former students and the old structure that was last inhabited by a group of nuns belonging to the sisters of Mercy continues to be haunted. Students claimed lights would flash in the wee hours of the night and even a skeptical janitor began to think that the slamming of doors was not simply a strong breeze.         There is a child that haunts the old chapel, he was the son of the family that owned the land before the college was erected, he was buried in the chapel and had to be moved, sometimes you can hear him laughing and playing      There is a small girl that haunts the pond. She drowned while playing near her little play house, her father built her.