St Michael's Mount replacing the pack horses which had previously been used. Its steep gradient renders it unsafe for passenger-use, thus The National Trust has made it out-of-bounds for public access. The causeway between the mount and Marazion was improved in 1879 by raising it by with sand and stones from the surrounding area. Repairs were completed in March 2016 following damage from the 2014 winter storms. Some studies indicate that any rise in ocean waters as well as existing natural erosion would put some of the Cornwall coast at risk, including St. Michael's Mount. Until recent times both the mount and the
Mount Saint Michael as a scholasticate in 1968. For the next ten years, Mount St. Michael served as a residence for retired Jesuit priests and as an ecumenical prayer and retreat center. In 1977, the Jesuits sold Mount St. Michael to the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen, led by Francis Schuckardt. Mount St. Michael served as a boys' school, seminary and rectory for the priests and brothers of the Congregation. Schuckardt was not ordained by the Roman Catholic Church but by American Old Catholic bishop Daniel Quilter Brown. Schuckardt founded a sedevacantist congregation at Mount St. Michael, and eventually declared himself the true