Located approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south of the small community of Cassella in Mercer County, the convent was built in 1854.

[2]: 2 Under the leadership of Francis de Sales Brunner, the Missionaries constructed six convents in southern Mercer County and surrounding areas between 1846 and 1856.

[4] In 1979, the Gruenwald Convent was one of more than thirty buildings added to the National Register of Historic Places as a part of a multiple property submission known as the "Cross-Tipped Churches of Ohio Thematic Resources."

This collection included historically significant buildings in the vicinity of Maria Stein that were related to the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

"[2]: 6  The convent was listed on the Register both because of its contribution to the region's history and because of its connection to Francis de Sales Brunner.