SOUTH BEND — The Brothers of the Holy Cross have appealed an Indiana Tax Court ruling that upheld St. Joseph County’s right to collect property taxes from Holy Cross Village, a retirement development owned by the religious order.

The religious order has filed a request for a rehearing before the Indiana Tax Court, said attorney Richard Nussbaum, who represents the order.

Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame is on Indiana 933, north of Holy Cross College and south of Saint Mary’s College. It provides villa and apartment living for senior citizens.

If the order loses, it could be liable for more than $434,000 in accumulated taxes and penalties for 2002 and subsequent years.

The Brothers of the Holy Cross maintain the property should not be subject to property taxes because it is owned by their religious order and therefore exempt under Indiana law.

However, a 2002 local government decision determined that only a small section of the 38.6-acre property should be exempt. The Indiana Board of Tax Review later ruled that the religious ordered did not prove the housing development is used for charitable purposes.

Whatever the decision on the appeal, the matter still could be appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court.