Canadian Scholasticate Moves to Ottawa

At its annual meeting in January the Formation Board of St. Charles Scholasticate decided to move the scholasticate from St. Albert (Alberta) to Ottawa (Ontario) for the beginning of the 2003 academic year. Originally the scholasticate for St. Mary’s Province, St. Charles has served for many years as an inter-provincial scholasticate for the English-speaking Provinces: St. Mary’s, St. Paul’s, St. Peter’s, Grandin, Manitoba and Assumption. The Provincials of these Provinces and their respective directors of formation make up the Formation Board.

The following are some of the more significant reasons for the move: the ability to live and study in a bilingual (French/English) environment; the strong academic and pastoral reputation of Saint Paul University, an Oblate institute that offers programs in both French and English; the frequent presence of Oblates from around the world in the Ottawa area; participation in the Centre for Ministry Formation at Saint Paul University where there are excellent opportunities for supervised pastoral ministry; and the opportunity to take courses in missiology.

The new Superior, Fr. Tadeusz (Ted) NOWAK with Bro. Thomas CAVANAUGH as assistant, make up the formation team. The scholasticate is located in the Deschâtelets Residence at 175 Main Street, Ottawa. (St. Peter’s Province newsletter).

One young Oblate from the United States Province is a scholastic in the new community.  Antonio Ponce professed his first vows in Guatemala in July.  After a holiday with his family in Mexico, he joined the Canadian scholastics as they moved into their new quarters.

(Thanks to OMI INFORMATION for the greater part of this article.)