of Seminaire Salesien in Sherbrooke
Provincial Announcement
March 3, 2017
The following letter was published on March 3 by the authority of Fr. Timothy Zak, vice provincial.
The Salesian Province of New Rochelle, N.Y., with presences
in the Eastern USA and Canada, has been in a process of reshaping, so as to
give clear witness to our charismatic identity as Salesians and our vocation as
consecrated religious. We have spent significant time in study of the signs of
the times and in prayer and reflection to understand better this reality and
make some decisions that will enable the mission and spirit of Don Bosco to
grow.
As part of our reshaping process, we feel the importance of
working closely with the groups of the Salesian Family, collaborators, and the
local Church. The Salesian mission is extensive and shared by a vast movement
of people working together for the education and evangelization of the young
and the poor.
To this end, the Salesian Province of St. Philip the Apostle
announces the sale of Le Salésien in Sherbrooke, Quebec, to the Corporation of
Séminaire Salésien, represented by their Board of Directors.
The sale of Le Salésien has been under consideration for a
number of years. The decision is made now as part of the process of reshaping
the entire Salesian province is working through. This decision has the support
of Archbishop Luc Cyr of Sherbrooke and the Rector Major, Fr. Angel Fernandez
Artime, SDB, and his council.
The Salesians of Don Bosco will remain active participants
in the mission at Le Salésian. The agreement between the Salesians of Don Bosco
and the Board of Directors assures the continuity of the Salesian charism in
school in a number of ways: the presence of SDBs on the various leadership
groups, a full-time position on the staff, space in the school for youth
ministry offices and programming, formation of the faculty in the Preventive
System, participation in province events, some rooms reserved for a Salesian
library, offices, and workshops, etc. The SDB community will continue to reside
in the residence a short distance from the school. In fact, all of this is
already being done very effectively by the SDBs, and is well received by the administration,
faculty, and students.
A very positive indication of the vibrant Salesian spirit at
Le Salésian is the Salesian Cooperator center, which recently had new members
make their promises. As in the time of Don Bosco, they will work closely with
the SDBs to advance the Salesian mission to the young and their families.
The Salesian province is grateful for the dedication of the
Salesians at Le Salésian, to Raymond Lepage, the current principal, and his
administrative team, to Fr. Richard Authier and Claude Métras, commercial mediator.
The Salesians feel confident that this decision is an effective way to preserve
the charism of Don Bosco without being bound to administrative offices. For
over 50 years, Le Salésien has helped thousands of young people grow in
knowledge and faith; we pray that fidelity to this mission continues for many
more decades.
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Le Salesien's CYM Fr. Alain Leonard (bottom, 2d from right)
with some of the school's Salesian Youth Movement members.
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Another 4 French Canadian Salesians are in Montreal--2 in active ministry and 2 in retirement.
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