Alumni News from Fr. Michael Prieur

 

St. Peter's Alumni - So fruitful in many ways!

Greetings to all of our alumni/ae!

Our Alumni Association continues to thrive as the Seminary begins its biggest renovation since it was built. Our latest Alumni Bulletin will be coming out in September, 2016. Needless to say, it is full of new directions at the Seminary under the tireless direction of Fr. Steve Wlusek (‘86), the rector for over six years now. The main one is that, during the first phase of work spanning at least a year, all the seminarians will be living on the second floor and at Aquinas House. This year, on that floor, it will seem like yesteryear when we had up to 135 seminarians using all the floors. Who knows? With the latest influx of 18 new seminarians, we may be on the way to these numbers again! Keep up the prayers.

Coming out with the bulletin will be an updated Alumni Necrology for 2016.

Three names are especially noteworthy:

• Mr. Fred Pitt died on Feb 14, 2016, achieving 100 years of a very full life. He left the Seminary in 1942, having almost made it to ordination. He loved St. Peter’s, even coming to our centenary reunion.
• We should also mention Fr. Charlie McManus (‘51) who died on June 13, 2016. He gave the Seminary archives a sizeable chunk of his time helping us with various historical items.
• Finally, Fr, Vince Gleeson (‘60) died on May 11, 2016. Just when he was about to retire, he agreed to be a facilitator for the Permanent Deacon formation program, generously responding for six years to the “Fr-r-r-iend” invitation of yours truly on the front steps of Janisse Brothers Funeral Home in Windsor. All three are wonderful examples of actively carrying on our alumni spirit right to the end. May they all rest in peace!

Our alumni continue to publish all kinds of great books.

I highly recommend Fr. Mike Ryan’s latest one: Encounters (Solidarity Books, 2015).

Also, Fr. Jim Conlon’s (‘64) Becoming Planetary People – Celebrations of Earth, Art and Spirit (Trowbridge & Tintera Publishing, 2016) will stretch your “Geo-Justice” sights for his 11th book.

And look out for our newest and youngest author, Fr. Patrick Bénéteau (‘10), who has a bi-lingual publication coming out soon on the magnificent murals in his parish church of River Canard just south of Windsor, Ontario.

Deacon Steve Cartier (‘07) also spearheaded a committee which published a book, Portals to Prayer, on the stained glass windows in Blessed Sacrament Parish in Chatham, Ontario.

I do think our artistic treasures in our parishes are a largely untapped source of fresh evangelization for our secular times. Have you ever thought of doing something in your parish?

I conclude by mentioning the wonderful work now being done on faculty by the newly-minted Dr. Bernardine Ketelaars (‘01). The whole area of field education is receiving a brand new infusion of focus and breadth from this mother and grandmother on our faculty. Indeed, our alumni and alumnae continue to be so fruitful in so many ways. God bless them all!

Fr. Mike Prieur (‘65)

Prayer for Unity

All powerful and loving God, you call your daughters and sons into life with you and entrust to your community the mysteries of the faith. Draw the people of your Church into greater unity, deeper reconciliation and tangible charity, so that they may see in us a foretaste of your heavenly kingdom. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.