A small group of young men knock on the Seminary door this summer. This number, without being negligible in times of a shortage of vocations, is however smaller when compared to the five last years. Nonetheless, we will have - as we have already done for three consecutive years! - to ask the new candidates to share their rooms. Next school year we will have 91 seminarians, apart from our brothers, three professed, two novices and two postulants. Lastly, our teaching staff will be composed of seven priests. At the beginning of the school year, 105 men will be living at the Seminary - something that will demand some ingenuity on our part, as our building is designed to receive comfortably only 75!
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
A small group of young men knock on the Seminary door this summer. This number, without being negligible in times of a shortage of vocations, is however smaller when compared to the five last years. Nonetheless, we will have - as we have already done for three consecutive years! - to ask the new candidates to share their rooms. Next school year we will have 91 seminarians, apart from our brothers, three professed, two novices and two postulants. Lastly, our teaching staff will be composed of seven priests. At the beginning of the school year, 105 men will be living at the Seminary - something that will demand some ingenuity on our part, as our building is designed to receive comfortably only 75!
Fathers Heggenberger and Gaudray, as well as Brother Marcel, have left us, appointed to other posts by our Superior General, to whom alone belong these decisions.
Father Heggenberger has spent two years with us, teaching the introductory courses to Holy Scripture in the year of Spirituality, Apologetics for the philosophers, and certain courses of Dogma for the theologians. He has been called to take charge of the Angelus magazine, published by the District of the United States. He will bring to this post the experience acquired in Germany as District Superior and there is no doubt that his lively spirit will lead his readers to many interesting subjects.
Father Gaudray arrived at the Seminary in 1997! Thus, he has left his mark on several generations of seminarians. These three last years Father has been in charge of teaching Dogma and Metaphysics and, in his course of Liturgy, he dealt with the delicate problem of the liturgical reform introduced forty years ago. Father was, as the listing of his courses reveals, one of the cornerstones of our teaching staff. His intellectual rigor and the soundness of his doctrine will be sorely missed. All the students respected and admired his competence. Our debt towards him is large, we will try to repay it by our prayers and by taking again the torch that he has left us. Father Gaudray has been appointed to France, where he will be in charge of a priory in Normandy and will be also the chaplain of a school of the Teaching Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus, the same congregation to which belong the religious who work with great zeal in Post Falls and Massena.
We have also lost another asset of our house, Brother Marcel. He needs no introduction, as his artistic work decorates magnificently many SSPX chapels. Our Good Lord gave him an artistic gift that he has diligently used and developed for the service of God. Neither will we forget his skill as caricaturist, how he, with a few pencil strokes, revealed a funny situation or an emblematic character! At the end of August our dear Brother will go to his new post at the La Salette school. We are sure that his example will make many students pose to themselves the question of a religious vocation, and we pray that many young men will come to knock at the door of the Brothers' Novitiate to dedicate themselves to the service of Jesus, Eternal High Priest, in the person of His priests.
Despite our sadness at losing three beloved members of our community, we have the joy of receiving back Father Kenneth Dean. Father already taught at the Seminary during several years, at the beginning of his priesthood. He was later pastor of Saint Vincent's in Kansas City, Assistant to the US District Superior, and finally, two years ago, he was at La Salette school. He will be in charge of the courses of Scripture in the year of Spirituality and English in the year of Humanities. He will also give courses of Dogma to the Theology students, replacing Fr. Heggenberger.
We ask for your prayers because, as you must have noticed, this year we will have one professor less! We have had to restructure the distribution of courses, a delicate task that we entrust to your prayers.
But, thanks be to God, this year we will also have a group of deacons who, during this last year of their formation, will exercise certain ministerial functions and will allow us to heighten the beauty and solemnity of the liturgical ceremonies.
Finally, we assure Fr. John Fullerton of our sacerdotal friendship and our prayers. Called to take charge of St Mary's Academy and School after his six years as District Superior of the United States, we want here to render him the homage he deserves and to publicly acknowledge how much we appreciate him.
Dear friends and benefactors, we beg you to continue supporting us with your prayers, so that we might be instruments of grace in the formation of the souls of our future priests. As for us, this news, which we are pleased to share with you, is an expression of our recognition for your past assistance, a petition for your continual help and the assurance that we entrust you and your families to the maternal intercession of Our Lady.
In Christo sacerdote et Maria,
Fr. Yves le Roux