spiritanyear2

Welcome to the site of the TransCanada Province of the Spiritans. We are a Roman Catholic Religious Congregation of over three thousand members, founded in 1703. Our missions are spread worldwide. While we may be found involved in many diverse ministries, we have dedicated ourselves to working with the poor and in those situations where the Church has difficulty in finding ministers. We hope you enjoy your visit to our site and that while browsing you will keep us in your prayers. May God bless you.

The Spiritans

Celebrating 300 years

Launching Out
Into the Deep

by Fr. Paul McAuley, CSSp

Over the next year, the Spiritans worldwide will be in a process of reflection, renewal and celebration. We have several anniversaries to recall and mark appropriately; the 200th anniversary of the birth of Fr. Francis Libermann, our "second founder," the 150th anniversary of his death and finally, on Pentecost Sunday of 2003, we will celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Spiritans.

For the past three or four years, at our Generalate in Rome, our motherhouse in Paris, and in each of the fifty seven countries in which Spiritan men and women minister, preparations have been underway to mark these important milestones in the life of our missionary congregation. We are called during this year not to just remember the glories of the past, but to use the Spiritan Year as an opportunity for personal renewal, community renewal, as well as to renew our efforts to promote the missions, ministries and charisms of our congregation.

The Spirit, first imagined as sweeping over the face of the dark abyss of creation, continues to lead us beyond what currently exists into the unknown future, daring us to be open to new ways.

more from our Provincial Superior...

For our part in English Canada, we decided that one way of calling attention to the Spiritans and our works would be to have a new video produced. Thus began "Project 300" back in mid 1999. We approached Villagers Media Productions in Toronto and asked if they would be interested in the project and would they be able to somehow distil three hundred years of activity into a half hour programme. Our friends at Villagers were most interested and wonderful in helping us to focus our story. The result was Launching Out Into the Deep, our new half hour video that was completed in November 2001.
For those involved in this production during the past two years, the process itself was enriching and rewarding. Though the Spiritans and Villagers Media had collaborated before on several occasions, the making of Launching Out Into the Deep seemed to take on a weightier dimension (from our point of view) because of its tie to our 300th anniversary.
Launching Out Into the Deep manages remarkably in thirty minutes to tell the somewhat complicated story of the founding, growth, and "refounding" of the Spiritans, to capture our charism and the core values of our order, as well as to highlight some of our current significant ministries in Canada. This video will be most helpful over the next few years in the areas of promotion, vocations, education and yes, perhaps even fundraising! We hope to eventually arrange to have it shown on TV as well.