Sale touches memories for many

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

Newman Theological College and St. Joseph's Seminary have touched many people over the past 50 years.

Many priests attended the seminary and thousands of lay people from across Western Canada have taken courses and earned degrees at Newman.

So when the two institutions close their doors at 15611 St. Albert Trail in the spring of 2009 some people will feel a sense of loss. The college and the seminary were recently sold to the province to make way for the Anthony Henday ring road and the archdiocese is planning to rebuild both institutions on a new site.

Father Mike McCaffery is known for embracing change but says he feels saddened by the loss of the current site.

McCaffery received his seminary formation at St. Joseph in the late 1950s and later served as professor, vice-president and president of Newman College in the 1970s and early '80s. In the beginning the site housed just the seminary. The college was added in 1969.

"I have a lot of memories about the place, most of which I can't repeat," he laughed. "Those were the days when courses were (taught) in Latin."

After the Second Vatican Council, "it was a very exciting time to be Church," McCaffery recalled. "It was very exciting theologically because there were a lot of different viewpoints."

When McCaffery was college president from 1976 to 1983 Newman had a small staff. "I used to answer the phone at night and clean the hallways and answer the door."

Beautiful, peaceful place

He described the current site "a beautiful, peaceful place" and said he will remember it with fondness. "I certainly enjoyed myself out there."

Bernice Mahoney, pastoral assistant at St. Albert Parish, studied part time at Newman for about 10 years. She received a bachelor's degree in theology in 1997.

"I've good memories of all the things I learned, of spiritual growth, of friends made," she said.

Mahoney has the physical setting of the college imbedded in her mind. "It is a very peaceful place," she said. "I went for lots of walks between classes.

"The building itself is very nice, especially the stained glass windows in the chapel. It's 50 years old but it was a special place for all of us who were there."

Michelle Dupuis, principal at St. Nicholas School, studied at Newman for two and a half years and received a graduate diploma in religious education in 2001.

"To me, losing Newman College is like losing a part of myself as well," she said. "I feel a tremendous sense of loss."

"Newman is filled with God's presence in the icons, the statues, the stained glass windows and the peaceful gardens that surround it," Dupuis said.

But she said the college is more than a building. "It's an institution that stands on a strong foundation of faith and history." It has been very successful in its mission of forming religious educators and ordained ministers who are prepared to make a difference in the world.

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