Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010

K of C honoured for supporting seminarians

International award bestowed on Brother Anthony Council for their financial support, fraternal actions for St. Joseph's seminarians

WCR PHOTO | RAMON GONZALEZ St. Joseph's seminarians enjoy the Italian supper hosted by Brother Anthony Council in their honour last December.

ST. ALBERT - Brother Anthony Council of the Knights of Columbus has received a major international award from the supreme council for supporting Edmonton seminarians.

The 270-member council, based at Holy Family Parish, received the prestigious Church Service Award at the Knights' international convention in Washington, D.C. Aug. 4.

The award was given to the council in recognition of its social and spiritual support of almost 30 priestly students of St. Joseph's Seminary during the past year.

Grand Knight Bruno Binassi and his wife Cheryl and daughter Emily travelled to Washington to receive the award.

"It's a bit humbling and it's a bit overwhelming that this project that I created a year ago has been recognized internationally," he said Aug. 18.

"I didn't expect it to go to this level. In fact I didn't expect anything of it."

Binassi has the trophy seating on his dining room table and will present it to the full council on Sept. 22.

"The council worked very hard on the project and the fact that we received it is very humbling."

Encouraged by Father Mitchell Fidyka, the pastor at Holy Family, Brother Anthony Council launched a program to support seminarians a year ago in September.

YEAR OF THE PRIEST

"It was the Year of the Priest and so that was a big driving force behind it," explained Binassi. "Also our parish pastor challenged us to create a program that would be more spiritual in nature and so I thought that supporting our seminarians would be a good fit with the challenge he gave us as a council."

Called Supporting Our Seminarians, the program includes many different activities involving the seminarians. For instance, the council published the biographies and pictures of the seminarians in its newsletter so that members would know them.

The council also organized an Italian Night in November and bused the seminarians to the church for the event. At the dinner, it presented each of them with gift certificates donated by the members of the council.

In March, the Knights had a Seminarian Appreciation Night and at the dinner the seminarians again received gift certificates and were presented with a 55-inch flat screen TV, which will be set up in the new seminary. Four seminarians also received $500 scholarships from Brother Anthony council.

Moreover, the council said a special vocation prayer specifically for the seminarians at each of its meetings. Another purpose of the Support Our Seminarians program was to preserve the ties that the Brother Anthony Council and St. Joseph Seminary have developed over the years.

STILL CONNECTED

"The seminary used to be in our territory and we were very attached to it," noted Binassi. "I thought it would be kind of nice if we were able to still have a connection with St. Joseph Seminary even though they are not close by (anymore)."

Also "many of the seminarians come from all across Western Canada. They are here by themselves away from their families and friends for years and I thought it would be nice if we could do something to support them while they are studying for the priesthood."

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