From the moment they arrived in Saint-Hyacinthe from France in 1873, the Dominicans acted according to the definition of their order : preaching. They have found different ways to do this : parish retreats in all corners of the province and beyond; retreats for religious communities as well. Very early on, they started teaching.
This teaching mission is carried out mainly for the friars of the Province of Canada through the Dominican University College in Ottawa. First established in 1900 as a Studium, i.e., a center for the formation of the friars, the College obtained in 1967 from the Government of Ontario a civil university charter allowing it to confer degrees, from the certificate to the doctorate, to any person aspiring to a formation similar to that provided by the Order to its members.
First recognized as a center of studies for the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), the College acquired in 1967 a civil charter from the Ontario government allowing it to award university degrees in the fields of its teaching activities. For its part, the Pastoral Institute, active in Quebec since 1960, has devoted itself to training in pastoral theology, in particular to respond to the new orientations proposed by the Second Vatican Council.
Like all faculties of theology and philosophy in Quebec and elsewhere, the Dominican University College and the Pastoral Institute are seeing the number of enrollments in their programs decrease. While it is true on the one hand that fewer students are enrolling in our so-called “traditional” programs, on the other hand we are seeing a lot of interest in short courses, such as conferences, workshops, or others, dealing with current issues, and for which the light of a philosophical or theological thought, and the Word of God in particular, are necessary and appreciated.
The Dominicans, a mendicant order
The Order of Friars Preachers founded by St. Dominic was, as we know, from the beginning specifically instituted for the preaching and salvation of souls. Our mission is to proclaim everywhere the Gospel of Jesus Christ by word and example, taking into account the situation of men, times and places, and whose aim is to give birth to faith, or to allow it to penetrate more deeply into the lives of men in view of the building up of the Body of Christ, which the sacraments of faith bring to perfection.
Dominic wanted his brothers to be ” beggars ” and not to possess any property. Taking seriously the words of the Gospel of Luke : ” Do not take anything for the road, neither staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money… : (Lk 9,3), he wanted them to be free from any attachment to the goods of this world. In this way, he wished to prevent the possession of goods or property and their management from monopolizing the brothers and preventing them from devoting themselves entirely to contemplation, the study of the Word, the preaching of the Gospel and teaching. For this reason, with a few rare exceptions, they have only owned academic institutions that were not supported by public authorities. They generally do not receive salaries or pension plans from governments and they continue to this day, by the very will of St. Dominic, to solicit the funds they need for the mission of preaching and teaching.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
| Luc Chartrand, O.P. | Président |
| Yves Racicot | Vice-président |
| Ghislain Paris, O.P. | Secrétaire-trésorier |
| Yves Bériault, O,P. | Administrateur |
| Gérald Gagnon | Administrateur |
| Carole Imbeault | Administratrice |
| Brigitte Quintal | Administratrice |
| Marc LeBoutillier | Adinistrateur |
ACTIVITY REPORTS
