The U.S. Province of Sulpicians recently held its biannual retreat at the Archbishop Brunette Retreat Center in Federal Way, Washington, just outside Seattle. Fifty members of the Province attended the retreat, from all around the United States and from Zambia.
Father Stephen ROWAN, a priest of the Archdiocese of Seattle, directed the retreat. He focused his conferences on Dante’s Divine Comedy, tracing the marvelous ways in which Dante explored the depths of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Father Rowan’s evening conferences, held in the context of Compline, focused on Sulpicians he had known and admired when he was a seminarian or a colleague in seminary formation.
After the retreat concluded, a “community day” was held in which the outgoing Provincial, Father Thomas ULSHAFER, PSS, and the incoming Provincial, Father John KEMPER, PSS, gave updates on certain projects underway in the Province, especially a major renovation of the Saint Charles Villa, the Province’s retirement home in Catonsville, Maryland.
Another aspect of the day was a presentation by Rev. Raymond CARY, a priest-psychologist from the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, who gave a detailed presentation on the terrible damage inflicted by sexual abuse of minors. This conference was part of the Province’s regular ongoing education on the topic of sexual abuse. Father Cary’s material focused particularly on ways in which formators in seminaries can help address these issues to prevent any future sexual abuse by seminarians and priests.
Below are some pictures from the retreat.
