The Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice in Canada

The origin of the Company is closely tied to the great movement of evangelization and Christian renewal that developed in France in the 17th century, and more immediately to the missionary and pastoral activity of Mr. Jean-Jacques Olier.
A disciple of Mr. Vincent de Paul and Father Charles de Condren, Jean-Jacques Olier (1608-1657) took part in the “missions” organized by them in France. He realized that this apostolic effort would be short-lived without a reform of the clergy. On Father de Condren’s advice, he renounced the episcopate offered to him because he felt called to “bring contemplation into the priesthood”. Indeed, he would accomplish two important works: “one is the renewal of the Church in its quarters, the other the establishment of a new Church in Canada, where a Christian city is to be built, which is a work of marvelous importance” (Dominique DESLANDRES, John A. DICKINSON and Ollivier HUBERT, The Sulpicians of Montreal. A History of Power and Discretion 1657-2007, Montreal, Fides Editions, 2007, p. 30).
In December 1641, together with two other priests, he founded in Vaugirard, then a small village near Paris, a house of formation that welcomed young men preparing for the priesthood. A few months later, he was appointed pastor of the parish of Saint-Sulpice, and he moved this small community to Paris, near the rectory. Other priests soon joined him to help with the ministry of the seminary and the parish. From then on, the members of this team of formators were called the Messieurs of Saint-Sulpice, or simply the Sulpicians. Thus was born the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice.
In the vision of Fr. Jean-Jacques Olier, this small Society was meant to remain a group of priests, few in number, bound not by vows, but by priestly charity and by the gift of themselves in service to the formation of priests. They were to be animated by a spiritual life marked by the apostolic spirit, a deep sense of adoration and interior life, as well as by a strong missionary zeal (cf. Constitutions, art. 1–5).
The seminary was, above all, to be a community of fraternal life shared by those preparing for ministry and their formators; the latter were above all spiritual masters, exercising the ministry of spiritual direction.

Pontifical Canadian College

In 1888 opens in Rome the Pontifical Canadian College which hosts the Canadian priests and some priests candidates to Saint Sulpice who are studying in various universities in Rome.

To meet the educational needs of the city, Saint Sulpice founds in Montreal two classical colleges that, even today, continue their activities under the responsibility of private corporations distinct from the Society. As early as 1767, Father Jean Baptiste Curatteau of Blaiserie, PSS, accomplishes a pioneer work and opens the College of Montreal in his rectory of Long Point. This establishment moves in 1862 to a building nearby the Major Seminary and becomes, in 1968, an educational institution of secondary education.

In 1927, the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice established a classical day school, the Collège André-Grasset, in the northern part of Montreal. In 1970, the college adopted the new CÉGEP model, offering a university preparatory curriculum as well as several technical programs.

Missionary Departure of Canadian Sulpicians to Japan

The missionary radiance of the Canadian Sulpicians to Japan in 1933 and then to Latin America in 1949, has been a great challenge for the Province. Pius XI, the great Pope of the Missions, knew very well Father Jean Verdier, Superior General of the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice (1929-1940), who later became cardinal archbishop of Paris, and he asked for his help. He thus continued the initiative of his predecessor, Benedict XV, to firmly establish indigenous churches in every country in the world, especially in Asia. He himself had appointed and ordained the first Japanese and Chinese bishops. At his request, he sensibilized all spiritual families to be interested in missionary work. Thus bishop Jean de Guébriant, Superior General of the Foreign Missions of Paris, former student of Saint Sulpice and missionary in China, strongly suggested to Pope Pius XI to accept help from Saint Sulpice for the formation of clergy in Asia.

In 1932, his excellence Albert Breton, bishop of Fukuoka, invites Saint Sulpice of Canada to establish in southern Japan a seminary for the formation of clergy for this region of Japan. Already before this, cardinal Verdier had assured the departure of the first two French Sulpicians for the founding of the Major Seminary of Hanoi, in Tonkin. During a visit to Canada in the summer of 1932, he urged the Provincial of the time, Father Roméo Neveu, to found a Seminary in the Country of the Rising Sun. He himself, during the following year 1933, will oversee the foundation of the Major Seminary of Yunnan-fu in China.

Seminars

In Canada and abroad, we witness the resumption of the missionary movement under the leadership of the already mentioned Pope Pius XI and the superior general, the future cardinal Jean Verdier. The Society undertakes the direction of several seminaries devoted to the formation of priests:

Other institutions where the Sulpician ministry of formation continues:

In addition, the Sulpicians of the Province of Canada collaborate since 1980 with the Instituto de Teologia Pastoral para América Latina (ITEPAL), especially by providing leadership during the period of 1981-1988. Many Sulpicians are collaborating there since 1989 as invited professors for various courses and sessions.