"Our Lady of Smooth Landings, pray for us."

This is an appropriate invocation when a flight is on course for an emergency landing. But it is just as appropriate for us as we face a challenging three months in Halifax. The Jesuit Centre of Spirituality will close on June 30, and the two Jesuits currently assigned here, Trevor Scott and myself, are being reassigned. In addition the parish of which I am the priest-in-charge, St. Patrick’s, is facing an uncertain future, with a discernment which may lead to either closure or a move to another location, should the money for urgent restoration work not be available.

The Jesuits will have been in Halifax from 1940 to 2016. The recent Jesuits in Canada series, two volumes out and one to come, offers greater detail. But in brief what have the Jesuits done in Halifax from 1940 to 2016?

•  from the outset in 1940 the intended ministry of Jesuits in Halifax was primarily academic. We took over Saint Mary’s College in that year. Its high school section was closed in 1963. By the time the Jesuits relinquished control in 1970, this college was well on the way to becoming a major Maritime university.
•  from 1940 to now Jesuits in Halifax have assisted in the ministry of the local Church. In 1952 we founded Canadian Martyrs’ Parish in the prosperous south end, on the campus of the University, and staffed it until 2005. In 1995 we began involvement in St. Patrick’s parish, in the poorer north end, and in 2010 took charge of that parish. Over the years we have been involved in many other parishes as well. And we have played a significant role in Koinonia, the archdiocese’s training programme for lay ministry.
•  from 1980 onwards the Jesuits of Halifax began a more formal spiritual ministry to the people of Halifax and of the Maritimes. They operated out of Daniel Centre in the 90's, and when the Jesuits left their residence near the University, the Jesuit Centre of Spirituality began near St. Patrick’s Parish in 2005. Throughout this entire period there have been two to four Jesuits assigned to this ministry, assisted by a number of trained spiritual directors. Our ministry has involved formal liaison with the Atlantic Association for Spiritual Exercises Ministry (AASEA) and with various CLC communities in the Maritimes.

From the 60's to now the Jesuit presence in Halifax has dwindled from some 30 men to the current 2.

What does moving after 76 years entail? We are well established in Halifax, with strong connections from both previous and current ministries. Our presence here is taken for granted by many friends and University alumni, and we keep on dealing with the shock of those who are hearing for the first time about our departure. The standard explanations – there are fewer Jesuits and we have to retrench – are not usually convincing. “Why close Halifax? Could the Jesuits not retrench elsewhere?”, we are asked. To that question we have no answer. Others ask broader questions about where the Jesuits world-wide are headed, as, for instance, on CBC Information Morning NS.

It would be the height of irresponsibility for us to simply sneak out. Our departure has to be celebrated, albeit in a bittersweet way, and such celebrations are being planned right now. We are grateful to the people of Halifax who welcomed us and our ministry, and we have reason to believe that they are grateful for what we have accomplished here for the better part of a century.

Above all we need to ensure a smooth transition. Who will continue the work our staff is currently doing, especially in spiritual direction? Fortunately as we close another religious community in Halifax, the religious of the Sacred Heart, is beginning a spiritual ministry similar to ours.

And while we will not have a residence and a centre in Halifax, we will still have responsibilities in the Maritimes, for instance liaison with the CLC and the AASEA, and there are other ministries which we hope can be taken up from time to time in assistance to local church communities as time and availability might permit.

The transition in the parish is another matter altogether. There is no guarantee that I will be replaced when the Jesuits leave. We need to come up before June 30 with a sufficient sum to cover emergency stabilization work. We hope that will be quite a bit less than $1M and that we will find benefactors to help up. 

An attempt to close the parish some years ago backfired, and scars still remain. Humanly speaking, a peaceful discernment and resolution of these painful issues will be difficult. The Spirit needs to be especially present and active.

It is easy to get rid of a small tree that has existed for just a few years, but the roots the Jesuits have grown over the decades are deep: fast friends of many years, a large residence, formerly a convent, with room for some residential retreatants, a library which began many years ago for the local Jesuits and has grown over the years, especially in the area of spirituality.What possessions of the community to pack up, what ones to give away, what ones to leave behind for others, what ones to shred or dump? And how to handle directees who are engaged in delicate discernments, some of them vocational? And how to make it easier for our staff associates to continue their work in a helpful setting, and our paid staff to settle graciously in a new way of life? And how best to celebrate our departure?

One transition the Lord has looked after for us. For many years we were the most numerous male religious order in this area. Our departure does not leave a gap: in the last ten years or so a new community was founded here, the Franciscans of Halifax, with some 30 members, mostly men. They are young and energetic, and we have developed an excellent relation with them as they continue their development.

This disruption is felt not only by those we leave but also by ourselves. Departures are not as personally disruptive as they used to be because contact is easier to maintain with the electronic resources at our disposal. At the same time ministries in other contexts and locations will become our priority.

                Trevor Scott, SJ is from Ontario, and has had a good experience of the easy hospitality of the Maritimes. My move to Halifax was unexpected, but it has offered me seven precious years of ministry in that part of Canada where I was born and spent my first eleven years. Life here is more leisurely. Conversation, even with strangers, flows more easily. People are seen less as isolated individuals and more as persons with their own lives and networks. It did take a while, but I did settle in and now I feel at home, almost as if I had been here most of my life.

For persons of a certain vintage like myself, family connections are a matter of interest, to be explored. Often as you share information about your roots, you discover that you are distantly related to those you meet and work with. To establish a connection, you mention the name of someone from Nova Scotia you know, and often you discover friends and relatives of that person and hear interesting stories. Being a genealogy buff has made this easier and more pleasant. I am returning to central Canada where I spent most of my Jesuit life, but enriched with a unique experience.

Yes, there is mourning and sorrow, but there is also gratitude and the promise of new life the shape of which we cannot yet clearly detect. Our Lady of Smooth Landings, pray for us. And may we receive much wisdom from what we will have lived through.

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All photos courtesy of Jean-Marc Laporte, SJ