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Life Changing 
Program

The St. Therese Gap Year program rests on three pillars: Personal Formation; Community; and Catholic Studies.

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Personal Formation

Community

Catholic Studies

What is Community?

Community is the essence of the program. You will study, work, play, and pray together throughout your time here. 

Every community member shares a similar goal to deepen their faith. As you will see, there are many expressions of such desire.

What is Personal Formation?

You will be led through an incredible personal and spiritual formation process, with one-to-one mentoring throughout the year.

Why Catholic Studies?

Catholic Studies focus on knowledge of Scripture, Tradition, and Church history, as well as developing foundational understanding of Catholic Theology and classical Philosophy.

Such coursework prepares Catholic men and women to live as leaders and saints in the Church and in the world.

Jesus, brimming with life, wants to help you make your youth worthwhile.

Pope Francis, Christus Vivit (109)

Are you prepared for your next chapter?

Before moving into your next season of life, take the time to stop and put the most important pieces together.

Uncovering and embracing your deepest identity and mission will empower everything else you’ll ever do.

You don’t have to do it at St. Therese, but if you intend to lead a life that is worthy of the soul within you, you have to do it somewhere.

Don’t wait.

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Life Changing 
Formation Program For Young Adults
Jacob-sledding-during-the-annual-_sNo-Fun-in-Saskatchewan_-winter-activity-day (1)
"Since coming to St. Therese, the Lord has helped me to be grateful for so much. In prayer, community life, and classes, I have often been led to a place of awe and joyful incredulity, often catching myself thinking, "Can life really be this good?"
Jacob Anderson
2019-2022
Testimony-Julie-Kautz (1)
Nothing has taught me real friendship. quite like community life at St Therese!...The Community life here has been a safe place to learn how to reorientate my relationship from being selfish to selfless.
Juliana Kautz
2020-2023
Testimony-Sebastian-Aguilar
"I had no intention [of attending] until a week before the start… I was experiencing a time of darkness. Looking back now, I see that being here is the culmination of a long search for healing. I’m right where I should be: in His merciful hands."
Sebastian Aguilar
2020-2022
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The way of life at St. Therese taught me to encounter Jesus in each little task with a “yes”, ultimately paving the way for my vocational “yes”. Some days, my “yes” to love looks more like a maybe”... That’s when I remember the teachings of St. Therese, how Jesus delights in my small efforts, and wants to be everything for me.
Sr. Kaitlyn Deck
2014-2017, 2019
A Day in The Life
Good Morning
6:15 AM
7:00 AM
7:20 AM
8:00 AM
8:45 AM
9:25 AM
10:00 AM
Your Guide
Read about a typical morning at St. Therese Institute, told from the perspective of Beth Reitzel.
Wake Up
My alarm goes off. I glare at it for a moment before I decide to accept this day as a blessing and push myself out of bed. I know some people woke up earlier to exercise, pray, or just enjoy the quiet morning hours. There are always people having conversations in our cozy coffee room by the time I get down there, but it’s all I can do to get dressed and ready for the day on time! Lord, bless my day!
Morning Prayer
It’s time for Liturgy of the Hours in the chapel. I love starting our day with Morning Prayer, knowing that priests, religious, and lay people around the world are praying the same prayers. Reflecting on the psalms and scripture readings is a wonderful way to start the day. We remember God’s goodness and mercy—and it’s a missionary work too! We pray on behalf of all those who have no voice to do so. Though many of us have gravelly voices this early in the morning, the songs and chanting are absolutely beautiful.
Personal Prayer
Personal prayer is one of my favourite times. After praying as a community, some people stay in the chapel and others go for a walk, but I like to find a comfortable chair to curl up in and spend some quiet moments with God. I often journal or read the Mass readings. Above all, I do my best to listen to God and to reflect on how I can respond in love in all I do today.
Mass
I love Mass at our parish community of St. Bruno! Sometimes I volunteer to read, but I always like participating and being with the people. It is such a blessing to receive Jesus in the Eucharist and I know this is where I find the strength I need for the rest of the day. Of course, Fr. Pius’ homilies, filled with stories and truth, are always a highlight.
Breakfast
Even the most difficult mornings become great when I’ve eaten the Eucharist and had a good breakfast! I really appreciate how we have the options of porridge, toast, and fruit, along with yogurt or fried eggs depending on the day. The conversations that happen around the table are always worthwhile. I especially love to hear how God has spoken to others through prayer and the Mass. Each week a chore group washes the dishes after breakfast, but today I have a few minutes to sit and enjoy the company of others in the coffee room. With cozy couches and chairs, and good friends, the coffee room is one of my favourite places. You never know what the conversation there will be!
Praise & Worship
There is little I enjoy more than praying through song! Depending who’s leading praise and worship, we might have guitar, keyboard, and percussion, and maybe bass, ukulele, or fiddle joining in. Whatever the arrangement, it is a beautiful time of community prayer that never fails to lift my spirit.
Class Time
This morning we have Critical Thinking, a class that I am learning to love. Though it sometimes gives me a headache from thinking hard about things I may never fully understand, I truly enjoy the challenge and how the class is often discussion based. I appreciate the professor’s patience in explaining new concepts until we have a solid understanding of them. It’s refreshing to be expected to think for myself and be encouraged to ask questions. I’m rediscovering the childlike curiosity inside me and recognizing what a gift it is.
“The sense of identity and peace that I received through formation at St. Therese is something I carry into my everyday life. I could not do the work that I do without the knowledge that I am known and loved by God and that the small actions I take have inherent purpose when they are done with love.”
Hannah ChartierAlumna from 2016-18, wife, mother of one, and doing masters studies in counseling.

Real Transformation

Embark on a spiritual pilgrimage…into an extraordinary vision of who you are and how you can choose to live.

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Experience the joy of young Catholic community!

St. Therese welcomes men and women 18-27 years of age into our program.

Some people come to St. Therese as a Catholic gap year after high school. Others come after post-secondary studies, or as a sabbatical from work or school. Whatever your story is, we welcome you to Apply.

How it works: Community, Study, and Prayer

Our program runs from the beginning of September to mid-May. Our nine months of formation begin with a few weeks of orientation. During this period, you get to know others and the formation team. You also build a foundation for the spiritual growth and learning you will do through the year. Then, from the beginning of October until mid-March, you take undergraduate-level courses, delving into the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Old and New Testaments, writings by popes and saints, and more.

Finally, from March-May, you are in week-long intensive courses. These cover topics like Ignatian Discernment, Marriage and Family life, Apologetics, and Theology of the Body. The year is capped off with a commissioning celebration, where you will be sent into the world as missionary disciple. You will still have two weeks here, after that, in which you’ll complete a short course that prepares you to move on from St. Therese and live out your commissioning. The program is accented by both personal and public retreats, community events, and feast days celebrations.

What’s the purpose?

Why spend nine months in a gap year program when you could be earning money at work or getting a degree at a big university?

The most important project you will ever undertake is your own life. Yet many people, who would stop and draw up plans for a spring break trip or a simple building project, will nevertheless dive into life itself without real plan or direction. This is why many come to crisis by midlife. They discover, unfortunately late, that even their impressive accomplishments have not given them purpose. Only identity and mission can do that, and you need to take time to understand and embrace those things. 

Take the time to stop and put the most important pieces together now at the start of your adult life. You don’t have to do it at St. Therese, but you have to do it somewhere. This is a place where we study, pray, and recreate in community, in a way that invites God to reveal his plans for us and our lives. Knowing your deepest identity and mission, first, empowers everything else you’ll ever do.

Our Streams of Study

We have two primary parallel streams of study: one for Gap Year students and one for students who request a second-year Mission Year in this unique Catholic community.

The Gap Year program is designed to stand alone. But you can choose to stay on for additional years!

The second year focuses on missionary vision for the post-modern era, is called our Mission Year, and builds upon the Gap Year course content.

Students in both program years live in dorms and share meals together as one community.

Common questions about St.Therese Institute of Faith and Mission

St. Therese Institute works with instutions of higher education to seek transfer credits for the Catholic Studies course work that students complete while living as residents on our program. We find consistent success with other Catholic institutions, but there are a number of non-Catholic Christian institutions that have recognized our program for credit, as well. We have historically been recognized by the following institutions, and we even have formal agreements with a number of them.

  • Newman Theological College (Edmonton, AB)
  • Holy Apostles Seminary & College (Connecticut – USA)
  • Catholic Pacific College (Langley, BC)
  • Canadian Mennonite University (Winnipeg, MB)
  • Ave Maria University (Florida – USA)
  • Atlantic School of Theology (Halifax, NS)
  • St. Stephen’s University (St. Stephen, NB)

 

If you have a college or university not listed here to which you would like to bring your academic work from St. Therese Institute for credit, speak with our staff. We will advocate for you.

St. Therese Institute has a variety of programs to invite adults of all ages to come encounter Christ through intellectual edification and community engagement: .

  • Our flagship Catholic gap year program is designed to serve young adults, aged 18-27;
  • Our Mission Year program for gap year alumni is designed to serve young adults, aged 18-27;
  • Our Lay Apostolate internship program is designed to serve young adults, aged 18-27;
  • Our two Open House weeks, each year, are designed to welcome Catholics of all ages into the residential life and academic programming of the Catholic Gap Year;
  • Our week-long intensive classes – the “Spring Courses” – are designed to serve Catholics of any age;
  • Our weekend Catholic speaker conferences (in Advent and/or Lent each year) are designed to serve Catholics of any age.
  • The St. Therese Institute does not currently run any programs designed to serve Catholic youth, but each summer we host three week-long “Ignite” youth camps, run by our local partners in Catholic mission, Face2Face Ministries. Contact Face2Face for more information on youth camps.

The St. Therese Institute also does not currently run any programming specifically for children, but children are welcome here. Childcare services are provided during our weekend Catholic speaker conferences to support and encourage families who wish to attend.

St. Therese Institute is a mission, and our goal is to support your growth in Christ. We charge fees for this program because of real costs. On the other hand, we are committed to working with you to ensure that finances do not keep you from the life-changing experience God has for you.

The cost-per-month of attending the St. Therese gap year program is roughly $1,750, which is about $1,000 lower than the average monthly cost of living + rent for a single person in Canada. So, you will probably spend more on normal life if you do not attend St. Therese this coming year…while if you take a St. Therese gap year, you can expect:

  • to spend $1,000 less per month;
  • to get personal mentorship;
  • to get Catholic academic courses taught by passionate professionals;
  • to get a ready-made community of friends; to have your meals made hot for you; and
  • to find the vision of yourself and your life that will empower everything else you ever do!
This amazing opportunity is made possible because donor support of the St. Therese Institute reduces the cost to you by a full one-third.
 
However, it is also true that you will not be able to earn money with a job during a St. Therese gap year. This requires planning.
 
For most people, the answer is either to save up ahead of time, to fundraise across your family and your local community, or do some combination of these two things. Some people even continue to fundraise throughout their St. Therese year, with ongoing email campaigns and parish visits to raise support whenever they go home on breaks.
 
The St. Therese Institute is committed to helping students develop and execute a fundraising plan, if you need help making one. Reach out to ddouglas@sttherese.ca to request fundraising support.
 
The St. Therese Institute also continues to build funding for scholarships to help cover your costs. Do not neglect to apply for a scholarship if you have need. You can do so here.
 
If you still have financial reservations, do not let them keep you from embarking on this life-changing journey into your deepest identity and the God-given mission of your life. Our executive director, David Douglas, arranges a small number of payment plan options each year. Reach out to him – ddouglas@sttherese.ca / 306-369-2555 – if you think this could apply in your situation.
 
*The St. Therese is a residential community with academic programming, more akin to a monastery than a school in the eyes of the province. Unfortunately, this means families usually cannot use educational savings plans to pay St. Therese Institute fees.
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