St. Mike’s and Regis Celebrate $2.8-million in Lilly Grant Funding
The Regis St. Michael’s Faculty of Theology (RSM) has reached an important new milestone with the reception of two significant grants totalling $2.8-million CDN from the Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative.
The University of St. Michael’s College will use a grant of $1.4-million CDN to help establish the Canadian Centre for Catholic Pastoral Leadership (CCCPL), designed after national consultation with bishops, priests and lay pastoral leaders, to offer continuing education across the country. The CCCPL will be directed and developed by RSM and administered by St. Michael’s Continuing Education division. A wide variety of topics will be covered in course offerings, workshops and communities of practice, from learning how to offer spiritual direction through to managing capital projects.
Regis College has been awarded a grant of $1.4-million CDN to support the establishment of Walking in Service, an initiative to develop educational resources and programs to support the community-based formation of congregational leadership in Catholic Indigenous communities in Canada. Offerings will range from professional development workshops to newly developed courses. Adjunct faculty and community-recognized Elders with competencies in Indigenous pedagogies, ways of knowing, cultures and history will be hired to teach, mentor students, and support curricular development.
“When Regis College and St. Michael’s Faculty of Theology federated in 2022 this was precisely the kind of programming we envisioned offering by building on our respective talents and expertise,” says University President David Sylvester. “We have a mandate to serve the Church and the community, and these innovative new initiatives will provide vital training and support to two of our most important communities.”
The Walking in Service initiative was developed after significant consultation with Roman Catholic Indigenous communities in Ontario and Quebec, notes Fr. Gordon Rixon, S.J, President of Regis College, and was inspired by Pope Francis’s 2022 Penitential Pilgrimage across Canada.
“This is a significant moment in Canadian theological education, as Walking in Service will be based in trauma-informed theological education, respecting Indigenous self-determination, while incorporating land-based and cultural relevant pedagogies,” Rixon says.
In preparation for launching the two initiatives, RSM will invest in upgrading technology to ensure smooth delivery of those classes delivered online, and faculty will receive training on effective online pedagogy. The grants will also allow for professors to travel, connecting, learning, and teaching with communities outside of RSM’s Toronto base.
CCCPL programming will begin to roll out in the spring of 2026, while Walking in Service will launch in January 2026.
“While Regis College and St. Michael’s each have storied histories, these grants signify a watershed moment for RSM. We are excited not only for the coming year but for the years ahead,” says RSM Dean Jaroslav Skira.
The Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative is intended to help theological schools across the United States and Canada strengthen their educational and financial capacities to prepare and support pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both now and into the future. One of Lilly Endowment’s stated goals in funding projects is “to improve public understanding of religion and lift up in fair, accurate and balanced ways the roles that people of all faiths and various religious communities play in the United State and around the globe.”
To learn more about the Canadian Catholic Centre for Pastoral Leadership or Walking in Service, please contact Emil Iruthayathas, Director, Office of the Dean of Theology at RSM, at rsm.dean@utoronto.ca or Greg Rupik, St. Michael’s Chief of Staff, at greg.rupik@utoronto.ca.
More Coverage
Read ‘New program will develop pastoral leadership‘, published in the Catholic Register.