As I described in Notes last month, the Provincial Council is exploring the benefits of St. Laurence College entering one of the Catholic schools trusts ( Le Chéile) to assume sponsorship of the school.

We believe, and the local Marianist community concurs, that this is the best way to continue Catholic education at the school. The requirements of entering this trust include payment of a significant one-time entrance fee and an annual per-capita student fee.

In order for the province to do this financially, we will need to sell a portion of the school property. This would allow us to establish an endowment to cover the required costs, along with providing for the future needs of the local Marianist community.

St. Laurence has sufficient land to facilitate a sale without compromising the existing facilities that are currently enjoyed by pupils, staff and other users.

Yesterday, Fr. Marty and I met with St. Laurence's Board of Management, the teachers, staff and parents to inform them of the direction we are proposing and to listen to their responses. During our stay, we will also meet with the Archdiocesan education representative and the executive director of Le Chéile.

At this point, we have not signed any agreements. I will keep you informed as this initiative develops.

Please keep this matter in your prayers.

 The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offers valuable resources for the Advent season:

• Advent calendar

The "Share the Journey" campaign, led by Pope Francis, calls the Church to reach out to our immigrant and refugee neighbors. The toolkit offers a variety of resources to help us connect with the plight of immigrants and refugees.

The Province remains an active member of the Murphy Initiative, which is one of the many ways we advance justice beyond Province ministries.

Based in Baltimore, the Murphy Initiative seeks to "live the joy of the Gospel by working to create a just and peaceful world." Bro. Tom Trager currently serves as the province on the Murphy Initiative board. Learn more.