Men's Religious Communities

"From the beginnings of monasticism to the “new communities” of our own time, every form of consecrated life has been born of the Spirit’s call to follow Jesus as the Gospel teaches (cf. Perfectae Caritatis, 2). For the various founders and foundresses, the Gospel was the absolute rule, whereas every other rule was meant merely to be an expression of the Gospel and a means of living the Gospel to the full. For them, the ideal was Christ; they sought to be interiorly united to him and thus to be able to say with Saint Paul: “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21). Their vows were intended as a concrete expression of this passionate love." -From Apostolic Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to All Consecreated People on the Occasion of the Year of Consecreated Life.

Holy Cross Congregation

When the Holy Cross Fathers arrived in Memramcook in 1864, their main mission was to continue the work of educating Acadian youth undertaken a few years earlier by the then local pastor, Father François-Xavier Lafrance.  The principal objective was to give the Acadian community professional and political leaders. That was the challenge St. Joseph’s College would undertake. When Father Camille Lefebvre passed away in 1895, there were already quite a few priests, doctors, dentists and a few magistrates who had passed through St. Joseph’s College.

During the second half of the 19th century, the Holy Cross Fathers’ exercised their ministry in nearly every part of New Brunswick and even in the Diocese of Portland, Maine. However, the Congregation’s main activity in Acadia remained the College, which later became St. Joseph’s University. The Memramcook establishment closed with the creation of the Université de Moncton in the early sixties.

Following Vatican II and with the changing world of education in New Brunswick, most priests from the Congregation moved on to pastoral ministry.

Click here for the list Holy Cross religious in the Archdiocese of Moncton. 

The Redemptorists Fathers

When the Redemptorist Fathers officially arrived in Moncton they were preceeded by their reputation for their remarkable preaching of parish retreats and missions in every corner of the archdiocese.

 

Bishop Norbert Robichaud wanted to maintain this ministry in the archdiocese so he invited the congregation to minister to the new parish of Notre-Dame-du-Perpetuel-Secours (Our Lady of Perpetual Help) in Humphrey (Moncton) in 1948.

 

Their ministry continued to flourish to such a point that Bishop Robichaud approuved, in 1954, the contruction of a minor seminary in Humphrey that would serve, at the same time, as a residence for the priests involved in different ministries. The minor seminary contributed to the formation of more than 800 young Acadians. It closed in the early seventies at which time it became a residence for seniors, the Villa du Repos, and was finally demolished in 2007.

The Redemptorist Fathers were also responsible for the former retreat house in Bouctouche from 1956 to 1969.

Click here to find the Redemptorists Fathers in the Archdiocese of Moncton.

 

Brothers of the Christian Instruction

Our mission is to proclaim the values of the Gospel to the Acadian youth, in collaboration with the project Village des Sources en Acadie, situated at Shediac Cape, on our property. We share our spiritual, pedagogical, and pastoral experience and knowledge with lay faithful who want to facilitate sessions for the youth in our Diocese. Our community presence and our availability to serve in different areas help to sustain the commitment of these lay persons as well as that of our associates in the pursuit of the charism of our Founder, Jean-Marie de la Mennais. 
 
Those youth who have participated in Village des Sources en Acadie qualify to register for the follow-up project called CHANTER LA VIE. Some fifteen evenings of gatherings, where they are taught the songs of Robert Lebel, priest, and learn the deeper meaning of these lyrics, allow them, toward the end of the year, to present a musical concert in testimony of their Faith. These young persons are thus oriented in becoming better human beings. They mix with religious members and lay persons who are happy to commit themselves to serving the youth. We also participate in certain parish and diocesan activities.
 
For more information, see website Village des Sources en Acadie

Visit the Brothers of the Christian Instruction web site.

Trappists

 

The Trappist Fathers arrived in Rogersville in 1902, some 34 years before the foundation of the Archdiocese of Moncton. Their arrival was providential as it was an answer to one of Msgr. François Richard’s dreams. He gave the Trappists a tract of land on which they built the present monatery, encouraged them and offered them material assistance during the difficult hard times of the first years.

When the Rogersville monastery was founded, it was located in the Diocese of Chatham. The limits of the new Archdiocese of Moncton ended with the Kent County boundaries. In 1939, the limits of the two dioceses were changed at which time Rogersville and the monastery became part of the Archdiocese of Moncton.

The Trappist Fathers seek to discover God through Scripture reading, Christian spirituality, theology and meditation on the truths found in their studies. They manifest their love by renouncing freely earthly values that can be better directed towards their real finality. They exercise their service towards their colleagues in the monastery and their brothers from outside who are accommodated by the inn.

Visit the Trappists web site.

Message from the Trappist Monks, dated April 30th 2024:

On April 26, 2024, the abbot general of Cistercians of the Strict Observance and his council, sitting in Rome voted to close Our Lady of Calvary abbey here in Rogersville, NB.
It follows that we are officially closed.  A commission has been formed to deal with the practicalities of closure.  We are still here though, living our monastic life until all issues regarding this closure are resolved.

This monastery, Our Lady of Calvary Abbey has officially closed, and we will gradually close this year.  We want you, our friends, and faithful Christians to know this.  We ask you to please respect our privacy, and bear with us.  We will update this information at appropriate times.

Fathers Eudists

Visit the Eudists Fathers web site.