“This was a dream of Fr. Mike Smith,” said Fr. Chris Pulchny, the centre’s director. “His dream was to try to create a space and a place for married couples where they could come on retreat because he was very involved in the Christian Family Movement. Then in late 1976-77 we started preparing young couples for marriage.”
While serving as the assistant pastor of Toronto’s St. Stanislaus parish from 1941 to 1948, Smith established one of the largest youth groups in the city. Touched by working with youth, Smith began to wonder what he could do for their parents.
Named the first provincial superior in 1956 of the then newly constituted Oblate Province of Assumption, Smith began to turn those thoughts into dreams of a retreat centre.
“I dreamed for five years (of) a place, a retreat centre, where we could cater to married couples — to help married couples live their vocation,” said Smith in a 1991 interview. “It wasn’t easy and I looked for ways we could do it. In 1961 I really thought we could swing it.”
That year Smith purchased just over six hectares of land overlooking the Credit River in Mississauga for $70,000 and began the $415,000 two-year construction of the centre. On April 18, 1963 the doors officially opened on the then Queen of Apostles Retreat Centre. It was renamed the Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre in the mid-1970s as the centre began to introduce more retreat options.
Despite the name change, Smith’s vision for the centre remained focused on marriage.
“I would hope that the original mission to focus on the family will continue to expand and deepen,” said Smith. “I wouldn’t change the focus of the mission. I don’t think it would be a good thing to diversify too much.
“You end up doing a little of everything and not much of anything.”
And although Smith passed away in 2002, Pulchny said the attention to aiding marriages remains fundamental at Queen of Apostles.
“If you look at statistics, so many marriages fall on the rocks,” he said. “That’s why we believe that it is so important to strengthen the bonds that couples have in their marriages. This is one way to strengthen the bonds that couples have and we’ve been doing it for many many years and we still think that is important.”
While the primary focus of the centre remains marriage, the programs offered have expanded as has the range of people who visit Queen of Apostles.
Over the years the centre has become the meeting place for various groups, including Lutheran and Anglican groups, and even the Air Line Pilots’ Association, who flock there for the tranquil grounds, luxurious accommodations and conference rooms equipped with modern technology.
Other programs include youth retreats which attract high schools, grief management retreats for those who’ve suffered a loss and the ACTS retreat which has become one of the most popular since first introduced. These retreats, which are gender exclusive, take place over the course of a weekend and focus on adoration, community, theology and service.
“That is the latest, the most current retreat that we’ve introduced here,” said Anne Hales, retreat facilitator and spiritual director. “It has been a sell out.”
For example, the male ACTS retreat, to be held in November, is more than 50 per cent sold out already “with no promotion,” said Hales.
“The idea is that it is parish based and the people, the retreatants, go back to their parish with a desire to serve,” said Hales.
While Pulchny strives to respect Smith’s wishes to keep the focus on marriage, the director does acknowledge that more changes will be necessary to sustain the centre in the future.
“There are a lot of people that need a place like this and they’re willing to come to a place like this (but) how do you staff it?” asked Pulchny. “In the past it has always been Oblates with some lay people like Anne. In the future the way I see this is that it is going to be more lay people running a facility like this but with people who are infused with the Oblate characteristics.”
On Aug. 10 Pulchny will have an opportunity to scout out some new lay people during the centre’s 50th anniversary celebration. The open house is to take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and refreshments will be served. For information, see www.qoa.ca.