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Welcome to OLSWA
OLSWA is a unique university-level approach to the study of classic liberal arts. In wholehearted solidarity with the Church's call for a renewal in culture we prepare students to grip confidently in mind and heart the future our Savior Jesus Christ has readied for them.
 
Student Spotlight: Shane
student_slide_shane_sm.pngShane Westin, a three-year program graduate who recently finished his fourth year at the Franciscan University in Steubenville, shares with us his OLSWA experience.
 

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Donate to OLSWA through PayPal You can now contribute using PayPal!  Simply click on the menu to the right and follow the simple instructions. You can choose to make monthly donations or a one-time gift. Fast and convenient, it is a very practical way to be an OLSWA supporter.   Details...

Support OLSWA through Workplace Charitable Campaign Our supporters may be interested to know that the Academy is eligible for donations through the Workplace Charitable Campaign currently taking place in Canada. Individuals who work for the government—and even some private firms—can choose to have donations removed directly from their pay cheques, eliminating the hassle of writing cheques and sending in donations. The Academy is on the list of registered charities available here, and OLSWA’s business number is 887208122RR0001. To learn more about the Workplace Charitable Campaign, here's a useful link.

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Development Campaign Update A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the initial stage of our development campaign! As of June 10th, 2008, we have raised $283,892.68 towards costs related to applying for degree-granting status.  We know that there is much support out there for a new Catholic college that is faithful to the Magisterium and that provides an excellent liberal arts education. Thank you for your prayers and any other assistance you can provide! Donations may be made through this website by clicking on "Contribute" in the main menu and using the "Donate" function in the right-hand column, or by cheque to "Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy" at P.O. Box 249, 18 Karol Wojtyla Square, Barry's Bay, Ontario, K0J 1B0 (Canada). All donations are tax-deductible.   Details...

Fidelity, Funding, and the Future Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy faculty profess publicly an oath of fidelity to the Magisterium and to the teachings of the Catholic Faith in accord with Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution on Catholic Universities, Ex Corde Ecclesiae. We continue to work with other faithful institutions such as Ave Maria College, The Franciscan University of Steubenville, and Redeemer University College, and are in negotiations with the Augustine Institute and Campion College (Australia), giving our students bountiful pathways of excellence. To continue in this mission and bring the graces of a full and joyful Catholic liberal arts education to students, we need help from generous and concerned people like you. Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy remains one of the few university-level schools that are not funded by the government. Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy is one of the most affordable educational institutes of its kind in North America.  This means we rely exclusively on the generosity of friends.   Details...

Mission Family Please help sustain Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy by alleviating our most pressing needs. Join our mission family that helps ensure the Academy's future work in the Lord's vineyard of spiritual and intellectual formation, the foundation of the civilization of love.

grandfather_gsonParents. Thinking of giving your son or daughter a bright future filled with zeal for Christ and His Church? Investing in Our Lady Seat of Wisdom today is investing in your child's tomorrow. Please help support Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy. grandmother01 Grandparents and Godparents. Your life is a witness to the sacrifice that has built a future for your family. Share your witness and continue the ongoing building of your extended Catholic family. Please help support Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy. retired-03 Retired Persons. Your children have grown. Don't stop being who you are -- a person who can share their life experience and nurture future generations. Please help support Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy.

businessteam Business Professionals. God is never outdone in generosity.  Take stock in youth today, in their moral formation and the return on your investment will be bountiful.  OLSWA graduates are bright ethical persons who can tackle any situation because our education has not just given them facts about the faith and the learned but cultivated their faith and taught them how to learn. Please help support Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy.   Details...

Prayer Pals and Parents prayer_student_girl
Adopt a student through prayer. It's simple and powerful. Just make a commitment to pray daily for one of our students and their needs as a "prayer pal" or a "prayer parent". Our faith and the education of our youth is a family affair -- a communion of the Church militant and the Church victorious.     

  1. The intentions of the student -- your spiritual sibling or foster child
  2. The spiritual and material support for their needs and the needs of their teachers, staff , associates and families
  3. The intentions of the Holy Father
Suggested Prayer: Through the intercession of Our Lady under her title, Seat of Wisdom and in the name of Jesus her son I ask for the needs of [name]
  • one Our Father
  • three Hail Marys
  • ...and one Glory Be
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List of Students Requesting Prayers | Prayer Pals / Parents | Sign Up Now     Details...

Growing With God's Help Our Lady Seat of Wisdom is a private institution that relies solely on the generosity of  benefactors and its low cost tuition fees for its full operational budget. Although we are indebted to the Diocese of Pembroke and specifically St. Hedwig's Parish community for its ongoing generosity in helping to facilitate OLSWA with prayer and contributions, we are by the grace of  God growing and are reaching out for even greater help -- your help; a solidarity that will allow us to continue to form youth in the light of Christ and his Church. Please read the related articles for our most pressing and immediate needs and how you can join in the miracle God is working at OLSWA.   Details...

Liberay Collection allergic bronchitis We are always in need of  Library expansion and good books are one of the primary building blocks of solid Catholic education. Here you can help in several ways.   1. Buy a book for the Academy 2. Buy a book through our Amazon affiliate link -- we receive a small credit. 3. Donate a book    At present we are specially in need of items for the following collections: Art History, Drama (Theory and Performance), History of Music.
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Donate to OLSWA A donation to Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy allows this unique university-level institution a chance to bring a classic liberal arts education in the fullness of the  Catholic expression to students. Please use the donation feature along the right of this page to easily make a one-time or monthly donation. Each donation will be issued a tax receipt. Please contact the Development Office if you have any questions. We can be reached by phone at 877-369-6520, or by email.  Detailed information about possible ways you can contribute and become part of our family is available in the Contribute Overview section.    
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Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy Acquires New Building
Written by Administrator   
Monday, 07 July 2008

On June 30th, the former Health Unit building in Barry’s Bay became the property of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy.  Many residents of Barry’s Bay will remember this new building, located right behind the Academy’s main facility, as their elementary school, St. Mary’s.  It has now “been promoted” to serve the needs of students in higher, post-secondary education. On July 1st, with faculty, staff, and parishioners present, Fr. Chris Shalla of St. Hedwig Church held a special ceremony to bless the new premises.
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The building’s area measures approximately 5,000 square feet and will house much-needed lecture space, the computer lab, library, and some administrative offices.  Also, it will be the centre for the music program, headed by Maestro Uwe Lieflander of Ottawa’s Sacred Music Society.  It will be linked to the main building by a gravel pathway. 

In addition, the Academy’s main building, the former St. Joseph’s Convent, is undergoing renovations – a new reading-room is under construction, and a more spacious student lounge is planned.  Recently, the grounds were re-worked to address a flooding problem.

Also, in sight of the school, on Stafford Street, a new student residence is under construction. At nearly 3,000 square feet of space, the house will be comfortable and pleasant, in view of the bay, with open green space right across the street.

As the Academy expands, the school administration wishes to thank the Township of Madawaska Valley, the merchants, and the people of Barry’s Bay for their on-going encouragement, support, and services.

Donations to help support our expansion project can be made through our website, by clicking on “Contribute” in the main menu; or by cheque to: Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, 18 Karol Wojtyla Square, P.O. Box 249, Barry’s Bay, ON K0J 1B0.  All donations are tax-deductible.  For more information, contact: 756-3082.

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Spring Graduation Ceremony is a Celebration of Hope and Thanksgiving
Written by Elizabeth O'Brien   
Friday, 09 May 2008

olswa_groupClose to three hundred students, alumni, family, and friends of the Academy packed St. Hedwig’s Parish this Saturday, May 3rd, to celebrate the closing of the 2007-2008 school year at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy. Over the course of the afternoon, event speakers referred to the many great challenges that the school has endured throughout the past year, yet the entire community radiated a sense of unity, joy, and gratitude for God’s many blessings upon them, most especially the return of our President, Dr. David Warner.

 

 

warner_and_prendergastOttawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast was the main celebrant at the mass, which was accompanied by the Academy choir directed by Maestro Uwe Liefländer.

Directly afterwards, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Jean-Paul Patenaude, presided over the inauguration ceremony of Dr. David Warner as the Academy’s new President.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following graduation ceremonies were dedicated to the memory of the late Paul Sanders and Janine Lieu, who were awarded honorary Basic Certificates in Christian Humanities. A Pro-Life scholarship in memory of Paul Sanders was awarded to first-year student Cassie Farrell, and first-year student Kelly Sanders received the $2,000 Divine Infant of Prague Scholarship for the highest average of a first-year student proceeding into second year.

 

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President Dr. Warner congratulating Kelly Sanders of Manitoba, receipient of the Divine Infant of Prague Scholarship. 

 

Vice President Dr. Christine Schintgen
presenting Sean VanBakel with his
Basic Certificate of Christian Humanities.


During afternoon’s events, politicians representing all three levels of government expressed their warm support for the Academy and their confident hope in its future. cheryl_gallantThe Honorable Mrs. Cheryl Gallant, MP, addressed the gathering, saying, “You will be making a difference.” Local MPP John Yakabuski also underlined how the Academy is a testimony to faith, determination and commitment. Finally, Barry’s Bay Mayor John Hildebrandt voiced the local community’s support for the Academy and encouraged students to go out and spread the good news that they are learning. 

Addressing students and staff in his keynote address, Archbishop Prendergast touched on the tragedies of the past year, saying, “You have lived the Paschal mystery in a particularly powerful way…” The Archbishop went on to describe his own experiences as a student and later as a teacher during the tumultuous times of moral confusion that began in the 1960s. The Archbishop further described a future pastoral letter in which he plans to remind the Catholic faithful of the importance of Church teaching on human sexuality. Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae, this letter would challenge Catholics to embrace the truth of Catholic teaching surrounding sexuality and the dignity of the human person. The Archbishop concluded by underlining the great privilege enjoyed by Academy students who are able to study the truth of Church teaching. Recalling the words of Pope Benedict the XVI, he emphasized the unity of the truth and its continuity with the past. He urged them to commit to learning the wisdom of the past and to tackle the challenging task of “passionately and articulately” sharing this truth with the world.

zylstraThe graduating valedictorian was Nikolaas Zylstra, the Academy’s hard-working Residence Assistant from Brampton. Over the past three years, he could be found studying furiously, helping out his fellow-students, driving the Academy van on school trips, or raising smoke on the volley-ball court and hockey rink. Basing the theme of his speech upon the school’s motto, Veritas Vos Liberabit, he stated, “We now have a great responsibility that the truth places upon us…We must witness to the world so that the truth that has set us free may, likewise, set others free.” He noted the Academy’s remarkable ability to deal with the recent tragic deaths of Paul and Janine. He attributed this recovery to the fact that as Catholics, the community possesses the truth—the assurance of hope in the resurrection—that has freed them from despair, thereby allowing them to come to grips more easily with such a devastating blow.

Mr. Zylstra also testified to his own well-rounded experience during the past three years, primarily through the intellectual life, but also through daily interaction with staff and students, the routine manual chores that are an intrinsic part of the Academy experience, the personal relationships built up between professors and students during communal meals, and the outdoor sports that students play all year long. Pointing out how the Academy life especially encourages prayer and frequent use of the sacraments, he emphasized that there is “no point in knowledge without Christ.”  Click here for the complete valedictorian address.

third-year_graduates
Congratulations to our third-year graduates: Matt Gunnarson, Scott Murray
Nik Zylstra, Anthony Burchat, Leslea Cranmer-Byng, Melissa Riese, Rebecca
Mombourquette, Heather MacIntyre, Mary Sawchuk, Lindsay Gallagher

warner--graduationThe Academy’s recently returned president, Dr. David Warner, concluded the official ceremonies with words of hope and great encouragement. Shortly after weathering the crisis of the two student deaths, the school was struck again when Dr. Warner was diagnosed with multiple-myeloma, a cancerous disorder of the plasma cells. As a consequence, he had to undergo intensive medical treatment that required his absence in the United States for nearly two months. Roaring applause filled the hall, however, as students, faculty members, staff and friends welcomed him back. He thanked the community for their prayers, speaking of the past seven weeks as a “blessed time of healing,” and enthusiastically congratulated the graduating students.

 

olswa_studentsAcademy students are heading many separate ways this spring. They are diving into summer jobs, preparing for new careers, and looking towards further studies in the fall. Some are returning to the Academy while others have been accepted into various universities and colleges throughout North America. Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy congratulates them for all their hard work over the past year, thanks them for holding together as a community during the difficulties of the recent winter months, and wishes them the very best in their future paths.

 
From Cross to Cross this Catholic College is Living Out the Way of Christ
Written by John-Henry Westen   
Friday, 11 April 2008

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choir_singing_at_cathedral-wIt seems almost like heaven has descended and the angels are in full voice as the Mass which precedes the Gala dinner for Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy commences.  The sounds of polyphony reminiscent of Palestrina come courtesy of the Academy Schola choir, under the direction of Maestro Uwe Liefländer - the founder of Canada's Sacred Music Society and the director of the World Youth Day Choir.  "I haven't heard music like that since the 50's," murmurs a deacon in awed reverence as he takes his leave.

 


cathedral-wAfter the Mass celebrated by Pembroke Bishop Michael Mulhall, the Germania Hall hosts over 200 enthusiastic guests to hors d'oeuvres and wine followed by a scrumptious meal.  Milling about the room are politicians, judges, professors, proud parents and students, friends and benefactors of the Academy, prospective parents and highschool principals. The joy of the music at the Mass and the reverence of the students who participated spreads into conversations over dinner. 
 
 
But there is another joy about the hall.  A joy of true fellowship; of kindred spirits. Talking in friendship without agendas, in brotherly love without vulgarity, jovial and with great peace. 
 

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But don't let the opulence fool you. This wonderful event occurs near the end of an academic year that held two of the most severe crises faced by the Academy during its eight years of existence.
 
 
The small but extraordinary Catholic college in Eastern Ontario, renowned for its faithful adherence to truth, shocked the Catholic community in Canada with the deaths of two students in a tragic accident only two months ago.  Now it is facing another major cross.
 
 
Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, the only Canadian Catholic college on the Cardinal Newman Society list of the most faithful North American Catholic colleges, has recently welcomed its new President, Dr. David Warner. And now, he has been diagnosed with cancer.
 
 
The news came only weeks ago when Dr. Warner slipped and fell on the ice, but sustained three broken ribs.  An initial analysis found cancer throughout his bones.  Normally such diagnoses mean weeks and months to live rather than years, and so the news hit the community very hard.  After all, Dr. Warner had only just arrived at the Academy and within his first few days was forced to deal with the ramifications of the gravest tragedy that the institution had experienced - the sudden deaths of Janine Lieu and Paul Sanders. 
 
 
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Dr. David Warner with Christendom College President
Dr. Timothy O'Donnell during a visit to Christendom this January.


He came through that ‘trial by fire’ with flying colors - calming the students and staff, directing media and legalities with a presence which instilled confidence and security. He showed great concern and love with a friendly charm and humility.  For two nights during the aftermath he slept in his office by the phone in order to take emergency calls.
 
 
Just as the Academy, under his direction, began to return to normalcy, his own tragedy struck.   But the bad news was quickly tempered with the finding that the illness is non-infectious Multiple Myeloma, rather than some sort of secondary bone cancer.  Myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow blood plasma cells that is treatable at this point, thus permitting a prognosis of many years to live rather than a few months only.  Dr. Warner plans to return to the Academy in time to close on their new home they purchased, and oversee Graduation on May 3. During April he is in Virginia receiving urgent, one-time radiological, chemical, and surgical treatments. Remaining therapies (without hair loss) will take place in Canada. 
 
Addressing the guests at the fundraising banquet in lieu of Dr. Warner was famous Catholic novelist - Michael D. O'Brien.
 
 
brien_speech-wO'Brien explained the origins of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy as "a small, hopeless, mad venture" where parents concerned for the Catholic upbringing of their children saw clearly the "woeful" state of Catholic higher education in the nation and felt they had no choice but to embark on the impossible.
 
 
We began, he said, "on our knees", adding that God likes to bring forth new fruit in impossible places as "flowers in the desert" and "water from rocks" (Biblical references).   O'Brien related that from its beginnings the charity that has enabled the Academy to grow from an impossible dream into a shimmering reality that is recognized throughout the continent for its faithfulness, was crowned with sacrifice. "The characteristic gift was sacrifice on every level of its life," he said.
 
 
Such is evidently true of the professors and staff of the Academy who pour their souls into the work without the normal financial inducements.  Dr. Warner accepted his newfound condition with equanimity telling O'Brien over the phone, "We are going to the cross and that can only be fruitful for souls."
 
 
listening_to_speeches-w"Suffering," said O'Brien, "puts us in union with The Vine", and thus it is on the cross where we will be most successful.  The dream of those parents nearly a decade ago to provide for young Catholic men and women a place where they could "breathe" the true faith without compromise, is now being lived out at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy.  But it has come and continues to come at a great cost.
 
 
In his keynote address, Bishop Mulhall also addressed suffering.  "You can never go wrong," he said in his concluding remarks, "by suffering for young people who desire the truth."
 
 bishop_mulhall_speaking-w
Sacrifice will be key for years to come as the growing Academy is in need of hundreds of thousands of dollars to continue development goals such as academic accreditation, proper wages for professors, and extra buildings for classrooms and student residences.
 
 
Academy alumna, Elizabeth O'Brien, now in a Masters program at the University of Ottawa, gave a final address to the crowd just before Maestro Lieflander and his schola began the evening entertainment. In her address, Miss O'Brien, a former writer for LifeSiteNews.com, recalled fondly the yearly winter excursions of the Academy students to the shrine of the Canadian Martyrs in Midland Ontario.  There, she said, she joined her fellow students and professors "kneeling in the snow drifts" at the site of the brutal martyrdom of Sts. Jean de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalemant, who with great suffering first brought the Christian faith to North America.
 
 
brien-wMiss O'Brien described her recent missionary excursion to Honduras where she worked with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal ministering to those living in extreme poverty in the mountains.  She noted that her strong formation in the faith assisted her immensely in spreading the Gospel among the poor.
 
 
"Even without knowing it," she said of the Academy, "they are making Catholic missionaries of the students."
 
Academic Dean Search Underway
Written by Administrator   
Tuesday, 15 April 2008

After eight years in Academy administration, including five and a half as Academic Dean, Scott Nicholson has decided to leave administration to dedicate more time to his growing family (he and his wife Erin are expecting their fourth child), to teaching, and to the development of the spiritual and intellectual aspects of his life. 

He observed that: “While I am very pleased with the development of the academic program, success has caused the Academy to tax my own abilities.  I look forward to a successor who will bring new background, insights, abilities, and experience to the position.”  Prof. Nicholson will be available in the 2008-2009 academic year to assist the incoming Dean, but hopes to shift completely out of administration and formally commence doctoral studies by 2009-2010.
 
For the full text of the Position Opening for Academic Dean, click here:

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A Winter Pilgrimage of Grace
Written by John Paul Meenan   
Wednesday, 19 March 2008

midland_shrine_hillEvery year now for nine years, on March 16th, beginning in the first year of the Academy in the Jubilee year 2000, we have made the pilgrimage to follow in the footsteps of two great martyrs of our country, Saints Jean de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalemant, who were captured and martyred on that day in 1649 near Midland, Ontario.  We visit the site where the two martyrs were captured (St. Louis) and the site where they were cruelly put to death (St. Ignace).  At the latter spot, there is also an altar, where every year on March 16th we have offered Mass (this year was an exception, due to it being Passion Sunday; we went to Mass at our own parish of Saint Hedwig's in the morning, and said Vespers at the site instead).

Now, for those of you from Ontario, you may ask, why go to the shrine in these blustery days of March, when the shrine is not even open, and the snow still deep?  I’ve often pondered that question myself as I trudge through three feet of the white stuff with a group of students at my back.  The answer returns to me with a forceful tug at my conscience, for by going on the actual day of the martyrdom, we are able to experience a faint image of what these two Jesuit martyrs went through, as well as pray to them on the day of their entrance into heaven.  Allow me to briefly explain: 

 

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The Sisters of Life visit OLSWA
Written by Kelly Sanders   
Thursday, 13 March 2008

On February 15 and 16, 2008, OLSWA and St. Hedwig’s parish were privileged to host three Sisters of Life.  Students Janine Lieu and Ana Pugh provided the inspiration to invite these vibrant Sisters, who are newly arrived in Toronto, at the request of Archbishop Collins, to discern a mission to serve the people of Toronto and Canada.

sister_antonianaOn Friday evening, Sister Mary Clare, Sister Antoniana Maria, and Sister Monica Faustina came with a message of encouragement for our young people, who are discerning God’s plan for them as young men and women of faith.

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