Farewell to Queen’s House of Retreat and Renewal focuses on gratitude
Pictured left: Hundreds gathered at Queen’s House and virtually online to bid farewell to the retreat centre established in 1958 by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The building has been sold and Queen’s House Retreat and Renewal Centre will close July 31, 2024. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
A bittersweet celebration marked by mixed emotions of gratitude and grief was held July 18 at Queen’s House of Retreat and Renewal in Saskatoon, as hundreds gathered in person and online to mark the closing of the facility after 66 years of providing a spiritual oasis on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River.
“As I pondered this day, the history of Queen’s House and the role it has played in the Church and beyond, the closure of ministry offered in and through this sacred place, the countless feelings we have around its closing – and as I pondered the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – I was reminded that God is right here, right now, God is present in our hurt and in our hope, in our joy and in our sadness, in our achievements and in our incompleteness, in our passion and in our discouragement, in our betrayal, and in our faithfulness,” said homilist Fr. Doug Jeffrey, OMI, at the Mass that opened the farewell celebration.
“This moment is an opportunity to recognize and acknowledge the missionary Church, where our hungers, our deepest longings, and God’s grace meet and embrace, where death and resurrection offer both pain and possibility.”
Queen’s House of Retreat and Renewal was built by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and opened in 1958, dedicated to Mary, Queen of Heaven. It has now been sold and will close its doors July 31, 2024 after 66 years of offering a sacred place of peace, nourishment, and welcome. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Decision to sell
The Oblates of Mary Immaculate built and opened the retreat house dedicated to Mary Queen of Heaven in 1958. OMI Lacombe Canada made the decision last year to close Queen’s House and sell the property.
In a June 7, 2024 update letter to the community about the sale, OMI Lacombe Provincial Fr. Ken Thorson said that the difficult decision to close two retreat centres – Queen’s House in Saskatoon and Galilee Mission Centre in Anprior, ON – followed an extensive period of discernment. “It was made in the context of several challenges to our retreat house ministry, including declining financial independence and the evolving needs and priorities of the Oblate community,” wrote Thorson.
Queen’s House will close its doors July 31, 2024, and the property (including the former site of the demolished Mazenod House) is expected to be handed over to new owners RIVA Developments of Saskatoon Sept. 1.
“The company (RIVA Developments) has expressed its desire to honour the Oblate legacy of service to those in need,” Thorson said in his June update letter. “It has partnered with Integrated Health Services of Saskatoon, which will operate a family treatment centre in the existing Queen’s House facility,” wrote Thorson.
“We understand that RIVA intends to start construction on a new development in 2025 or 2026, and the plan will be phased to ensure that the treatment services provided in the existing facility will be transitioned into a new purpose-built space.”
Farewell celebration
The farewell celebration followed an annual Summer Stillness Retreat, which has been offered at Queen’s House for many years by Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI. This year’s theme was entering into the paschal mystery of death, Resurrection, grieving, Ascension and Pentecost.
Gratitude was the prevailing theme of the July 18 farewell event, which opened with the Eucharist concelebrated by Fr. Ken Thorson, OMI, Archbishop Donald Bolen of Regina, Bishop Mark Hagemoen of Saskatoon, Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, Fr. Doug Jeffrey, OMI, and Fr. Joseph Jacek, OMI.
The Queen’s House farewell began with celebration of the Eucharist with presiders (l-r) Fr. Doug Jeffrey, OMI, Saskatoon Bishop Mark Hagemoen, Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, Regina Bishop Donald Bolen, and OMI Lacombe Canada Provincial Fr. Ken Thorson, OMI. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
“Thank you for the love you have for this place, for what you have given to support this place in so many ways,” said OMI Provincial Thorson in his opening remarks to all those assembled to bid farewell to the beloved facility.
“We come in a sense to say goodbye, but also, and I think more importantly because that is what Eucharist is all about, is to give thanks – to give thanks for the ways in which God has blessed the city, the province and beyond by the ministry of Queen’s House,” Thorson said.
OMI Lacombe Canada Provincial Fr. Ken Thorson, OMI, opened the farewell celebration for Queen’s House with words of welcome at the opening Mass. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Homily
In his homily, Fr. Doug Jeffrey, OMI, said: “As this chapter of our ministry comes to a close, it is a time to rest, to appreciate, to ponder, to give thanks, to treasure and to let go.”
“Now is not the time to think about tomorrow, to organize and to plan. It is rather a time to sit around the fire, to talk, to tell stories, to tease, and to enjoy what we have today…. We cannot repeat what we have done, this season has come and gone. What we can do is listen to our God, and to the People of God, and wait for the ‘new’ that will emerge,” Jeffrey said.
Homilist Fr. Doug Jeffrey, OMI, reflected on the paschal mystery of death and Resurrection. (Photo be Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Prayers of the Faithful
Sr. Anne Lewans, OSU, led intercessory prayers at Mass, which included: “Generous God, we thank you for the gift of Queen’s House: this place of community, learning, prayer and exploration. We pray for those who are grieving the loss of this holy place. We pray for ourselves and for each other, that we will continue our journey in new ways, asking that your Spirit inspire us and give us courage and hope.”
Sr. Anne Lewans, OSU, led the prayers of the faithful at the Mass held as part of a farewell to Queen’s House. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Supper
Mass was followed by a barbecue supper provided by Queen’s House staff with help from members of the Knights of Columbus manning the grill, an evening program of speakers, and a final reception.
A volunteer Knights of Columbus barbecue crew assisted with cooking supper for the Queen’s House farewell July 18. (Photo courtesy of Larry Packett)
The dining room at Queen’s House was full for the barbecue supper held as part of a farewell to the retreat centre – and so were conference rooms throughout the building as hundreds gathered to pray, reflect and share thanksgiving and laments. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Program
MCs Brendan Bitz, Director of Queen’s House, and Deb Rolfes, Queen’s House Advisory Board member, expressed gratitude to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, to board members, staff, presenters, volunteers, and all those who have supported the ministry and outreach of Queen’s House as a place of welcome, nourishment, and peace.
Program MCs Deb Rolfes (member of the Queen’s House Advisory Board) and Brendan Bitz (Queen’s House Director) at the retreat centre’s farewell celebration July 18, 2024. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, who has been “preaching and teaching” at Queen’s House for some 50 years, was introduced as a representative of the many presenters, facilitators and retreat leaders who have served at the facility. He offered “four thank you’s and a metaphor” to those assembled for the Queen’s House farewell.
Rolheiser’s first “thank you” was to Queen’s House founder, the late Fr. Edward Lequiea, OMI, who established the building in 1957, and was Queen’s House Director from 1958-1968 and then again from 1974 to 1978.
“Ed had the vision, and they said he was crazy. He built this place, and he built it in midst of garbage dump,” said Rolheiser, noting that Lequia and the Oblates were firmly supported by Saskatoon Bishop Francis Klein in their efforts to establish the retreat centre “He gave 25 years of his life here. Without him, we wouldn’t be here.”
Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, of the Oblate School of Theology in Texas was the first of several speakers during the Queen’s House farewell program July 18. Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Secondly, Rolheiser thanked Fr. Glenn Zimmer, OMI, who served as director of Queen’s House from 1981 to 1995. “Glenn Zimmer came in and he gave it a new vision, for a new generation, and he radically re-did the building, put the buildings up that we are using today. He started wonderful new programs, including Summer Stillness, which we just finished. Without Glenn we wouldn’t be here either,” he said.
“Thirdly, I want to thank the diocese of Saskatoon, beginning with Bishop Klein,” Rolheiser said. “We have had wonderful support from all the bishops since.”
“Lastly I want to thank the building… I want to thank Queen’s House,” he said. “Several hundred thousand people have gone through these doors…which included my mother and father, all of my siblings, many of your mothers and fathers and siblings, and so on. Hundreds of Lay Formation people went through here… several thousand Summer Stillness people have gone through here. Queen’s House has done its work.”
For his metaphor, Rolheiser reflected on the blood and water that poured from the side of Jesus after he died on the cross. “They pierced his side with the lance, and blood and water flowed out – new life and new cleansing and new nurturing came out of his dead body. That is an important faith metaphor. Queen’s House gave a lot of people sustenance when it was alive. It is going to continue: blood and water will continue to flow from this place, from its dead body, grace will be poured out.”
Adele Longstaff, chair of the Queen’s House Advisory Board, expresses thanksgiving during the farewell program. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Queen’s House Advisory Board Chair Adele Longstaff was introduced as representing “the many people who have from day one – the volunteers and staff – believed deeply in the ministry and have been deeply committed to the ideals of hospitality” at Queen’s House.
Longstaff noted that the advisory board has been operating since 2005 and has served as a conduit between the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the staff of Queen’s House and those who came to the retreat house for renewal.
“Like Queen’s House, the board has always been ecumenical, as has the staff,” she noted. “Many of the people who have served and currently serve on the board were brought into this ministry because of their own personal positive and often life-changing experiences that happened here at Queen’s House.”
Longstaff asked all past and present board members and volunteers to stand and be acknowledged. “In my experience, the volunteers and board members offered their service as a labour of love.”
She concluded: “On behalf of the board, I leave you with only three messages: thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Queen’s House director Bitz noted that the retreat Centre has served the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon through the appointment of six bishops, beginning with Bishop Francis Klein, introducing Saskatoon Bishop Mark Hagemoen to speak on behalf of the diocese.
Bishop Mark Hagemoen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon expressed gratitude to the Oblates and to all those who made Queen’s House a place to welcome and faith formation. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
“I would like to thank the Oblates for the decades of oversight and ministry at Queen’s House, along with the staff and other leadership… (and the) many religious women as well, who staffed, volunteered, presented, and were part of the ministry of life here,” said Hagemoen
“The retreat centre has blessed and affected so many lives and organizations, and not just those of the Catholic faith, (but also) other faith communities, and the entire civic community,” Hagemoen said, noting the Queen’s House features of “the quiet, the Shalom – which isn’t just peace – and the beauty, let alone the ministry of hospitality and the many other components and wonderful programs, and the opportunity to carry out ministerial work. Queen’s House has fostered an environment of faith and spirituality that promotes so many important features of ministry today.”
The bishop concluded by stressing “the mission continues.”
Sr. Leona Meier, SMS, recalled the early days of Queen’s House, and the contributions of countless religious sisters to Queen’s House over the years, serving in many capacities. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Sr. Leona Meier of the Sisters of Mission Service also spoke, representing the many “dedicated and eloquent” religious women who have ministered at Queen’s House, providing a “bedrock of quality and consistency and reliability and faithfulness, wisdom and generosity,” said Bitz.
Meier was a member of the staff when Queen’s House first opened. “I feel a bit like a midwife or grandmother as my involvement began before they gave birth,” she said, recalling how several of those in the novitiate in 1957 came to Queen’s House to sew nametags onto ribbons and to wash windows and “do whatever else needed doing, in order to get a new home spick and span prior to opening.”
When Queen’s House opened in 1958, she was one of many sisters who helped in the kitchen. “Most of our cooking began from scratch. Imagine: you have a recipe for dessert which says ‘Serves 6”, but you are cooking for 30 to 70 ..that was a gymnastics in math.”
“Fr. Ed Loquiea was our director and what a great organizer. In the beginning we would have one retreat a weekend, and we had girls come to serve the meals for the retreat, plus preparing the tables for the next meal, Once our mid-week retreats were introduced, it was often the janitor June McLeod and myself that did the serving. There was silence during the meals with appropriate music, except for the last meal when there was some talking, Sometimes we would receive notes of thanksgiving left on the table – always appreciated, never expected.”
“Queen’s House has been a place that has renewed people in mind, body, soul and spirit. During these years, many sisters from various communities have offered their services in a variety of fields. From volunteering to offering programs, courses, such as Faith Story, Mystics, Laudato Si’, Spiritual Direction, facilitating retreats and much more…. I believe we can all say we are grateful for the opportunity (and that) we have been able to share our gifts, time and talent these precious years.”
Bishop Jakob Palm of Holy Covenant Evangelical Orthodox Church reflected on the impact of Queen’s House for people of many faiths. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Bishop Jakob Palm of Holy Covenant Evangelical Church spoke as an ecumenical representative of the “wide and deep faith community that has called Queen’s House home.”
“There still exist places on this good Earth, set apart for the human person to be what she is called to be – a personal being, living in personal, loving relationships with other persons. To exist not only as individual unity, not only as conformity, but as community, communion,” said Palm. “Queen’s House – its people and its space – is such a place of existence. A sacred place where you and I could come together to see each other.”
While the building has helped, communion does not start with buildings, he stressed. “Queen’s House and the space it holds is in the heart of the people.”
“Relationships require space in our heart for each other. To me, the witness of Queen’s House is that every time I come here I am reminded to keep space – sacred, sheltered, and protected space – for the other person in my heart. For the person I love, for the person I don’t agree with, for the person I don’t yet know, for the person I don’t understand, and for the person I have a hard time loving,” he said.
“We don’t know what will happen with these buildings and the things built. But as we bid farewell to this season, we welcome a new one. I am grateful, thankful, for all the people I have met here, for this place reminding us to keep sacred space in our heart for each other, for each other’s churches, for each other’s world perspective – and I encourage you to continue in this way as we go on this journey together.”
(Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
OMI Lacombe Provincial Fr. Ken Thorson, OMI, opened his reflection by reading a list of a few of the ministries and programs and groups that have called Queen’s House home over the years.
“As we face the closure of this centre, remember the countless lives that have been touched and transformed by the love and grace that they found here, in the people and in the stillness and in the liturgies and in the retreats and in the meetings,” said Thorson. “Though the doors may close, the spirit of hospitality and renewal will continue to live on our hearts, and will continue to extend from the people who have worked here, volunteered here, prayed here… will continue to extend beyond this place, beyond this time… (they) are seeds that will live on and grow in ways that we can’t know.”
OMI Lacombe Canada Provincial Fr. Ken Thorson, OMI, provided the closing words at the July 18 Queen’s House farewell. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
He added:; “I want to give thanks to the dedicated staff and volunteers and patrons who poured their hearts into making this house a home for all who entered. We grieve the closure of this place, but we also celebrate the holy encounters, the sacred encounters, the growth that took place within these walls.”
Thorson also thanked “all of those people, laity, religious communities, the diocese, who invested their treasure – this is not an Oblate venture alone.”
(Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)
“Today has been a time of celebration, it has been a time of thanksgiving, it is also a time of lament. It is also a time for us to be thankful to God ultimately. Thankful to God for the opportunity to be a part of the ministry of this place for however long we have been a part of it. We celebrate the profound impact of Queen’s House on our lives and on the wider community of Saskatoon, the Christian community and beyond.”
Thorson concluded: “May we continue to offer a gentle and humble spirit to all we meet, just as Christ calls us to, and let us trust in God’s plan, knowing that new beginnings often arise from what seems like an end. In this moment of transition let’s pray for guidance and strength trusting that God’s love and grace will continue to lead us.”
By Kiply Lukan Yaworski
Article and complete photo gallery published on the Catholic Saskatoon News – Diocesan News Portal website.
