Activities & research

The Chair ensures various research activities to think theoretically and practically over the initial and continuing training of future priests, catechists and spiritual directors. This research is carried out jointly with the milieus and the institutions or at their request. Thus the Chair cooperates with

• Le Grand Séminaire de Québec;
• Québec City’s Diocese;
• The Association des responsables de la formation au presbytérat (ARFP)
• The Human Resources service in pastoral.

PROJECTS ALREADY DONE

Two round tableson the issues tied up with the change of the role of Catholicism in Québec’s society (see Annual reports 2000-2004):

• The first round table, said to be ad intra, was made up of priests and of pastoral guide. Its aim was to think over Québec’s Catholicism with as starting points the current situations that make it necessary to be creative;
• A second round table, said to be ad extra, brought together academics (sociologists, anthropologists, historians) for the analysis of the role of Québec’s Catholicism from a theoretical viewpoint.
• Research attempting to develop, validate models of training and of supporting with starting points a reading of biblical texts and of the ways of “making the Church” in and through spirituality.
• Revision of the Normes de la formation des candidats au presbytérat pour le Canada francophone, in collaboration with the Association des responsables de la formation au presbytérat (ARFP) and with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB).
• Terms of training following the formula of summer school and concerning different topics: arts and religious heritage, liturgical spaces layout, management of material and non material religious heritage. This was offered as a course at the university: Art et patrimoine religieux: théologie et pratique.
• International Colloquium on the training of the priests, which took place from June 2^nd to June 5^th 2013, at Université Laval (Pavillon La Laurentienne) for the 350^th Anniversary of the foundation of Grand Séminaire de Québec (1663-2013) – foundation that refers back to the origins of the Faculty of Theology and Religious studies. The Symposium explored issues on the training of the priests for today and whitin different contexts. Conferences of the Symposium have been published: Marc Pelchat (ed.), La formation presbytérale aujourd’hui , Montréal, Novalis, 2014, 341p. [see Publications]
• Symposium on the parish (“De l’invention d’une paroisse à la réinvention des paroisses”) which took place on December 8th-9th 2014, à Université Laval (Cercle universitaire), for the 350^th Anniversary of the foundation of Notre-Dame de Québec parish (1664-2014). [see Publications]
• Symposium to mark prof. Marc Pelchat's status as emeritus professor, which took place on January 27^th 2016 at Université Laval.
• Workshop on homiletics, which took place on June 13^th-14^th 2016, at Université Laval.
• Symposium on building a closer relationship between ministers and parishioners (« L'exercice du ministère et la proximité pastorale, sur les nouveaux enjeux du rapport de proximité entre les responsables pastoraux et les fidèles dans le contexte des territoires paroissiaux de plus en plus étendus »), which took place on May 22^nd 2019, at Université Laval.
• International and interdisciplinary Colloquium, on web, on how to live as Christians in the city (« Comment habiter chrétiennement la ville? Questions transversales et études de cas »), which took place on February 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd and March 16^th, 23^rd, 30^th and April 6^th 2021, at Université Laval.
• Colloquium on Church mission (« Des missions étrangères à la mission au Québec »), which took place on October 18^th-19^th 2021, at the Quebec Seminary.
• Colloquium on synodality (« Accountability in a Synodal Church. A  Project of the Peter and Paul Seminar »), which took place on April 4^th-5^th-6^th 2022, at Université Laval.
• Symposium on how to live as Christians in the city (« Quelle pastorale en ville? »), which took place on November 7^th-8^th 2022, at Université Laval. 

PUBLICATIONS

Marc Pelchat (dir.), Réinventer la paroisse, Montréal, Médiaspaul, 2015, 223 p.

Marc Pelchat (dir.), La formation presbytérale aujourd’hui, Montréal, Novalis, 2014, 341 p.

Some texts from the Symposium on priestly formation has been published in Seminary Journal 19/3 (2013)