Dear Son of Calvary,

Life is changed, not ended.

Lately I’m finding these words quite helpful.

As you know, they are from the funeral mass, but they are words of hope and promise.  They comfort me.

So much has changed since March began.  Mr. Bartel and other faculty and staff joined me in waving goodbye to the buses and saying goodbye to all our students as they happily left campus for winter break.

No one thought the goodbyes would be long-term.  Even though most of us had heard of the coronavirus, it seemed so distant from “the Hill of Happiness” isolated as we are in rural Wisconsin. 

As a nurse, if I had had more time to think about it, I would have been more alarmed. But we had a school to run and endless activities and deadlines before we could bring the third quarter to an end and begin winter break.

Saint Lawrence Seminary has been closed for the past six weeks – like every other school in Wisconsin – by order of the Governor. This order came toward the end of our long scheduled Annual Winter Break from March 6^th to the 15^th. So the logistics of closing the seminary worked out nearly perfectly.

I say “nearly” because, as you know, we are an international seminary community, with 20 young Catholic men of faith and promise from countries like Korea, Vietnam, India, Abu Dhabi among other nations.

And now, the campus is eerily quiet, almost abandoned.  The older friars cannot leave the friary. Few are allowed to enter. Most teachers and staff are asked not to come on the Hill. 

Only “essential” people appear.  Mr. Bartel, the Academic Dean, lives on campus and is coordinating our distance learning content.  Ms. Kelly Potratz, our now absolutely essential IT manager, is working out all the necessary connections with 168 students.

Distance learning is the only path forward for our students at this moment. We do not yet know whether the students will return to campus this spring. But there is no time to waste, especially as our seniors press on to graduation.   

As you know better than most, many of our students come from families of limited means.  Parents sacrifice and struggle to send their sons here, even with our traditionally generous scholarship program and financial aid.

It quickly came to my attention that a number of our students did not have adequate laptops or computers at home to participate in distance learning.  We acted immediately. 

We sent older, but adequate laptops to younger students and we cannibalized our new Computers on Wheels (affectionally called COWs) to send better hardware to juniors and seniors who needed them.

As a Son of Calvary, I wanted to update you on the current situation on the Hill. 

Also, as a Son of Calvary, I ask your prayerful and financial support right now.  Our fundraising efforts are mostly on hold as development staff is mostly self-quarantined at home. 

The seminary is committed to paying all our teachers and staff through this crisis. We are committed to the “new adventure” of distance learning. I ask your help as we face the unexpected expenses of this new effort. And the cost of providing computers to many of our students so they do not fail behind their classmates.

As you can uniquely imagine, this “social distancing” and indefinite separation is devastating for the Seniors, the Class of 2020.

These young men have grown into the brotherhood every class extols before graduation.  The tears of goodbye and the warm praise and congratulations of the Capuchins and faculty and staff might not be possible for them.

Perhaps, via email or Facebook, you would be willing to lend your voice of encouragement and fraternal prayer. We do not yet know what the weeks ahead will bring, but the Class of 2020 will finish their senior year in a manner no other class has faced in 160 years.

Any words of encouragement will go a long way. 

Praying for you and our alumni is an essential element of our seminary program.  There will be no break in that.  Please let me know of your needs and intentions and those of your family.

I am sending our students the names and intentions to lift up in their daily prayers, even if we cannot come together physically, we cannot be kept apart spiritually. 

Life is changed for this moment, this too shall pass.  Right now we have a unique opportunity to draw near to those we love and to those in need of our support and prayer.

In this moment of fear and crisis, let us not grow “socially distant” but ever nearer in prayer, outreach and lovingkindness. 

May the Lord bless and keep you,

Father Zoy Garibay, OFM Cap.

Rector

P.S. I invite you to please “draw near” to your brothers, Sons of Calvary who have followed in your footsteps. They now face an unparalleled challenge as they march – at a distance – toward the end of the school year. Perhaps you can reach out to them.

Please be generous if you are able.