A Catholic liberal arts college here in Canada has been an aspiration and an ideal in the minds of many in the Madawaska valley. The dream seemed impossible, but, as we all know, that word does not apply to God. After all, what do you need to teach the truth? A few good books, a few good men and women willing to teach and be taught, and perhaps a building (at least, when the weather gets cold or wet!).

Seeded by Helen Fritz, Fr. Leo Sands O.S.B, Sheila OBrien, and teachers George Dienesch and Luc Dauvin, followed by John Paul Meenan, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy began operation in the village of Combermere as a small study centre with a few dedicated teachers and a group of six eager young students. The teaching and tuition were free; the small ‘proto-college’ was named, appropriately enough, Mater Ecclesiae. Students and teachers would meet in living rooms, hay lofts, basements, wherever they could find room, and together discuss the truths of our faith, history and civilization. There were numerous hikes, pilgrimages, outings and social events to provide recreation and a break from the studies.

It was during that year that the diocese, which supported the project of a Catholic college, offered the use of the former Saint Joseph’s convent, located in Barry’s Bay just north of Combermere. That fall, in the Jubilee year of 2000, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy had its official inaugural year, with nine students and pioneer teachers, including the intrepid Scott Nicholson. We gathered what furniture we could, housing the students in the upper level of the convent and in a rented house, with Katie Parks as memorable house-mother and cook. The original curriculum of basic courses in introductory theology, philosophy, history, logic and Latin, still provides the basis for our now much-expanded course of studies.

Each year since then we have grown, bit by bit, hiring more teachers and staff, and renting more housing, to accommodate our growing student body. After two years of operation, we began a second year of studies, and, in 2004, a third. Our faculty has grown to a respectable group of teachers from a variety of disciplines, and our student body hails from all over Canada and the United States.