A gala afternoon reception was held Nov. 13, 2024 to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of Trinity Manor at Stonebridge, a faith-based retirement home in southeast Saskatoon.
Sr. Marie Gartner, SMS, led the opening prayer for a program emceed by Ivan Olfert of Trinity Manor. Greetings included a video message from Archbishop Donald Bolen of Regina, and greetings from guests Fr. Kevin McGee, who brought a message from Saskatoon Bishop Mark Hagemoen, and Leona Burkhart of the Trinity Manor at Stonebridge board of directors. During the program, residents and staff who have been at Trinity Manor since it opened 10 years ago were acknowledged, and a history of the facility was presented in a slide show.
The text of the slideshow presentation, written by Sr. Teresita Kambeitz, OSU, is published below, with permission.
Anniversary celebration photos:
The Story of Trinity Manor
By Sr. Teresita Kambeitz, OSU
The sod-turning event for Trinity Manor took place on July 10, 2012 with Bishop Don Bolen and Mayor Don Atchison at the shovel. Two years and three months later, in October of 2014, the first residents began to move into this beautiful 176-unit retirement facility.
The mission of Trinity Manor was spelled out thus: “to offer a holistic approach to carefree living that nourishes your body, mind and spirit … providing a sense of sanctuary in a world that can often be filled with stress.”
Beginning of the dream
The Trinity Manor dream really began with the Donlevy brothers – Urban, Rod and earlier, with Fr. Paul Donlevy, all of whom, along with Scott Irwin of the Saskatchewan Catholic Health Corporation, had a passion for Catholic health care.
As religious orders of sisters involved in health care withdrew from operating their hospitals in Saskatchewan, the Catholic bishops, along with Fr. Paul Donlevy, created a corporation to own and administer these facilities. Its trade name or business name is Emmanuel Care and its legal name is the Saskatchewan Catholic Health Corporation.
Driven by the need for more long-term care homes in the province, a group of lay people led by Urban and Rod Donlevy decided to approach the government with a new model for funding a Catholic long-term care facility in Saskatoon.
They also held a healthy caution for big bureaucracy which wasn’t seen as ministering to the whole person, especially in the faith dimension.
Urban Donlevy was a business man, a generous person with numerous connections with people throughout the province; Rod Donlevy was a lawyer and an “idea-person” with a gift of futuristic vision, and Scott Irwin, then CEO of Emmanuel Care, is a diligent, open-minded, modest leader with special gifts in communication.
All of them were passionately committed to faith-based health care and were determined to move mountains, if needed, to ensure that the future of Catholic hospitals and nursing homes in Saskatchewan would be secure, spiritually and financially.
Their determination was inspired by their association with the Grey Nuns of Montreal. They worked with Sr. Bernadette Poirier, Provincial Superior, and Sr. Faye Wylie, Provincial Councillor, both from Edmonton, and later with Sr. Jacqueline St-Yves, General Superior from Montreal, initially in selling their hospitals at LaLoche and Ile a la Crosse and then with the transfer of St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon to the corporation.
Scott Irwin had done his internship in hospital administration at St. Paul’s Hospital and had worked closely with the Grey Nuns as well. These Catholic laymen developed an admiration and loyalty for the Grey Nuns and came to see themselves as collaborators with them in continuing the charism of their founder, St. Marguerite D’Youville, that of “being signs of hope in a broken world.”
Patron saint: St. Marguerite d’Youville
St. Marguerite d’Youville was born at Varennes, Quebec on Oct. 15, 1701 and died in Montreal on December 23, 1771. When she was 11 years old, she attended the Ursuline convent in Quebec City for two years and then at age 21 entered into an unhappy marriage with Francis d’Youville, a bootlegger.
By age 30 she was a widow who had suffered the loss of four children. With her two remaining sons, both priests, and three other women, she founded in 1737 a religious association to care for the poor of Montreal.
Ten years later they began operating the General Hospital of Montreal which they restored physically and financially and opened to anyone in need. When it was destroyed by fire in 1765, they rebuilt it and shaped the values we hold in Canada today – health care for all regardless of race, religion, or ability to pay.
In 1844 they established at St. Boniface, the first hospital in the west. By 1993, there were about 3,000 Grey Nuns who operated numerous hospitals, long-term care facilities, charitable organizations and schools in Canada and 14 other countries.
Inspired by the words of Jesus: “Whatever you do to the least of my people, you do unto me” the Grey Nuns have maintained their mission of love, respect and compassion for poor and deprived people.
Vision for Trinity Manor
In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council which called forth the leadership gifts of lay people in new ways, the founding committee of Trinity Manor – Urban and Rod Donlevy and Scott Irwin along with Patrick Pitka, Lee Hergott and Michel Tibault –envisioned authentic Catholic health care as attuned to the spiritual needs of people and as integrating Catholic ethics throughout the care of seniors.
Their vision was twofold:
1) to provide good Catholic health care by creating a “campus of care” for Catholic seniors from retirement until they would transfer to a nursing home, possibly to Samaritan Place through the agency of CPAS – Client Patient Access Services – and
2) to ensure sustainable and efficient funding for the corporation by building one or more private, for-profit, “higher end” retirement facilities.
These facilities would generate revenue for Emmanuel Care and open possibilities for establishing other facilities throughout Saskatchewan, such as palliative care hospices, low-income housing, and shelters, as well as for hiring additional personnel in areas of ethics and finance.
Several religious congregations, notably the Grey Nuns, had provided funds to establish endowments for the Catholic Health Corporation.
Meanwhile, independently of this group, the major superiors of 10 religious congregations in Saskatchewan had begun to discuss among themselves the possibility of working together to build a retirement home for their senior sisters, brothers, and priests.
On March 25, 2009, these leaders gathered at St. Peter’s Abbey at Muenster to meet with Raymond Lafond who had been instrumental in creating an inter-congregational retirement residence in Winnipeg. They established a committee with Sr Anne Lewans, OSU, as chair, to explore a proposal by Fr. Paul Fachet, OMI, to build such a residence on the grounds of Queen’s House of Retreats.
When it was learned that Emmanuel Care was planning to build a retirement home, Sr. Anne Lewans initiated dialogue with CEO Scott Irwin, to explore the possibilities of cooperating on such a project. And thus it was that through the collaboration of lay people, religious sisters and priests, along with our bishops, that Trinity Manor came into being more quickly than the founders had thought possible!
The project begins
As mentioned, the sod-turning event for Trinity Manor took place on July 10, 2012 with Bishop Don Bolen’s foot on.one side of the shovel and Mayor Don Atchison’s foot on the other. Claude Lang, Vice-Chair of the Catholic Health Ministry of Saskatchewan’s (later re-named Emmanuel Care) Board of Directors, and Paul Ellis, Chair of the Board of Directors for Trinity Manor at Stonebridge, looked on.
Two years and three months later, in October 2014, the first residents began to move into this beautiful 176-unit retirement facility.
Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony, Bishop Bolen expressed the hope that Trinity Manor would “meet the needs of our seniors for quality independent and assisted living.”
“Our faith,” he said, “teaches us the importance of community, of caring for one another, where true hospitality can be offered and experienced.”
The mission of Trinity Manor was spelled out further by Claude Lang who said it was “to offer a holistic approach to carefree living that nourishes your body, mind and spirit … providing a sense of sanctuary in a world that can often be filled with stress.”
Trinity Manor was to be a home, a spiritually focused residence that’s lively and modern, featuring elegantly appointed spaces and style…offering freedom and peace of mind. Paul Ellis also emphasized the community dimension of Emmanuel Care’s vision for Trinity Manor. “We envision that residents who come to call Trinity Manor home will choose to do so because they want and appreciate the experience of a strong interconnected and vibrant community-focused lifestyle that is situated in a continuum of care.”
What’s in a name?
Initially, the name was to have been “The Manor at Stonebridge” but when it was pointed out that the name needed to have a religious component in order to be acceptable canonically, Bishop Donald Bolen suggested that the letter “T” could stand for “Trinity” instead of for “The.” And so it was “christened” “Trinity Manor at Stonebridge.”
Although the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “traces of Trinity are found in all creation,” explaining the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity is like trying to pour the ocean into a teacup.
A brief reflection on the icon painted by the Russian Orthodox monk, Andrei Rublev in 1425 will reveal that “Trinity” is much more than just a name. On one level it expresses the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah toward the three persons who visited their tent and yet spoke as one person – an early hint of “Trinity” in the Hebrew scriptures. On another level, it symbolizes a way of life.
“The Trinity” icon by Andrei Rublev, Wikipedia.com, public domain.
The icon expresses three profound and beautiful truths about the Blessed Trinity, which is the centre of Christian faith. One, we see that the three Persons all look alike, thus expressing the truth that they are equal in dignity. Second, we see that they are engaged in loving conversation, listening to and revealing themselves to one another, thus revealing the truth that God is love. Third, we see that they have distinctive roles – the First Person, the Source of all Being, is the Creator; the Second Person, Jesus, is the Savior; the Third Person, the Holy Spirit, is the Sanctifier, thus revealing the truth that God is present and active in human history. However, to grasp fully the mystery of the Triune God is something like trying to pour the ocean into a teacup!
What would the community at Trinity Manor be like if all our relationships were Trinitarian? Everyone would be treated as equal in dignity; there would be open and honest loving communication; and each person’s unique gifts would be respected and allowed to flourish. And in addition, there would be genuine hospitality to all and any whose lives are touched by the community of Trinity Manor.
Trinity Manor is a faith-based residence. At its opening beginning, we were blessed by the presence of 13 Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who, although officially retired, generously serve in ministry by presiding at the celebration of the Eucharist, now five days a week.
At its opening, 57 religious sisters, representing seven congregations, moved in and many of them contribute generously by looking after chapel décor, and serving as music ministers, readers, communion distributors, and sacristans. For many residents, the celebration of Mass is the centre of the day.
The history of Trinity Manor is brief and its traditions are still in early stages of formation. But the legacy of its founders, the spirit of its patron saint and the profound and beautiful meaning of its name offer an inexhaustible goldmine of ideals to guide its pioneering community in shaping its future.
The sod-turning that took place in 2012 ushered in new and infinite possibilities for seniors to enjoy living in their twilight years the truth, beauty and goodness of blissfully “Trinitarian” lives.
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