St. Paul’s Day Celebration at St. Paul’s College
On Sunday, January 26, 2025, St. Paul’s College proudly celebrated St. Paul’s Day with a solemn and joyous Mass, which commemorates the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, and Academic Awards Ceremony, bringing together the college community in worship and celebration.
A Celebration of Faith and Community
Held in the Christ the King Chapel, the Mass was presided over by His Grace, Archbishop Richard Gagnon, alongside Fr. Mark Filips and Fr. Wajira Nampet, with Deacon Rev. Richard Ludwick assisting. The day started with a warm welcome from Dr. Christopher J. Adams, Rector of St. Paul’s College, followed by a special prayer for the chapel led by Fr. Mark Filips. The congregation joined in singing the gathering hymn Gather Us In, setting a reflective tone for the liturgy.
The readings of the day reinforced the themes of unity, mission, and the transformative power of faith. The First Reading, taken from Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10, was followed by the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 19). The Second Reading from 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 emphasized the interconnectedness of the body of Christ, aligning with the college’s values of community and shared faith. The Gospel reading, from Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21, was proclaimed before Archbishop Gagnon delivered a thought-provoking homily, encouraging reflection on St. Paul’s teachings and their relevance today.
Blessing of the New Processional Cross at Christ the King Chapel
A beautiful processional cross was generously gifted to Christ the King Chapel by the Garlinski family and blessed by His Grace, Archbishop Richard Gagnon.
“This processional cross embodies the vision Fr Micheal Koryluk, who was the Priest and Chaplain here from 2009 – 2019, had as he received the metal sculpture attached to the wood cross as a gift from the Song family of proclaiming and reminding Christ message of hope and freedom to all who attend Mass here in this Chapel every time the cross process in at the beginning of Mass and out at the end of Mass,” explains Eliude Cavalcante, Director of Campus Ministry at St. Paul’s College.
Sr. Michelle Garlinski, Michael Garlinski and his wife Susan Garlinski were thanked by the St. Paul’s College community for helping to turn Fr. Michael’s vision into a reality. Joseph Cannizzaro was also acknowledged for his beautiful work and craftmanship of the wood cross and base.
Honouring Excellence: St. Paul’s College Academic Awards Ceremony
Mass was followed by Academic Awards Ceremony where our community recognized the outstanding achievements of students at St. Paul’s College. The following awards were presented at St. Paul’s College:
- The Brian Patrick O’Connell Memorial Scholarship: Conner Routledge
- The Dr. Adam Giesinger Scholarship: Hans Alday, Chimdindu Iwuchukwu, Luan (Ken) Nguyen and Thane Tomy
- & Mrs. Michael Trainor Scholarship: Hans Alday and Gabrielle Denis
- Dr Oleh W Gerus and Mrs. Yvonne M. Gerus Scholarship: Emma Caronte and Mason (Patrick) McEvoy
- The Honourable Philip S. Lee C.M., O.M. and Family Scholarship: Kelvin Joseph and Daniella Okedairo
- The Jesuit Scholarship: Bruce Barrientos, Bara Bashir, Izabella Borys and Nathaniel Casiano
- The Matthew, Elizabeth, Marjorie, Charles and Ilene Meder Scholarship: Ebunoluwa Akinbo, Emmanuel Bezabeh and Fardowsa Hassan
- Susan Deane International Paulinian Award: Kelvin Joseph
- The Bob and Marnie Puchniak Family Graduate Scholarship: Tawfiq Rahman Hamad
- The John E. Robbie Prize in Computer Science: Nathan Hoehne
- Kenneth Kustra Scholarship: Daniel Eng
- William Briskie Memorial Scholarship: Natasha Diachun
- The Wyrzykowski Family Scholarship: Nicholas Faucher, Boris Leung, Patricia Masika and Sion Yi
- The Mauro Institute Academic Awards for Peace and Conflict Studies Graduate Students: Fardowsa Hassan, Ka Chun Lai, Maria Londono-Hurtado, Jesse Matas, Chidera Olusola, Arshdeep Singh and Umme Khair Tarin
“I wish to say to all of you who are receiving awards, that we are honoured that you continue to conduct your university studies as members of St. Paul’s College,” said Dr. Christopher Adams, Rector of St. Paul’s College. “We look forward to boasting to others about your continuing accomplishments in future years. …Today we are celebrating our students and their academic achievements. Our donors want you to succeed, and have shown their commitment to you in a very real way by supporting the funds for these awards. And we at St. Paul’s College want to thank you, our students, for making the College, and the broader University community, look so good.”
Dr. Adams concluded the ceremony by expressing gratitude to all who contributed to the success of the event and congratulating the award and scholarship winners. St. Paul’s College continues to remain committed to supporting its students’ academic pursuits through scholarships, bursaries, and awards, thereby ensuring that financial barriers do not hinder their educational journey.
For photos of the event, see St. Paul’s Day Mass and Academic Awards Ceremony on Facebook.
For information about scholarship opportunities available at St. Paul’s College, see St. Paul’s College’s Prizes, Fellowship, Scholarships, Bursaries and Awards.