A new song for Edmonton: 'Put Out Into the Deep' now online

Kris Dmytrenko

February 14, 2012
It’s been only nine months since S+L filmed at St. Joseph Seminary in Edmonton, but in that short period of time the sounds emanating from its chapel have become notably richer. This can be partly attributed to the new voices -- as we reported on the S+L blog, enrollment of seminarians increased by 50% for the 2011-12 academic year. Now accompanying this growing choir of priestly candidates is a newly installed pipe organ.
Fr. Shayne Craig, the seminary’s rector, tells the Western Catholic Reporter that the organ arrived some 25 years ahead of schedule. When the seminary campus was rebuilt last year, it was decided that an organ would not be installed right away. A new instrument would cost a half million dollars.
Fortunately, a used organ came on the market after a Mormon church closed in Orleans, Ontario. The seminary acted quickly. Since arriving in its new home on January 17, the organ has been refinished to match its mahogany surroundings.
You won’t see or hear the pipe organ in “Put Out Into the Deep”, Salt + Light’s special production about the new seminary. But you will see its artful synthesis of traditional and modern architecture and its clever integration of elements of the previous seminary. You’ll also meet its architect, Donna Clare, its rector, Fr. Shayne Craig, and the growing ranks of seminarians who are hearing God’s call to the priesthood. The half-hour documentary is available on VD and now streaming online above.