Discover your personal mission.

Video filmed, directed and produced by talented St. Therese Institute alumnus, Ryan Mallett (Class of 2023).

St. Therese Institute offers a 9-month “gap-year” program to Catholics, aged 18-27.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus “would slip away to deserted places and pray” (Luke 5:16). Following His example, young adults from across Canada “slip away” to this repurposed convent in Bruno, Saskatchewan, to deepen their sense of personal mission through a semi-monastic life of prayer, sacraments, and Catholic academics in joyful Christian community.

Slip away for a season. Find yourself in Christ.

Find Out More
Apply

Where Catholics like you find identity in Christ.

Take a year to discover your faith with young adults from across Canada!

This program changes lives.

Testimony - Jacob Anderson
Used for home page testimony slideshow
Jacob Anderson (2019-2022)
Since coming to St. Therese, the Lord has helped me to be grateful for so much. In prayer, community life, and classes, I have often been led to a place of awe and joyful incredulity, often catching myself thinking, ‘Can life really be this good?’
Testimony - Julie Kautz
Used for home page testimony slideshow
Juliana Kautz (2020-2023)
Nothing has taught me real friendship quite like community life at St. Therese! … The community life here has been a safe place to learn how to reorient my relationships from being selfish to selfless.
Testimony - Sebastian Aguilar
Used for home page testimony slideshow
Sebastian Aguilar (2020-2022)​
I had no intention [of attending] until a week before the start… I was experiencing a time of darkness. Looking back now, I see that being here is the culmination of a long search for healing. I’m right where I should be: in His merciful hands.
Testimony - Sr. Kaitlyn Deck
Used for home page testimony slideshow
Sr. Kaitlyn Deck (2014-2017, 2019)​
The way of life at St. Therese taught me to encounter Jesus in each little task with a “yes”, ultimately paving the way for my vocational “yes”. Some days, my “yes” to love looks more like a “maybe”... That’s when I remember the teachings of St. Thérèse, how Jesus delights in my small efforts, and wants to be everything for me.
Testimony - Chris O'Hara (with wife Becca).jpg
Used for home page testimony slideshow
Chris O'Hara (2009-2010, Staff 2012-2015)​
After attending St. Therese, I felt like I had clear direction in my life; no matter what situation I was presented with in life, I knew that 'the Little Way' of St. Thérèse live at the Institute was a universal way of holiness, and would get me through any situation.
Testimony - Danielle Gueret
Used for home page testimony slideshow
Danielle Gueret (2018-2019)​
The moment I walked up the steps of St. Therese, I knew this was exactly where God wanted me to be. I discovered how much Jesus loves me —especially through the Eucharist— He’s always there waiting to be in communion with me. This has made me fall in love with Him and satisfied my restless heart.
Testimony - Déneige Courchene (with Jon and family)
Used for home page testimony slideshow
Déneige Courchene (2008-2009)​
I didn’t realize how much of a “baby Catholic” I was. Learning what true friendship looks like, why the Church teaches all the 'crazy' stuff it teaches, to serve with a joyful heart, the art of discernment... I truly wish it was mandatory to attend a year straight out of high school!
Tim and Aidan praying morning prayer in the chapel.

Experience relationship with Christ through prayer and sacraments.

St. Therese students follow a daily rhythm of communal and personal prayer. Our spiritual life draws from the rich tradition of the Church: Liturgy of the Hours, daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, and the Rosary are key elements of our community prayer. Students are also immersed in the writings of St. Therese of Lisieux, our patroness, and are encouraged to embrace her “Little Way” in their own journey of faith.

Through this intentional spiritual formation, St. Therese Institute offers young people the opportunity to build a habit of personal and liturgical prayer, practice discernment, and gain an understanding of their role and calling in the Catholic Church.

God has the perfect plan for your life.

Get Started
Natalie, holding a stack of books

Catholic academics to help you understand, defend, and live your faith.

Students at St. Therese Institute receive a grounded intellectual formation through core courses on Sacred Scripture, Church history, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Christian morality, and philosophy. Our academic curriculum gives students the chance to study Scripture, Church documents, and various works from great Catholic minds such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John Paul II, and Benedict XVI.

Our small class sizes make for a welcoming environment, inviting lively discussion among students. The low student-to-teacher ratio also enables our faculty to intentionally accompany students and help them both to understand the knowledge and to discover connections between knowledge and practice, opening our students to transformative moments of growth and insight.

God has the perfect plan for your life.

Get Started
Group of students outside at winter

Make life-long friendships with other young Catholics from across Canada.

Anyone who walks through the doors of St. Therese Institute remarks on the incredible spirit of joy and peace they feel. This spirit overflows from prayer and the close, trusting friendships students forge with each other as they embrace the challenges and graces of the program. Students often share that they never knew such close friendships before coming to St. Therese.

Even as they learn to love one another as brothers and sisters, many friendships later transition into small communities of friends living the little way in the world, supporting and encouraging each other, while others blossom into holy marriages and families.When you come to St. Therese Institute, you become part of a growing family of faith-filled Catholics like you who become friends for life.

St. Therese - Chapel bell tower

A Catholic institute like no other… in the heart of the Canadian prairies.

St. Therese Institute of Faith and Mission is unique in Canada: a post-secondary Catholic institute providing adult faith formation in a common life of prayer, study, and fellowship, inspired by the life and teachings of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Through the encounter with Jesus Christ and living the gospel in authentic community, lay men and women are equipped to pursue holiness, discern their life’s mission or vocation, and become missionary disciples of Christ in the world.

St. Therese Institute is located in Bruno, Saskatchewan, one hour east of Saskatoon, surrounded by the beautiful Canadian prairies. (We also host the famous Bruno Cherry Sunday festival in August!) Students enjoy a range of outdoor activities, from bonfires and cookouts to ultimate frisbee and pond hockey to hikes and pilgrimages, like the one to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Shrine with its stunning hilltop views.

Our facility is a century-old former Ursuline convent and girls high school. The single 65,000 sqft building houses our classrooms, dorms, chapel, dining room, gymnasium, offices, kitchen, meeting rooms, guest rooms, and more. Our 65 acre property is adjacent to St. Bruno RC Parish and features lots of lawn for activities, an outdoor stations of the cross, forested pathways, flowers, and sour cherry and apple orchards.

Would you like to know more about our Young Adult Faith Formation program?

Fill out the form below and we'll contact you to answer any questions!

…
Or if you’re ready to apply, you can head on over to the Application Form
Application Form

Support Our Work

St. Therese Institute keeps our tuition costs low through the generous support of monthly and one-time donors.

Donate