By embracing the opportunity found in challenges brought about by COVID-19, Southdown Institute is expanding mental health services to reach even more people of faith.

Perhaps the frustrations of being a priest in a time of pandemic can be no better summed up than in the anguish that followed the slaughter of 22 people in Nova Scotia.

Priests and religious overwhelmed by the new realities of their ministry due to the COVID-19 pandemic are being offered help to cope with issues brought on by the crisis.

One of the world’s leading institutes treating the mental health of clergy, religious and lay people in full-time ministry is getting a little closer to the people it serves. The Southdown Institute will open an outpatient clinic in North York on Nov. 20.

The vocation of serving vocations is little understood and rarely appreciated, but it’s something that appealed to Fr. Stephan Kappler like nothing else.

When residents first enter the Southdown Institute in the small township of East Gwillimbury, Ont., north of Toronto, they are usually lethargic and depressed. They are religious or clergy who have been sent there by the leaders of their diocese or their community, to be treated for addictions and mental health issues.

After almost 50 years, the Southdown Institute has downsized for the better, says chief executive officer Dorothy Heiderscheit. 

As the sprawl crawls toward them, the Canadian Church’s first option for helping and healing priests with addictions, depression and other psychological issues is pulling up stakes.

The Southdown Institute has broken ground on a new address at the north end of East Gwillimbury, Ont. Surrounded once again by farm country, the new Southdown facility in Holland Landing will aim to better serve an aging population with up-to-date strategies for dealing with everything from eating disorders to dementia, said Southdown CEO Sr. Miriam Ukeritis of the Congregation of St. Joseph.