The Basilian Fathers, also known as The Congregation of Saint Basil, is an international order of Catholic priests and students studying for the priesthood, who focus on education and ministering through oratories.
The patron saint is Saint Basil the Great.
After the closing of Catholic seminaries during the French Revolution, a clandestine school was established by two priests in the central part of the country. After the relevant French laws were relaxed and after several years of operation, the congregation was founded in 1822 by a group of ten priests in order to ensure the continuation of the school, then operating in Annonay. The members of the new order devoted themselves to Christian education, preaching, evangelization, and embraced the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Eventually, changes in French law led to the closing of the congregation's schools in France; however, it was by then well established in Canada and the United States.
Its history in Canada began in Toronto, which has become one of the congregation's largest centres. The city is home to the University of St. Michael's College (USMC) at the University of Toronto, and St. Michael's College School, as well as two Basilian parishes: St. Basil and Holy Rosary. The Cardinal Flahiff Centre, a Basilian retirement home, is on the USMC campus. The order also founded Assumption College, now Assumption University, federated with the University of Windsor, St. Thomas More College, federated with the University of Saskatchewan, and St. Joseph's College, affliliated with the University of Alberta. The Basilian Fathers also founded St. Thomas College (later St. Thomas University (New Brunswick)) in Chatham, N.B., in 1910, and remained there until 1923, when the college was transferred to the local diocesan clergy.
It has also established parishes and schools in Colombia and Mexico, and is affiliated with a health care centre in Colombia.
In the United States, the Basilian Fathers founded and operate St. Thomas High School and the University of St. Thomas both of which are in Houston, Texas. The Basilians also opened and run the Michigan Catholic high school, Detroit Catholic Central High School, and Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana. They co-sponsor Detroit Cristo Rey High School with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In 2007 the group became an addition sponsor to the Christian Peacemaker Teams.[1]