• The Society of Saint Edmund
    • Q:   When was Saint Michael's founded?
    • A:   The Society of Saint Edmund traces its foundation to 1843 when a group of diocesan priests banded together at St. Mary’s Abbey in Pontigny, France. These men formed a religious congregation of domestic missionaries dedicated to re-evangelizing people who had fallen away from their faith and religious practice. They took as their patron Saint Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, who in 1240 died and was buried in the abbey in Pontigny.

      Threats of government restrictions on religious orders in France led the congregation in 1892 to make a foundation in the Burlington, Vermont diocese, which needed French-speaking priests. They transplanted their mission and built upon their expertise in preaching and religious education with the opening in 1904 of Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. In succeeding years the Society has remained faithful to its mission even as it has adapted to changing circumstances in our world.

      The Edmundites are presently active in education here at Saint Michael's, in missionary work in the southern U.S. and South America and parish work in New England, Canada and England.
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