Coatbridge

The Xaverian presence in Coatbridge dates back to the late 1950’s and in 1960 the St. Francis Xavier College was opened. This was not just a Xaverian initiative, the local community helped build The College, both in financially and by volunteering in its construction. When it closed in 1985 hundreds of high school boys explored their Xaverian vocation and learned about St. Conforti’s dream. The College not only acted as a focus for missionary vocations in Scotland and Britain, it was a resource for the local church in terms of missionary animation, supplies, parish retreats and other areas where the local church was in need.

When the Junior Seminary closed there was a period of reflection and discernment about the future of the building and the Xaverian Presence. It was decided to use the structure to help in mission awareness and offer retreats and reflections on mission. In the late 1990’s, with the structure in need of some TLC a decision was made: to look at possible futures for the Xaverian presence.

After a few dead ends a radical decision was taken: to demolish the buildings and sell part of the land to finance a new building! In 2009, after many years of planning The Conforti Centre opened! You can see more about it here (link to the facilities). We offered a space for dialogue, for meeting, for encounter and a place to offer our own spirit of mission!

The number of Xaverians in Coatbridge has reduced over the years, but we still have a lively and vibrant presence. We support the local church in many ways, we helped set-up and still offer support to the Coatbridge Community Foodbank and we offer support to the  wider Xaverian family scattered around the world!