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Preston
The Xaverians’ presence in Preston is in its sweet 16th year. Although a teenager, the community has built an impressive remit of work and influence in the region. Initiated by Umberto Domine the house in Ribbleton Avenue has been a hotbed for action and prayer. The reasoning behind Preston was as follows: Scotland is covered by, at that time Glasgow and Coatbridge and the south of England by London. In an era of restructuring and rationalisation the focus became mission animation and vocation promotion aimed at adult vocations. The location of Preston allows access to the North of England and the Midlands. No area of Scotland, England or Wales cannot be touched by the Xaverians!
Willie Hattie joined Umberto and they began to work in Caring Church Weeks and in schools. John Zampese then replaced Umberto and Sebastian Tedesco arrived and moved into the area of Justice and Peace. The house was to become a resource for retreats and recollections. Archie Casey, Tom Welsh and Jim Clarke reinforced the connections with justice and peace and the local schools as well as expanding into divergent areas.
The community has hosted the international pre-novitiate community in 1999, served as a formation community and challenged the region in new ways of living an open house style of mission. This has brought and formed a strong lay attachment to the community. It has been an area where Preston has and is leading the region. The lay volunteers have helped form an open and creative way of living the Gospel message in our world.
It seems, so far, that all the Xaverians in Britain are is a collection of houses; however, much more than that are the people who occupy and have passed through the doors. Coatbridge may no longer called the College, now a Mission Centre, but it still has contacts with those many students who, hopefully, have fond memories of the place. This can be seen in those who attended a reunion on November 26th, 1995 and those who help in our fund-raising events and participate in the monthly family mass. It seems that the vocations were not only to missionary life but also as family men and the laity!