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OBLATE FATHERS	kiwi.*
CENTRAL PROVINCE BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS
Dear Fathers and Brothers:
Today we, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate of the Central U.S. Province, humbly offer our prayer of gratitude to Almighty God, for He has done great things to His Servants - From the beginning of this Province,
30 years ago, the hand of God has blessed the undertakings of the sons of Mary Immaculate, and Mary, our Immaculate Mother, has taken care of the fulfillment of all of our needs through her Divine Son.
In gratitude to Mary, for her assistance in bringing about the establishment of	this House of Prayer and Learning, we	dedicate this	Scholasticate to her	under her beautiful title	of Our Lady	of the Snows,	one
of Mary’s oldest	and most beautiful titles	of devotion	in the Church, and
the title under which she has blessed this	Province so	abundantly.
And as Mary let fall from heaven a miraculous snow on the Esquiline Hill in Rome on August 5> 352 - to show her pleasure to the holy desires of the noble patrician	John,	his wife, and Pope Liberius; so	may she ever	shower the blessings of	piety	and learning on this spot being	placed under	her
patronage today.
May Mary bring blessing from her Divine Son to most adequately reward all, who, by	their	untiring efforts, labors, prayers and sacrifices,
have contributed to	bring	about the establishment of this	House of God	and
foundation of learning.
As Provincial of the Central Province, I beg, through Mary, special blessings from Christ especially upon Bishop Gerow who has made all this possible - Upon the senior Fathers of this Province who started preparing for this day thirty years ago, laying the foundation of the Province with foresight and courage - Upon my Consultors who have worked together as one heart and one mind - Upon all the Fathers of the Province, and in a most special manner upon the members of this House, the Superior, the Faculty and the Scholastic Brothers the Co-adjutor Brothers - Yes, you have labored during the heat of the day and Almighty God's choice blessings will be yours.
Last, but not least, we beg blessings upon our Benefactors and Friends who have lent assistance and given financial aid to Our Lady of the Snows Scholasticate.
May this new page of history being written today, in the life of Christ’s Church, and our country, with the dedication of this Scholasticate, be amplified year after year by progress and expansion in Christ’s vineyard, both here at home and in the foreign missions. May virtue always increase and flourish in this Religious House, so it may become a bulwark of sanctifying forces, through following and living the Constitution and Rules bequeathed to us by our Venerated Founder.