CFEB Projects
Since its formation in 1995, the Canadian Friends of the École Biblique has given thousands of dollars to the École for a range of different projects.
- Rebuilding the École library: As its first project, the CFEB launched and coordinated an international campaign to raise funds to replace the École’s aging library which housed one of the top biblical-archeological collections in the world. The new library opened in 2002 as a modern, multi-storey research library with climate control, computer and IT access and controls, and plenty of room to grow. It contains over 150,000 volumes and 400 specialized periodicals.
- Scholarships: Since 2003, the CFEB has awarded more than 40 scholarships totaling more than $200,000 to graduate students and academics who specialize in studying the Bible, its people, history, theology, archaeology and languages.
We now have named scholarships in honour of two previous board members: Guy Couturier, CSC, President Emeritus of the CFEB, and Philippe LeBlanc, op, who served for years as vice-president. It is possible to contribute directly to scholarships in general or either of these named scholarships.
- Library acquisitions: The CFEB has contributed thousands of dollars to the École library to help fund expensive journals and other publications.
- Technological innovations and computer updates for the library. Current priorities of the library are the updating of the Koha Cataloguing System and making online resources (books and journals) available for library users.
- Support for Canadian academics to serve as visiting professors at the École and conduct research for the Bible in Its Traditions project. Prof. Michel Gourgues of Dominican University College in Ottawa has been working on the Pastoral Epistles, and Marc Girard, Emeritus Professor from the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi, has been working on the Psalms.
- Visiting professorship in Bible and Archaeology: In 2008-09, the CFEB sponsored Dr. Michael Weigl, a Canadian-Austrian academic, to teach, lead student tours, and undertake research for a full academic year at the École.
Our Scholarship Recipients Say....
“I thoroughly enjoyed the library, where I worked usually from nine in the morning to about midnight. I always feel something special whenever I work in this excellent library.”
– Dr. Ronald Charles, Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto, Toronto ON (summer 2015, 2016)
“My experience at the École itself was unforgettable. What a library! And what a wonderfully helpful staff! I was well looked after … Frère Bernard, the librarian, could not have provided a better study space. As to the resources available, there was not a single item I needed I could not find in the library – a luxury I had never experienced until then.”
– Stéphane Saulnier (February to May 2023), Newman Theological College, Edmonton AB