The Serra Foundation of Canada initiated the Serra Priest Florida Retreat Program to meet the need for personal religious retreat and modest vacation accommodations for priests from the Archdiocese of Toronto in order to enable such priests to better carry out their religious duties. The Foundation, through its benefactors, arranged with St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, 2 designated guest rooms for the year-round exclusive use of the priests of the Archdiocese of Toronto.
The seminary, owned by the 7 dioceses of Florida, recently underwent a major expansion and renovation. The room rental/donation rate arranged by the Serra Foundation of Canada has been reduced exclusively for the priests of the Archdiocese of Toronto to a daily donation of US$60 per day which includes meals and use of the facilities. The rooms are available for no longer that a 7 day period at any one time. Should more than 2 priests wish to go down to Florida at the same time, additional guest rooms may be available subject to availability.
St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary is located on the east coast of Florida between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The seminary site is 70 acres with a private lake and Olympic size swimming pool. The guest rooms have a covered patio overlooking the lake and are located on the periphery of the seminary grounds – so priests are free to come and go as they please with an access code.
Complete St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary Reservation Form and submit by email to:
Administrative Assistant, Ms. Kip Clarke at kclarke@svdp.edu
With copies to:
Vice Rector Fr. Gregg Caggianelli at gcaggianelli@svdp.edu
Serra Foundation of Canada, Mario Biscardi, President, at serrafoundation@hotmail.com
Letter signed by the visiting priest confirming that he is in good standing with the Archdiocese of Toronto to be included in the email with the Reservation Form.
Transportation
The closest airports to the seminary are West Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) which is 17 miles and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) which is 36 miles. Flying time from Toronto is approximately 3 hours.
Air Canada offers non-stop flights between Toronto and Fort Lauderdale [Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)] year-round and the flights are more economical and more frequent than flights to West Palm Beach [Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)].
Air Canada is the only carrier that offers non-stop flights to Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) between November 1 and April 30. All other airlines have connecting flights.
Shuttle bus transportation estimated costs ” (as of May 2015) one-way with “Go Airport Shuttle service to Boynton Beach from Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) and from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL):
Car rental agencies are at both airports for pick-up and drop-off of cars at the airports. Renting a car gives mobility to sight see and visit attractions. It also avoids the shuttle bus transportation costs from and back to the airport.
