Fr. Sebastian Leonard, O.S.B. When Sebastian Leonard, O.S.B. retired in the fall of 2015, he had been the longest-serving Canterbury chaplain. Son of Irish-born parents, Sebastian began his path towards the priesthood in Indianapolis and attended both high school and college at nearby St. Meinrad Archabbey. He took his “first vows” in 1952 as a Benedictine monk and was ordained on May 3, 1957. He later earned his M.A. in European History at Georgetown University and a D.Phil. in European History at Oxford University in 1968. Between 1968 and 1995, Sebastian taught at St. Meinrad and also served as assistant pastor at St. David’s Catholic Church in Davie, FL, for ten years. He arrived on campus in the fall of 1995, not sure this would be his cup of tea. “I did not unpack for the first semester,” he recalled later. Between 1995 and 2015, he came to love Canterbury students (and they him), and established close relationships with many faculty and staff colleagues. For several years, Sebastian taught theology and European History at Canterbury. As chaplain, he offered daily Mass, baptized and confirmed students, and delivered well thought-out homilies as part of Sunday Mass. His homilies were increasingly adapted to Canterbury students although he never adjusted to gum chewing in the chapel. Always an avid reader, he was without doubt the most prolific donor of “already read” books to Copley Library. When it came time to retire and Sebastian said his last Canterbury Mass on September 20, 2015, students and faculty alike shed tears as they bid their long-serving chaplain goodbye.
John and Kim Niles worked at Canterbury together in 1972–1973 that both partners in a married couple became Canterbury faculty members. This did not happen again until Lou Mandler joined JP as a faculty member in 1977. Tom Sheehy welcomed married couples if both could make excellent contributions to the School. The next section highlights faculty members who have either been at the School for twenty years or come close to that mark. Tom began his tenure by hiring Madeleine Dreeke to teach in the English and Fine Arts Departments. Her background in professional
Fr. Ron Gliatta served as chaplain from 1992-1995.
When Tom Sheehy was appointed Canterbury’s fifth headmaster in 1990, he brought with him a sensibility that had always informed the ethos at the School but which he used to strengthen the faculty: a focus on family.
theater and her husband Robin’s background in technical theater were a perfect fit for the drama program’s twice-yearly shows. Mattie and Robin’s contacts have brought professionals in to work with Canterbury students in costume, lighting, and sound on productions over the years. Amy McKenna Omaña ’86 may have arrived to the Admission Office unmarried in 1991, but in a couple of years, she married language teacher Julio Omaña. Amy soon moved to teach theology; she initiated the Nicaragua service trip in 2005 and continues to lead it in 2016. Julio has been Chair of the Language Department and originated the Canterbury-San Cayetano Spanish exchange program for students. Amy and Julio have two children, Brendan ’19 and Abby ’20. In 1992, Fr. Ron Gliatta joined the faculty. In addition to his oncampus duties as resident chaplain, he conducted off-campus Sixth Form retreats, and in the early 1990s organized a faculty trip to Italy. In 1993, the School hired another graduate, Jen Lee ’84, the daughter of the above-mentioned Bev Lee, who soon married French teacher Corey Chandler, and they, too, raised two children here, Kinsey ’14 and Robin. Jen was the classic triple threat in her years here; she coached soccer and 29