History of the St. Leonard’s Name
St. Leonard’s is named after St. Leonard of Noblac, also known as Leonard of Limoges. Leonard was a Frankish nobleman who lived in the 6th century. He is closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat in France. Leonard chose a life of austerity and became a hermit in the forest of Limousin. He is particularly known for his compassion towards prisoners, often securing their release through his intercession. This earned him the title of the patron saint of prisoners, political prisoners, and captives.
St. Leonard’s London was founded in 1969 through the efforts and leadership of the Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church congregation and founding members Allan Henderson, Jeffery Flinn and Hume Cronyn.
Other influential people included then Mayor Jane Bigelow and Archdeacon Kenneth Bolton who later chronicled the halfway house movement across Canada in his book “Halfway Home”.
St. Leonard’s Society of Canada has several awards named in honour of Londoners who dedicated great efforts to St. Leonard’s and the halfway house movement of Canada. Catholic Bishop John Cody, Anglican Bishop George Luxton and former Executive Director Ray Gallagher all figured prominently in the history of the London affiliate and the National Society.
While St. Leonard’s Society of London is our legal name, today, St. Leonard’s is known as St. Leonard’s Community Services, London & Region (SLCS). SLCS offers community-based support programs and residential centres that:
- Assist persons in conflict, or at risk of conflict, with the justice system, all within a restorative practices framework
- Develop, implement and advocate for improved policies, procedures and service delivery within the justice system to assist in the prevention of crime
- Promote acceptance of responsibility and accountability by persons in conflict with the law to assist with changing behaviour that contributes to crime
- Promote understanding and education to our communities about their responsibility in both the incidence of crime and in the manner in which society responds to it
While SLCS continues to evaluate and respond to the needs of the communities it serves, and while we are not a faith-based organization today, the spirit of SLCS remains consistent with the original core values its founding members shared.