Father David William Bauer was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach, educator and Catholic priest. He was offered a playing contract by the Boston Bruins at age 15, but declined on the advice of his father to complete a proper education. The experience of not pursuing his dream of playing professional hockey was traumatic for Bauer, who then committed himself to look for more meaning in life and play a role in world peace. After he served as captain of the Toronto St. Michael's Majors for two seasons and won the 1944 Memorial Cup, he became ordained as a Catholic priest in the Congregation of St. Basil and taught at St. Michael's College School. He coached multiple levels of hockey at St. Michael's, sat on the junior ice hockey council for the Ontario Hockey Association, lobbied for a shortened playing schedule for students athletes, and coached the St. Michael's Majors to victory in the 1961 Memorial Cup. Bauer was reassigned to St. Mark's College at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1961, then coached the UBC Thunderbirds for two seasons and led them to the finals at the 1963 CIAU University Cup.

The Congregation of St. Basil, also called the Basilians, is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. It is an apostolic community whose members profess simple vows. The Basilians seek the glory of God, especially in the works of education and evangelization. The congregation was founded in 1822 in the aftermath of the French Revolution. In the early 19th century the Basilian Fathers' educational and pastoral work brought them to a variety of locations in Canada and the United States. In the 1960s, the priests began to minister in Mexico, and in Colombia in the 1980s.