FAITH/STORIES

TORONTO - Two years ago Ignacio Pinedo was to be ordained a missionary priest with the Scarboro Missions religious community based in Toronto, but close to his ordination date the superior asked him to take some time off to discern his call.
TORONTO - When Jorge Lopez joined Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Toronto nine years ago he didn’t speak a word of English. Still, he left his family behind in Nicaragua to follow his call to the priesthood.
TORONTO - It was an overwhelming sense of gratitude that  caused Giuseppe Scollo to give up his family and life in Sisley, Italy to follow his call to the priesthood.

Despite life’s struggles, the call kept pulling Llames to the seminary

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TORONTO - Leo Llames first thought about a vocation to the priesthood when he was 10 years old during elementary school in Tacloban City, Philippines. He was inspired by the life story of St. Maximilian Kolbe and how he died a martyr for the faith, but he pushed those thoughts aside and continued on with life.

BECOMING A PRIEST: ‘Mountain top’ experience at Madonna House leads seminarian to priesthood

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TORONTO - Zachary Romanowsky heard his call to the priesthood while staying at Madonna House in Combermere, Ont.

Bear witness to the resurrection

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The belief in the resurrection of Jesus is central to Christianity, as demonstrated by the recent heated debate over the “tomb of Jesus” allegedly found by a Toronto filmmaker. It is a belief that comes to the forefront each year at this time.

BECOMING A PRIEST: Future priest is more at home in seminary than in high finance

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Editor’s note: this is one in a series of articles on the men from Toronto’s St. Augustine’s Seminary and Redemptoris Mater Seminary who will be ordained as priests this spring.

As many reasons for retreats as there are people

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TORONTO - Ann Jacques had been away from the church for a long time when she answered an ad in the church bulletin to go on retreat.

BECOMING A PRIEST - Coming to terms with addiction turned a life around

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TORONTO - Kelly Boyden grew up in Orleans, a suburb of Ottawa, under the care of his adopted parents, two devout Catholics. He went to Catholic school and was an altar server, but in his teenage years he drifted away from the faith.

MY FAVOURITE PRAYER: Serenity Prayer eases things in stressful world

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For Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May it’s difficult to choose a favourite prayer. She’s partial to the Peace Prayer of St. Francis (which is Franciscan in spirit, but not written by St. Francis) and St. Francis’ Canticle of All Creatures (which probably does date from St. Francis’ lifetime).

Report sets stage for closer relations between Catholics, Anglicans

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TORONTO - Church unity hasn’t happened yet, but Catholics and Anglicans have a new list of concrete suggestions for ways to bring the two churches closer.

Praying for miracles

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TORONTO - Sandy Sitar and her husband Glenn Brown work in the pharmaceutical industry in technically demanding jobs. They’re educated young professionals — not the sort of people who fall into superstition or believe in magic. But that doesn’t mean they don’t believe in miracles.

Demand for John Paul’s relics swamps Vatican

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JPIIROME - The Rome diocesan office charged with promoting the sainthood cause of Pope John Paul II has exceeded its postage budget because of increased requests for prayer cards and relics of the late pope.