Feature Series

Seventy years ago, Canada was consecrated to Mary during the Marian Congress

By Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News

Thousands jam Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park for the consecration of Canada to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on June 22, 1947.

OTTAWA – Seventy years ago, Ottawa, a sleepy government town dominated by the logging industry, had never seen anything like the 1947 Marian Congress.

Ottawa parish sparks giant family reunion for Syrian refugees

By Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News

Husam Al Dakhil and his cousin Bahaa Hraiz serve a Syrian buffet. The cousins came to Canada a little more than a year ago. Now Holy Redeemer parish has found sponsors for their parents and siblings.

OTTAWA – Holy Redeemer, a parish in the Ottawa archdiocese, didn’t stop at bringing in one Syrian refugee family. They brought in three — and plan to bring in three more.

Family heart beats strong in Philippines

By Jean Ko Din, The Catholic Register

The Tsoi-Ko Din family celebrate grandmother Concepcion Ko Din’s 90th birthday.

Lucila Cordovero, or Lola Lucing as I call her, is very petite. Every day, she sits in the same bamboo rocking chair by the window of her bedroom, listening to the buzz of her radio novellas. Her right hand is always clutching a small promotional fan someone gave her years ago.

Girl in chilling 1972 Vietnam War photo is now a Canadian peace ambassador

By Agnieszka Krawczynski, Canadian Catholic News

Kim Phuc gives a signed poster to audience member Laurena Hensel that shows the famous photograph during the Focus on Life Gala.

VANCOUVER – A famous photograph of a naked child running, screaming and covered with napalm burns captured the horror of the Vietnam War 45 years ago.

The gospel according to Di Cicco

By Michael Swan, The Catholic Register

Fr. Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, Toronto’s poet laureate from 2004-09, calls himself “a creative cities exponent with a Gospel mandate underneath.”

UPTERGROVE, ONT. – Ordinary lives, however quiet or unnoticed, are a sequence of miracles, tragedies and triumphs. We all stumble into hell and are repeatedly resurrected into ultimate beauty.

Execs at helm of Nashville Predators aim to foster culture of service

By Theresa Laurence, Catholic News Service

Tom Cigarran, chairman of the Nashville Predators hockey team, with yellow hat, and CEO Sean Henry, center, greet fans in Bridgestone Arena May 16 before Game 3 of the Western Conference finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Tennessee. The two men are active in the Nashville Catholic community.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The recent scene in downtown Nashville of mobs of hockey fans was almost unthinkable a decade ago.

A tender gaze: Fatima trip shows Pope's respect for pilgrims' faith

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

Pope Francis prays in the Little Chapel of the Apparitions at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, May 12. The pope was making a two-day visit to Fatima to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions and to canonize two of the young seers.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis is not shy about showing his love for Mary in public and, like many Latin American bishops, he strongly has resisted attempts to dismiss as superstitious or "simple," in a negative sense, popular devotion to the mother of God.

Fatima at 100 – Recap of Pope Francis’ trip

By Catholic Register Staff

Pope Francis leads the blessing of candles in the Chapel of the Apparitions at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, May 12. The Pope was making a two-day visit to Fatima to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions and to canonize two of the young seers.

Missed our coverage of Pope Francis' trip to Fatima for the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions? Click here to check them out.

Fatima relics create a special connection for Toronto parish

By Jean Ko Din, The Catholic Register

Toronto’s Our Lady of Fatima parish is in possession of a chip of wood from the original tree on which the Virgin Mary appeared and splinters of the original caskets in which Jacinta and Francisco Marto were buried.

While Pope Francis and countless thousands of Catholics flock to Portugal this week to celebrate one of the most famous Marian devotions in the world, a little piece of Fatima can be found in the Archdiocese of Toronto.