VANCOUVER – How far will a man go to follow his dreams? For Fr. Joseph Thoai Le, labour camps, imprisonment and perils at sea could not block his destiny to become a priest.

TORONTO – Before Pope Francis even thought of declaring a Jubilee Year of Mercy, one ship in Africa was already proclaiming this message.

TORONTO – Patricia Rehak still remembers feeling overwhelmed when she first travelled to Guatemala in 2004. A project manager, she and her husband Daniel, a professional engineer, had volunteered with the Canadian Executive Service Organization.

WASHINGTON – As the Oct. 3 feast of St. Francis of Assisi approached this year followers gathered at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land spoke of a revival taking place in the Franciscan order.

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg community of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions honoured Sr. Aileen Gleason for seven decades of a life of service to others and for changing the lives of thousands of refugees.

NASHVILLE — Zainab Elberry remembers the day the check came.

TORONTO – Bishop Robert Kasun has been to Rome to buy a pectoral cross, mitre, ring — all the gear you need to be a bishop. But Kasun, ordained on Sept. 12 in Edmonton to serve as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Toronto, didn’t really have time — and he was a bit put off by the prices — to pick up a new crozier.

ASSISI, Italy – Down a deserted stone alleyway, a joyful chorus of “Hallelujah” can be heard rising from an open window while dozens of tourists armed with selfie sticks gather nearby and begin to scour one of Italy’s most beloved towns in search of the perfect digital souvenir.

HAMILTON, ONT. – Where once it was on the tennis court that Vera Komar plied her trade, it is now Mexico where the Canadian nun is looking to make a difference.

For almost 50 years solidarity with those in greatest need has been the central, driving purpose of the Canadian bishops’ Catholic development agency.