LEVITTOWN, Pa. - The Catholic press in the United States and Canada is working to fulfill its mission of informing, educating and evangelizing Catholics by continuing to publish strong print publications while increasing their use of other media.

More and more people want their news and feature articles available in more ways, at more frequent intervals, editors agreed as they spoke of websites, electronic book platforms, podcasts and mobile apps.

Despite its grand Catholic church at the top of the hill, Guelph, Ont., is a modest place and home to modest people.

A little bit of Guelph’s heroic modesty lurks in the tabernacle of Our Lady Immaculate Church up on the hill. Somehow in the 1970s the tabernacle door was damaged such that it no longer locked. It was replaced by a more modern tabernacle that some in the parish thought conflicted with their church’s neogothic architecture.

“It was an ugly, monstrous looking thing,” declares John Valeriote, lawyer, amateur historian and stalwart of Guelph’s Catholic community.

Cardinal-designate Thomas Collins will be elevated to the College of Cardinals by the Pope at a Vatican ceremony on Feb. 18. Amid a busy schedule as he prepares for that important event, he took time to speak directly to the readers of The Catholic Register by answering a set of prepared questions.

What has your life been like since the announcement on Jan. 6 in terms of public reaction and demands on your time?

In many ways, my daily life hasn’t changed since the Holy Father announced my appointment to the College of Cardinals. My schedule remains as busy as ever, serving the people of the archdiocese of Toronto. Of course, there has been some time involved in preparing for the consistory on Feb. 18, but nothing too onerous.

Thomas Christopher Collins

o Born in Guelph, Ont., Jan. 16, 1947

o Obtained a Bachelor of Arts (English) from St. Jerome’s College in Waterloo, Ont., 1969

o Ordained to the diaconate, May 14, 1972

Thomas Collins began his education in St. Stanislaw’s School in the shadow of Our Lady Immaculate Church in Guelph. High school was just across the way at Bishop Macdonell High School. At every stage, it has been a thoroughly Catholic education.

o Member of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Permanent Council

o Chancellor, University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto

o Chancellor, Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, Toronto

There’s a story that circulates around Guelph, Ont., about how Cardinal-elect Thomas Collins barely escaped Our Lady Immaculate Church with his life.

In one version, a 10-year-old Collins was almost killed when a statue of Our Lady came loose from the roof of the church and crashed at his feet. This somehow drove him into the priesthood.

The story is utter nonsense. We got the true story from the man himself.

LONDON, ONT. - St. Peter’s Seminary in London has been a focal point for much of the life of Cardinal-designate Thomas Collins. He studied there before becoming a priest in 1973 and over the ensuing 24 years was drawn back to St. Peter’s in the roles of lecturer, Dean of Theology and, finally, rector until he was named bishop of St. Paul, Alta., in 1997.

Fr. Michael Prieur, now a professor of Moral and Sacramental Theology, taught Collins in the early 1970s and worked with him for 19 years at the seminary. Fr. Murray Watson, the current vice-rector and assistant professor of Sacred Scripture and Ecumenism at the seminary, was taught by Collins in the 1990s. The Catholic Register sat down with these two priests and teachers for their perspectives on the London years of the man destined to become Canada’s 16th cardinal.

When Archbishop Thomas Collins becomes Thomas Cardinal Collins the principal colour of his vestments will become scarlet to symbolize the blood that a cardinal is willing to shed for his faith.

Scarlet was installed as the colour for cardinals by Pope Gregory X at the Second Council of Lyon in 1274.

With his elevation to the College of Cardinals, Archbishop Thomas Collins has updated his bishop’s coat of arms. The biggest change is an emphasis on the colour red of a cardinal. Here is an explanation of the new emblem.

The motto “Deum Adora” (Worship God) is taken from Revelation 22:9.