MONTREAL - The Church of the Gesù is in the heart of Montreal, just east of Place Ville Marie. Hidden from view, in part by a high stone wall, its main doors are four metres above street level and the marquees between the ascending spiral staircases mean it is easily mistaken for a theatre. Which the Church of the Gesù also happens to be.
Post-earthquake Haiti makes one forget their troubles in Canada
By Kristen Curtis, The Catholic RegisterJan. 12 marks the sixth anniversary of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. The anniversary always takes me back to time spent in Haiti two years after the earthquake. It was a life- changing experience.
Christ's birth can bring peace, hope to suffering world, Pope says
By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News ServiceVATICAN CITY - Christmas is a reminder that through the birth of Christ, hope and peace are possible and that only through his grace can humanity find peaceful solutions to the world's most difficult problems, Pope Francis said.
O come to church all ye faithful, sort of faithful and atheists, too
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, Religion News ServiceDecember means curtains up for church Christmas pageants, hand-bell concerts, caroling kiddie choirs and Nativity displays on the front lawns.
The family Christmas tree became my task
By Fr. Philip J. Kennedy, Catholic Register SpecialChristmas practices are developed and celebrated in different ways in families, and certain tasks and jobs become traditions. So how did it happen that growing up in my large family I became the one to go out into the forest and get the annual Christmas tree?
A sweet Christmas tradition: baking cookies with mom
By Kristen Curtis, The Catholic RegisterMy hands are covered in flour and my mom is wrist deep in dough. The oven is preheated and the cookie trays are lined with parchment paper. She asks me to choose the cookie cutter for this year, and I select the angel.
Student carollers get life lessons outside of class
By Evan Boudreau, The Catholic RegisterTORONTO - On a wet and windy early December night the leadership team from Holy Spirit Catholic School set out with a group of 27 students from the northeast Toronto school to carol in the surrounding neighbourhood.
Spirit of giving overcomes commercialization of Christmas
By Evan Boudreau, The Catholic RegisterTORONTO - To curb the commercialization of Christmas, Alice Chan has made a tradition of volunteering with her two sons over the Christmas holidays.
Wreath is symbolic of Christ’s light shining on a dark world
By Evan Boudreau, The Catholic RegisterTORONTO - After watching friends and families with children come together to create a Christmas tradition making decorative wreathes, Sarah Fairley finally decided to give it a go herself.
Grotto where Jesus born takes you back to Church origins
By J.P. Sonnen, Catholic Register SpecialFrom the very beginnings of Christianity the grotto where Jesus was born has been revered as one of the most sacred places in the world. Today it is designated a World Heritage Site and Roman Catholics from all over the world gather here every Christmas Eve for Midnight Mass.
The story that never grows old
By Ian Hunter, Catholic Register SpecialChristmas poems and stories, like “The Night Before Christmas” or “The Gift of the Magi,” are remarkable in the way they enchant young people from generation to generation. But there is one Christmas story that never grows stale, that is fresh to all ages and places, to young and old, to men and women. Here is how it goes.