A spirit of revival appears to be at work in the Rocky Mountains.
Anecdotes, facts and figures spotlighted in the Diocese of Calgary’s 2023 Impact Report, unveiled on April 7, exemplify a Catholic community on the upswing. Based on the data, the most remarkable success story of the previous calendar year was the stupefying rise in sacramental celebrations.
Consider that the number of children who prepared for and received their First Eucharist soared from 2,498 in 2022 to 3,774. And 2,727 teenagers or adults enriched their baptismal gifts through Confirmation in 2023 compared to 1,781 the previous calendar year.
Huy Nguyen, the diocesan director of pastoral ministry, credited the Extraordinary Sacramental Preparation Program (ESPP), launched in Fall 2022 at Bishop William McGrattan's behest, with propelling the growth. It was instituted to help the parishes bounce back from the impacts caused by the prolonged COVID-19 restrictions.
“It was an initiative that the diocese and the Calgary Catholic School District collaborated on jointly,” said Nguyen. “For example, for First Communion, the program at the parishes is (traditionally) offered to students in Grade 2 and up. Through the schools, we target the students in Grade 3 and older who have not received the sacraments. We provide them an opportunity to be a part of the sacramental preparation program. We have about 90 schools (involved).”
School-hour sessions for First Reconciliation and Eucharist are offered to children in Grades 3 to 6. Confirmation training is available for students in Grades 7 to 9.
“It was a lot of work but it was worth it,” said Nguyen. “While the program is called the ESPP, we also call it ‘Project Good Shepherd.’ Bishop McGrattan coined that as the good shepherd goes after the lost sheep.”
Though the ESPP is credited for the sacramental boom, another significant factor is the return of families to parish life after staying away during the pandemic years. Parents are enrolling their kids into the sacraments directly through the Church.
McGrattan said “he is very encouraged” about the diocese’s community outreach growth, particularly the hospital chaplaincy and prison ministry programs.
Seven priests in Calgary served five hospitals, six hospices and 43 care homes. They received 1,723 requests through the call centre, a bump over the 1,600 in 2022. There are also thriving priest hospital chaplaincies in Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.
The Diocese of Calgary’s prison ministry serves those incarcerated in Calgary Youth Offender Center, Calgary Remand Center, Calgary Correctional Center and Lethbridge Correctional Centre. Twenty-eight volunteers completed a total of 630 hours of service on behalf of 1,181 inmates. The lay helpers led Liturgy of The Word and Bible study sessions. Reportedly, 4,000 rosaries and 36 new Catholic Bibles were distributed.
Lay volunteers were also empowered to become accompaniers. Over 168 members of the diocese completed pastoral care training so they could spiritually walk beside the sick, elderly, homebound and bereaved. A total of 334 congregants and 77 clerics engaged in sessions that introduced Horizons of Hope: a Toolkit for Catholic Parishes on Palliative Care, an initiative championed by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The impact report also provides summaries about the state of vocations, the footprint of the Feed the Hungry outreach program, the efforts to care for retired priests and the amount raised in special collections compared to the previous three years. The report also revealed that the annual Together in Action bishop’s appeal raised over $2.25 million in 2023, which is slightly more than the $2.19 million accrued in 2022.
“We started this report during COVID so that we can communicate forthrightly and let the people know where the diocese was at,” said McGrattan. “Now I think that it has moved into an appropriate tool of education and sharing of information. It’s showing Catholics that they need to be proud of how their faith is being lived and is being demonstrated through various forms of service and spiritual practice.”
Though the report indeed contained a lot of good news, McGrattan expressed hope that the number of couples completing marriage formation will scale upward significantly from the 288 in 2023. And even though the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP) is not profiled in the impact report — its mandate and work does not emanate from the diocesan pastoral centre — McGrattan said “there is a great need” for the parish SSVP chapters to be supported.
“They are facing demand and great challenges to provide food and also other kinds of assistance for those who are challenged because of poverty or perhaps homelessness,” said McGrattan. “We could do a whole other report about the work of our lay associations. That could be an enhancement to this impact report.”
The 2023 Impact Report is accessible at catholicyyc.ca.