FAITH/STORIES

TORONTO - Kelly Boyden grew up in Orleans, a suburb of Ottawa, under the care of his adopted parents, two devout Catholics. He went to Catholic school and was an altar server, but in his teenage years he drifted away from the faith.

For Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May it’s difficult to choose a favourite prayer. She’s partial to the Peace Prayer of St. Francis (which is Franciscan in spirit, but not written by St. Francis) and St. Francis’ Canticle of All Creatures (which probably does date from St. Francis’ lifetime).

TORONTO - Church unity hasn’t happened yet, but Catholics and Anglicans have a new list of concrete suggestions for ways to bring the two churches closer.

TORONTO - Sandy Sitar and her husband Glenn Brown work in the pharmaceutical industry in technically demanding jobs. They’re educated young professionals — not the sort of people who fall into superstition or believe in magic. But that doesn’t mean they don’t believe in miracles.

ROME - The Rome diocesan office charged with promoting the sainthood cause of Pope John Paul II has exceeded its postage budget because of increased requests for prayer cards and relics of the late pope.

The daily prayer of the man with his finger on the pulse of Canada’s literary scene comes from a little devotional booklet containing a selection of prayers for all occasions. The particular prayer The Toronto Star’s chief book reviewer finds fit for most occasions is a prayer to the Holy Spirit.

For Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May it’s difficult to choose a favourite prayer. She’s partial to the Peace Prayer of St. Francis (which is Franciscan in spirit, but not written by St. Francis) and St. Francis’ Canticle of All Creatures (which probably does date from St. Francis’ lifetime).

TORONTO - CFL football player Jude St. John has prayed the Lord’s Prayer before each game ever since he started playing football.

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - A priest in the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie is taking his homilies worldwide, using the Internet as the latest communication tool to reach the unchurched.

Editor’s note: Lent is a time of almsgiving, fasting and abstinence, but most importantly, it is a time of prayer. During the six weeks of Lent, The Catholic Register will present the favourite prayers of well known Canadians. We start the series with Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto.

Archbishop Thomas Collins says one of his favourite prayers — probably the one he resorts to most often during the day — is the Jesus Prayer.