The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor, the Office for Promoting Christian Unity of the Archdiocese of Toronto, and The Catholic Register are proud to present the 2025 Friars' Student Writing Contest. 

This year marks the 85th anniversary of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE), which will be hosting a conference to mark the occasion.

There are 40,000 Catholic teachers in Ontario and thousands more in the four provinces that provide some level of public funding to Catholic schools, to say nothing of even more who work in private Catholic schools. But there’s no Catholic teachers’ college in Canada, with the lone exception of the Faculty of Education at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S. — not a province with publicly funded Catholic schools.

In a recent discussion analyzing a Vatican document on the identity of Catholic schools, Matt Hoven highlighted the common yet “problematic” viewpoints circulating within current-day Catholic education.

If a change is as good as a holiday, then I have been on vacation lately, big time. After deciding to retire as president of a university, I found myself called back to the role in a different city and context. Not as big a change as when I left Australia to return to Canada, but still different.

The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor, the Office for Promoting Christian Unity of the Archdiocese of Toronto, and The Catholic Register are proud to present the 2024 Friars' Student Writing Contest. 

“I have been called to Catholic education and this vocational call has blessed and enriched my life in profound ways.”

The Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education has estimated that the total number of Catholic higher education institutions around the world is over 1,300.

The story is told that Albert Einstein met with his graduate students in Physics at Princeton University to provide them with their final examination. After distributing the exam, he walked out. His teaching assistant walked out with him.

The new boss at St. Joseph’s College in Edmonton happens to be the old boss — but not that old.

In the midst of bankruptcy proceedings at Laurentian University, the University of Sudbury is going back to its francophone roots.

In The Idea of a University, John Henry Newman (now Saint) outlined his vision of a liberal education that spoke of the virtues and purpose of a university. Originally an Oxford man, his famed conflict at Oriel College — where he argued with the Provost that a tutor needed more engagement with undergraduates — resulted in Newman being cast out of his beloved institution and turning instead to a life of research.

The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor, the Office for Promoting Christian Unity of the Archdiocese of Toronto, and The Catholic Register are proud to present the 2022 Friars' Student Writing Contest. 

WASHINGTON -- When the death of Alex Trebek -- beloved longtime host of "Jeopardy!" -- was announced, celebrities and fans around the country took to social media to express their grief.

EDMONTON -- Newman Theological College has launched a new three-year Bachelor of Arts in Catholic Studies degree, targeting students who want a classical education combined with intellectual rigour and faith tradition.