Catholic Missions in Canada

At the heart of the documentary De l’autre côté is the unlikely friendship between the Brazilian-Canadian filmmaker Lessandro Sócrates and the cloistered nuns of the Abbey of Sainte-Marie des Deux-Montagnes, Que.

Comment from the editorial board of the Our Sunday Visitor website.

The April 15, 2019, tragedy transcended borders, uniting the world in a shared sense of loss. For the Catholic Church, Notre Dame is, first and foremost, a place of worship. However, the cathedral also stands as a monument to the Church’s indelible and unrivaled contribution to art, architecture and culture. As we mark this somber anniversary, it is also a moment to celebrate the Church’s role in nurturing and preserving the cultural and artistic heritage of the West.

Since the end of January when I turned 65, I have had a part-time job serving as a sacristan at St. Joseph’s Chapel, at Holy Cross Cemetery, in Toronto.  When I first heard the word “sacristan,” I wasn’t sure what it meant.  I was told it is the person who sets up and serves during Mass. Oh, I said, like an altar boy, something I had done 55 years ago at St. Andrews Parish in Etobicoke. 

It was a moment suspended in time. Shortly after 3 p.m. on April 8, complete darkness covered the land. Birdsong ceased abruptly as a cool night breeze blanketed the eerie silence.

Science told us the darkness would disperse in three to four minutes with the return of the mid-afternoon sun’s light. But some of us felt uneasy as we waited and wondered: will the light really return?

The health program director for the non-partisan think tank Cardus wants Canadian Catholics to help champion better pediatric palliative care practices.

Rebecca Vachon said that “saturating each parish” with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB)’s Horizons of Hope teachings could organically encourage congregants to become effective standard-bearers for pediatric palliative care. The toolkit approaches palliative care through the lens of moral and pastoral theology.

They have yet to receive an agenda outlining what their Vatican visit will entail, but Fr. Fábio de Souza, Fr. Pierre Ducharme, O.F.M., and Fr. Daniel Ouellet told The Catholic Register they are ready to discern, listen and share at the “Parish Priests for the Synod” international meeting.

Angelo D’Amico says he officiated in the National Hockey League the way his father, John, an NHL Hockey Hall of Fame official, taught him: with faith and integrity.

“I can look at my faith and my beliefs as a foundation of where I lead from, and where I come from,” D’Amico told The Catholic Register.

Third Sunday of Easter (Year B) April 14 (Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48)

Peter had jarring news for those gathered around him. In their view, Jesus was a renegade and had died a disgraceful death. The whole matter should have ended there, but God had other plans. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — the God of all Israel — had raised Jesus up and glorified Him.

The Bigard Memorial Seminary in Enugu, Nigeria, is celebrating its 100th birthday in 2024. Officials say the sheer statistics warrant a big celebration: The institution has 780 clerics — a number not seen in years in seminaries across Europe and the Americas.

Nigerian Christians are one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world, but the rector of the seminary, Fr. Albert U. Ikpenwa, told OSV News the growth in vocations and of the Church in Nigeria is a function of positive Christian teachings.

Fr. Clair Watrin, the Basilian priest from southern Alberta who founded the ecumenical Live-In weekend retreat movement and Catholic Christian Outreach, has died at age 91. Both of those movements brought thousands of people into a deeper relationship with Jesus and His Church.