Catholic Missions in Canada

On International Women’s Day, The Globe and Mail published a lengthy article about the difficulties millennial mothers face. An article released later in March also discusses “the motherhood penalty and its impact on Canadian women in the workplace.” Both are effectively summarized by this quote: “The world isn’t set up to support young mothers at work.”

I am about to do a new thing.

Isaiah 43: 19

When I accepted the position of President of St. Mary’s University in Calgary, I had to convince my family that it was exciting to give up our life on the beach and move to a glorious mountainous winter wonderland. I must have been convincing because they immediately agreed. But when we left Sydney, Australia, at 40 degrees, and landed in Calgary at -40 degrees, my daughter looked at me sternly: “This is child abuse!”

More than a week has passed since Easter and there is still chocolate sitting in the Easter baskets. We are gradually learning that joy can be spread over many days in small doses, rather than trying to consume it all at once. Though the Easter baskets appear on Sunday morning, the resurrection in my life rarely arrives overnight. New life is emerging more than arriving suddenly.

On March 26, Catholic Social Services (CSS) in Edmonton launched its inaugural “Giving Hope Tuesday,” a special philanthropy occasion to encourage monetary gifts toward specific projects, programs and initiatives.

This idea is inspired by the Giving Tuesday tradition, hosted the first Tuesday following Black Friday as a national day of bequeathing monetary donations to non-profits and causes in need.

More than 500 women heard the message of hope and seeking the light of Christ to combat fear and hesitation in order to answer God’s call of living as women of faith in their families and communities at the 15th annual Dynamic Women of Faith Conference on March 23.

Renewal is in the air in the Diocese of Saint John where the restoration of the 170-year-old Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception continues to progress slowly but surely nearly a decade after preservation efforts launched.

The house of worship, built by immigrants fleeing Ireland during the Irish potato famine in the mid-1840s, is getting its ceiling, roof, steeple and foundation repaired. The engineering firm Heritage Standing Incorporated, under the guidance of Bishop Christian Riesbeck, is taking on the project.

Three Toronto area students have been named winners of the 2024 Friars Student Essay Writing Contest. 

April marks six months since the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth was forced to close the historic St. Theresa’s Church on North Street because of high levels of mould in the building.

And since then, according to archdiocesan spokesperson Aurea Sadi, more issues have emerged.

Second Sunday of Easter (Year B) , April 7 (Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 118; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31)

“There was not a needy person among them” — this was the source of their unity and their strength. They were of one heart and soul.

On one cold evening, I made my usual visit to the hospital chapel to reflect on the day’s events in my ministry. It was a challenging day full of visits with questions about faith, life, and death. I was called to support a couple of bereaved families.