THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER IN SOLIDARITY with Indigenous Peoples is celebrated this Sunday, December 12th, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. The 2021 Message for the day, drafted and approved by the Catholic Indigenous Council can be read here and on our website. Additionally, the apology issued to Indigenous Peoples by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops is now featured in a YouTube video here.
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Date posted on December 10, 2021
This year, the reflection by the Council centres on the theme We are called to Healing, Forgiveness, Reconciliation. “We, the Body of Christ, are called to live in friendship and harmony with all peoples. We are brothers and sisters of our One Creator God. God gives everything to all of us. God creates and sustains the wonderful diversity of peoples, cultures, races and creeds.”
Continue readingST. JOSEPH’S HEALTH CENTRE, GUELPH celebrates 160 years of compassion care and courage – a long history of serving the community. The mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph was honoured last week at an exhibit of artifacts from their archives and from the Guelph Civic Museum. And it all began with a courageous Nun with 50 cents in her pocket and a hankering to care for the sick! What a blessing!
Continue readingTHE DEDICATION OF ST. BENEDICT CHURCH IN MILTON will take place this Sunday, November 28th, beginning at 2:30 p.m. Father Jim Petrie, Pastor, is preparing for the event. While COVID-19 restrictions are still in place, the size of church will allow for significant attendance at the event. Welcome to Peterborough Bishop Daniel Miehm, the founding Pastor of the Parish. With Auxiliary Bishop Wayne Lobsinger, he will have the unique privilege of anointing the walls of the beautiful building. Congratulations and thanks to Father Petrie, the Building Committee, the architect and builders. The “green technology” makes it one of the few churches in the country that can “contribute” to the grid!
Continue readingWELCOME TO GERALD CYPRIEN CARDINAL LACROIX, Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada, who will confer Papal Honours on 1 Priest and 14 Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Hamilton at a ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King on Sunday afternoon, Feast of Christ the King. The honours were to have been conferred last year, and were postponed to earlier this year, and postponed again to Sunday! Congratulations to the honourees: Reverend Monsignor Martin Vallely (Chaplain of His Holiness), Chancellor for Temporal Affairs, James Long (Knight Commander – with star – of Saint Gregory the Great), Vince Varga and Allan Beaupre (Knights of St. Gregory the Great), Dao Hoang Pham, Barbara Dollak, Sharon Fazari, Martha Fauteux, and Marcel Levesque (Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross), Dominic Tersigni, Mario Bilich, Ankica Juraj, Martin Seregelyes, Rocco Valeri and Josie Cruz (Benemerenti Medal). All have contributed to the life of the Diocese and their Parishes in significant ways. Profound thanks and warm congratulations!
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Date posted on November 17, 2021
In celebration of the World Day of Prayer for Youth and Young Adults, the Office for Evangelization and Catechesis is happy to provide a “look” into the life and ministry of University Chaplaincy in the Diocese of Hamilton. May we continue to pray for the good work of these centres, and pray that young adults in our Diocese continue to feel well supported and spiritually nourished in their post-secondary journeys.
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Date posted on November 15, 2021
On November 8th, the Diocese received a notice from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) indicating a new “roadmap” for our participation in the Synodal Process initiated by Pope Francis. On October 29th, the Holy See announced that the deadline for the national phase of the consultations for the 2023 Synod of Bishops has been extended to August 15, 2022. Therefore, we are now able to extend our Diocesan consultation until March 31, 2022.
Continue readingTHE OFFICE FOR EVANGELIZATION AND CATECHESIS is celebrating the Diocesan Day of Prayer for Youth and Young Adults at St. Margaret Mary Parish, Hamilton on November 21, 2021 beginning at 6:00 p.m. The Holy Father’s Message for the 2021 World Youth Day is available here. Young adults (ages 18-35) can register for the Diocesan event here. This spiritual pilgrimage is a long-range preparation for World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon.
Continue readingPOPE FRANCIS HAS ACCEPTED THE INVITATION of the Bishops of Canada to visit the Church in Canada in the context of a pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation with our Indigenous sisters and brothers. The statement of the Holy Father was published on the Vatican News website. While no date has been established for the visit, it will build on three years of constructive dialogue between the Canadian Bishops, the Holy See, and Indigenous Peoples who have generously shared their experiences and stories about the sufferings and challenges that continue to this day. The delegation of Indigenous Peoples and Bishops to the Vatican in December will allow the Pope to hear directly from Indigenous people on the historic and ongoing legacy of Residential Schools, and discuss with them their hopes for the visit in service of ongoing reconciliation.
Continue readingTHE AMORIS LAETITIA YEAR of the Family was opened earlier this year by Pope Francis. A Pastoral Letter to the Diocese of Hamilton, dated today, was sent to Pastors and Parishes earlier this week for distribution to parishioners. Today is the Feast Day of Saint John Paul II, an appropriate day for such a letter. The sainted Pope was a great advocate of the family; he published Familiaris Consortio, which Amoris Laetitia draws from, and he wrote Theology of the Body. Many of his works relate to the importance of marriage and family!
Continue readingTHE OPENING OF THE SYNODAL PATH in preparation for the 2023 Synod took place last Sunday in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The homily of Pope Francis set out his hopes and expectations for the Synod: “Celebrating a Synod means walking on the same road, walking together. Let us look at Jesus. First, he encounters the rich man on the road; he then listens to his questions, and finally he helps him discern what he must do to inherit eternal life. Encounter, listen and discern. I would like to reflect on these three verbs that characterize the Synod.” Read the entire homily here. The Diocesan celebration for the beginning of the Synodal Path will take place at the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King on Sunday, at the 4:00 p.m. Mass. In the coming weeks the Diocesan Synod Committee will send to our Parishes, Catholic organizations, and other groups and institutions an outline of the process the Diocese will follow to encourage the broadest possible participation in the consultation leading up to the Synod. We pray for God’s blessing on this important initiative of Pope Francis, and our Diocesan response.
Continue readingST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI PARISH, KITCHENER marked the 60th Anniversary of the construction of its church with a special Mass of Thanksgiving. A procession outdoors followed, where a new and animated statue of the Saint joyfully praising God for creation has been erected! Timothy Schmaltz, the world-renowned artist who created the statue, was present for the blessing. Many Priests from the Congregation of the Resurrection, who have pastored the Parish from its establishment, were present for the gathering. Again, we offer our thanks and our congratulations.
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