Two New Canadian Saints!

It is with great joy and thanksgiving that the Bishops of Canada welcomed the proclamation on April 3, 2014, by Pope Francis that the Universal Church recognizes Bishop François de Laval and Mother Marie of the Incarnation as Saints. We are grateful to God for raising up in our midst these two wonderful examples of holiness and service. We thank Pope Francis for this great gift to the Church in Canada, and to all the people of our nation.

Saint François de Laval (1623-1708) was the first Bishop of New France. His diocesan territory originally included most of what is now Canada, much of upper New England and all the Mississippi Valley, extending even to the Rocky Mountains. He is admired for his pastoral work among the Aboriginal Peoples and the settlers of New France, and for trying to defend Native People from being exploited by merchants and governors through the sale of alcohol. He was especially committed to education, founding both a major and a minor seminary. The Séminaire de Québec, which later established Laval University, has made major contributions in the intervening centuries to higher academic education not only in Quebec and the rest of Canada, but throughout North America. Saint François de Laval was known for his commitment to evangelization and his generosity to the poor. After his resignation as Bishop of Québec, he devoted his final years to prayer, penance and the care of the poor.

Saint Marie of the Incarnation (1599-1672) was an Ursuline nun who founded a convent and school to educate girls in New France. Daughters of the French settlers and of the Aboriginal Peoples were educated together, sharing the same table and the same dwelling. After learning several Aboriginal languages, she compiled catechisms and prayers in Huron and Algonquin, as well as an Algonquin dictionary. She also maintained a voluminous correspondence. Her letters remain today an important witness to her deep and generous mystical spirituality, as well as to the day-to-day history of New France. Saint Marie of the Incarnation began a long tradition throughout our continent of Ursuline elementary and secondary schools, dedicated to the education of girls and young women of all faiths and languages. Her canonization happily coincides with the 375th anniversary of her arrival in what is today Quebec City.

Their proclamation as Saints arrives at an important moment in the history of the Canadian Church. The 350th anniversary of the canonical establishment of Notre-Dame-de-Québec, the first parish in North America outside Spanish-speaking territories, reminds us of the missionary nature of the Church as it was planted in Canadian soil. May Saint François de Laval and Saint Marie of the Incarnation renew in us a sense of mission and our commitment to evangelizing in the joy of the Gospel.

Some Southern Inspiration...

Where Heaven Meets Earth...

From south of the border in Omaha, Nebraska, comes this inspirational story of another St. Peter's Church.

This video is part of a longer production by Storytel Foundation (www.storytel.org) which will be broadcast on EWTN on April 10.

"24 Hours for the Lord"

24 Hours for the Lord

24 Hours for the Lord is a new initiative of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation.  The initiative, which begins on Friday 28 March 2014, focuses on the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It's hoped that at least one church in each diocese will remain open for the full 24 hours to offer the Sacrament to those who wish to celebrate it, preferably within the context of Eucharistic Adoration.

Pope Francis

In Rome, the initiative will be presided over by Pope Francis with a penitential celebration in St. Peter's Basilica, during which the Holy Father will be available to administer the Sacrament.
At the conclusion of this ceiebration, confessions will continue to be heard in a number of churches in the centre of Rome. These churches will remain open to accommodate those who wish to encounter the Lord and experience his mercy.
The celebration, along with Eucharistic Adoration, will continue until 4pm on Saturday 29 March, and will conclude at 5pm, with the celebration of First Vespers of Dominica in Laetare in the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, the Roman Sanctuary of Divine Mercy.

Annual Celebration

24 Hours for the Lord is for the whole Catholic Church and one of its main aims is to create a powerful tradition.  It's hoped that the initiative will be held annually on the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

(above info. courtesy of The Catholic Church in England and Wales)

In the Diocese of Thunder Bay


"24 Hours for the Lord" will be hosted at St. Agnes Church, 1019 Brown Street, from noon on Friday, March 28, to noon on Saturday, March 29.  Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will take place for 24 hours and priests will be available during that time for anyone wishing to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation. 

Trivia Night!

Saturday, March 29, at 7 p.m. in the Main Hall

Form teams of 4-6 members

to compete in this epic battle of the brains,

and prepare yourself for a good time!

Freewill donation from each team member can be made at the door

and will go to support the work of our local Catholic Action Centre.

Contact the parish office for registration info.

All welcome!

Lenten Stations

The Way of the Cross will be prayed in the church

every Friday of Lent beginning at 7 p.m.  

All are welcome.

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Now the Cross as Jesus bore it

Has become for us who share it

The jewelled Cross of Victory.

Good News for a Good Cause

Peoria, IL — The Most Reverend Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, Bishop of Peoria and President of the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation, received word early Thursday morning that the 7-member board of medical experts who advise the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints at the Vatican unanimously approved a reported miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Archbishop Fulton Sheen.


The case involved a still born baby born in September 2010.  For over an hour the child demonstrated no signs of life as medical professionals attempted every possible life saving procedure, while the child’s parents and loved ones began immediately to seek the intercession of Fulton Sheen.    After 61 minutes the baby was restored to full life and made a full recovery.  The child, now three years old, continues in good health.


Today’s decision affirms that the team of Vatican medical experts can find no natural explanation for the child’s healing.  The case will next be reviewed by a board of theologians.  With their approval the case could move on to the cardinals and bishops who advise the Pope on these matters.  Finally, the miracle would be presented to Pope Francis who would then officially affirm that God performed a miracle through the intercession of Fulton Sheen.  There is no timeline as to when these next steps might  move forward.


“Today is a significant step in the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of our beloved Fulton Sheen, a priest of Peoria and a Son of the Heartland who went on to change the world.  There are many more steps ahead and more prayers are needed.  But today is a good reason to rejoice,” commented Bishop Jenky.


Fulton Sheen was born May 8, 1895 in El Paso, IL outside of Peoria.  His family moved to Peoria so that Fulton and his brothers could attend Catholic school.  He grew up in the parish of the Cathedral of St. Mary where he was an altar server and later ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria.  After advanced studies and service as a parish priest in the city of Peoria, Fulton Sheen was a professor of philosophy and religion at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.  In the 1930s he became a popular radio personality and later a TV pioneer.  His weekly TV program, “Life is Worth Living” eventually reached 30 million viewers and won an Emmy award for outstanding TV program.


From 1950-1966, Bishop Sheen was the national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in the United States, the Church’s primary missionary apostolate.  In 1966, he was named Bishop of Rochester of New York where he served until his retirement in 1969, when he was named honorary Archbishop by Pope Paul VI.  Fulton Sheen died at the entrance to his private chapel in his New York City apartment on December 9, 1979.


In September 2002, Bishop Jenky officially opened the cause for the beatification and canonization of Fulton Sheen.  For six years, the Sheen Foundation, the official promoter of the Cause, gathered testimony from around the world and reviewed all of Sheen’s writings, before sending their conclusions to the Vatican.  In June 2012, Pope Benedict affirmed the investigation that Sheen had lived a life of heroic virtue and holiness.  Sheen was then titled “Venerable.”


Pending further review by the theologians and the cardinals who advise the Pope through the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, should Pope Francis validate this proposed miracle, Sheen could then be declared “Blessed” in a ceremony that could be celebrated in Peoria, Sheen’s hometown.  Upon the Holy Father signing the decree for the beatification, an additional miracle would lead to the Canonization of Archbishop Sheen, in which he would be declared a “Saint.”


For more information about Fulton Sheen and the Cause for his canonization, visit: ArchbishopSheenCause.org

(article courtesy of Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation)
 

Ash Wednesday 2014

Our observance of Lent begins with the celebration of Ash Wednesday on March 5. 

Mass will be offered at 9 a.m. and at 7 p.m., with ashes to be blest and distributed at both. 

Holy Hours of Adoration will precede both Masses.

"Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting

this campaign of Christian service,

so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,

we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint..."