The National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples is celebrated on December 12 every year, on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas. The Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council celebrates this day for prayer, solidarity and reconciliation, by issuing an annual message honouring Aboriginal people who were inspired by their Catholic faith.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops presents Journey through Advent with the Most Rev. Joseph Dabrowski, CSMA, Auxiliary Bishop of London, Ontario. Join us as we reflect on the Scriptures for the Sundays of Advent 2022.
Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for November, inviting everyone to pray for the millions of children who are suffering around the world, especially for those who are homeless, orphans, and victims of war...
The Holy See’s General Secretariat of the Synod issued the Document for the Continental Stage (DCS) of the 2021-2024 Synod: For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission. The DCS is the result of the discernment of 112 contributions from episcopal conferences, including the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), as well as contributions from Eastern Catholic Churches, religious congregations, ecclesial associations and movements, the Vatican dicasteries, and individual contributions submitted to the General Secretariat of the Synod.
The war in Ukraine rages on with no end in site, claiming the lives of thousands of innocent children, men and women, with millions more on the move as refuges in search of safety, food, shelter, clothing and medicine, in addition to the destruction of countless homes, schools, hospitals and business. As winter approaches, hundreds of thousands of people will have no heat in their homes, with energy being used as a weapon of punishment...
On October 17, 2022, the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund launched its website, which is linked to the CCCB website via both the home page (drop-down banner) and the Indigenous Peoples section. The site can also be accessed directly. https://www.irfund.ca/...
Issued on the anniversary of the death of Blessed Carlo Acutis, 12 October 2022, this Pastoral Letter is meant to inspire young Catholics to live their faith in an extraordinary way, encouraging them to strive toward holiness, and assuring them of the steadfast support and accompaniment of their Bishops along their individual journeys of faith...
As Canadians pause to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Catholic Bishops of Canada prayerfully reflect on the painful journey of Indigenous Peoples of This Land. We are especially mindful of the role of the Catholic Church in operating residential schools and the pain and ongoing trauma it has caused for generations of Indigenous families. In particular, we remember the children who endured pain and suffering in residential schools, aware that many did not return home.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), gathered in Plenary Assembly this week, agreed upon a series of next steps related to the painful legacy of residential schools. This work builds on previous commitments to promote access to records, educate clergy on Indigenous cultures and spirituality, and contribute $30 million to healing and reconciliation initiatives across Canada.
Mission Month is celebrated every year in October. It is an opportunity for the Church to highlight the importance of missionary commitment on the part of all the baptised, as well as the various evangelisation initiatives that are linked to it...
With the opening of this year’s Plenary Assembly, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is releasing it’s President’s annual report to the members, highlighting major pastoral initiatives undertaken by the CCCB since the last plenary meeting, such as the Indigenous Delegation to the Vatican in March 2022, the Apostolic Visit of Pope Francis to Canada in July 2022, as well as in the areas of family and life, and Church’s ongoing journey toward the Synod on synodality...
Bishops from across the country will gather in Cornwall, Ontario, next week for the 2022 Plenary Assembly of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). The gathering will bring together 72 Bishops for in-person meetings for the first time since 2019.
Year after year, this annual activity, organized by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN-AED), has become an event not to be missed. On Tuesday, October 18, children and families around the world are called to pray for world peace by praying the Rosary.
The first Wednesday in October is the Provincial Day for the Permanent Diaconate. This year, this day is October 5, 2022. The Assemblée des responsables diocésains du diaconat permanent du Québec (ARDDPQ), in partnership with the Carrefour intervocationnel, is proposing an animation kit to pray ( only in French) for this ordained ministry and to make the mission of permanent deacons in our Church better known. We are invited to take advantage of this day to pray for deacons across Quebec, their spouses and their families.
On September 25th, the Church will mark the 108th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. It is an occasion to express our concern for the many vulnerable people on the move, to pray for them as they face many challenges, and to increase awareness about the opportunities that migration offers.
As the Church, it is our shared responsibility to facilitate this apostolic journey and the planning that it entails. There are many costs associated with the papal visit which are the direct responsibility of the Church, and we need your help to ensure the financial means that will further support this journey of our Holy Father in Canada towards healing and reconciliation with our Indigenous brothers and sisters.
Never before during his nearly decade-long pontificate has Pope Francis described any of his international trips as a "penitential pilgrimage." It is precisely this description, which the Pope used during the Angelus on Sunday, 17 July, that helps us understand the peculiarities of his upcoming journey to Canada. It is not primarily a visit to a country, nor one with the main purpose of meeting Catholic communities, but rather a concrete gesture of closeness to the indigenous peoples who inhabit that land and have suffered the consequences of colonialism.