While many dioceses in Canada celebrate their Chrism Mass at the beginning of Holy Week, in Rome the Mass which has the blessing of the holy oils is held the morning of Holy Thursday. During this morning’s Mass, the Holy Father offered a reflection on the significance of the three oils: “the oil for anointing ...read more

In 1858, four Sisters of St. Ann traveled from Montreal to Canada’s West Coast aboard the SS Seabird with Victoria’s first Bishop, Modeste Demers (a relative of their current Bishop!).  They made the two-month voyage via a circuitous route through the Isthmus of Panama. Their goal was to aid the Bishop in his mission to ...read more

To mark the beginning of Holy Week, Benedict XVI preached on the Lord’s ascent to Jerusalem, which was commemorated liturgically with the blessing of palm branches and the procession with them before Mass. In his homily, the Holy Father said that man seeks to follow Jesus “along the high road that leads to the living ...read more

When Pope Benedict arrives in Madrid on August 18 one of the first things he will do is visit two of the most iconic places in the city…and, of course, meet with the more than one million young people who will be in town to see him. The Holy Father is expected to arrive at ...read more

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI advanced the sainthood causes of 35 candidates, including Canadian Christian Brother Adolphe Chatillon. During a meeting April 2 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the pope signed a decree recognizing that Brother Chatillon lived the Christian virtues ...read more

Pope Benedict has repeatedly urged the universal Church to encourage and support Christians in the Holy Land. One way to do this is financially through the collection traditionally taken up on Good Friday. A letter from the prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches Cardinal Leonardo Sandri was released Monday calling on the faithful to ...read more

Pope Benedict released a flock of doves — a symbol of peace — as he consecrated the Roman parish of St. Corbinian this weekend. Likewise, he revealed that his prayers have been focused on a resolution to the escalating war in Libya. American and British forces launched airstrikes against Libya this weekend. The coalition mission, ...read more

“Quid est veritas?” I will never forget that line, “What is truth?”, from the movie The Passion. I remember quoting it constantly among friends. We were fascinated by the line delivery by the actor who played Pilate. …And perhaps we were looking for the truth. I recalled all this recently when reading parts of Pope ...read more

Who killed Jesus? From the Gospels, we know that he was crucified directly by Roman soldiers. But those who want to attribute blame for his death have drawn in a wider pool of suspects: Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, the Jewish people, and all of humanity. The question of Jewish culpability in “deicide” is particularly charged, ...read more

Newspapers over the last few month have all too often had stories about the persecution of Christians. From Iraq, to Egypt, to many parts of the Middle East it is unfortunately becoming common to read about assaults on the faithful. Here in the Archdiocese of Toronto, Archbishop Collins have been very encouraging for parishes to ...read more