Ringing the bells for Sister Maria Dominica

Dominican contemplative sister is mourned

Sister Maria Dominica Roland, OP

Sister Maria Dominica Roland died surrounded by members of her religious community Feb. 4 at the age of 91 at home where the sisters are building their new Queen of Peace Monastery near Squamish.

Death came at the end of a gentle decline in her 62nd year of religious life, according to one of the Dominicans.

Born to a non-practising Jewish family in Germany, Sister Roland said that she and her sister and parents began observing Jewish traditions and attending synagogue not long after Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party came to power before World War II.

The monastery has just installed bells in the new bell tower, prioress Sister Rolf told The B.C. Catholic. The first peal of the bells will be rung in memory of Sister Dominica, she said.

Sister Roland gave a moving account of her journey from being born a Jew to entering the Dominican order in The B.C. Catholic Nov. 8, 2010 issue. Part of her story can also be read in last week's B.C. Catholic.

Longest-serving principal of St. Mark's is remembered

Father James Hanrahan, CSB, was a teacher, administrator, college founder and mentor to many.

Father James Hanrahan, CSB.

Father Hanrahan, who died in Toronto Feb. 8, played a pivotal role at both St. Mark's and Corpus Christi Colleges at UBC.

Born in Halifax, he attended St. Mary's College in Toronto.

He joined the Congregation of St. Basil, entering the novitiate in 1944 and making his first profession of vows a year later.

He graduated from the University of Toronto with a BA in Modern History in 1949.

In June of 1952 he was ordained at St. Basil's Church in Toronto and in 1954 he received an MA in History from the U of T and a Licentiate in Mediaeval Studies from the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto.

He first came to Vancouver when Basilian Father Henry Carr asked him to take a teaching position at UBC.

Read more about his dedication to Catholic higher education in The B.C. Catholic.

Bishop Glancy recalled to Belize

New Auxiliary Bishop for Belize gets surprise announcement

Bishop-delegate Christopher Glancy

Bishop-designate Christopher Glancy was just settling in at a Chicago parish staffed by his religious order, the Viatorians, after having spent 12 years in Belize in Central America, when the vatican asked him to return to become the new bishop of the nationwide Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan.

He was, he says, a "little surprise at the summons."

There is, he said, a "dearth of vocations in this country but a large lay ministry program."

The laity, he said, "don't have Mass every Sunday, but they gather every Sunday. They have great music that draws in the people. Belizeans love to sing. You don't have a Mass without singing."

Read more in The B.C. Catholic.

KAIROS chooses new leader

Keeping close to church roots is top priority says new KAIROS director.

Jennifer Henry, new KAIROS director

Jennifer Henry’s wants KAIROS, the ecumenical social justice organization, to maintain close ties with Canadian churches.

“My commitment is to preserve the ecumenical character of this organization and I think that’s also the commitment of people around the board table,” Henry told the Catholic Register's Michael Swan.

Henry becomes the second executive director in KAIROS’s history March 12 when she takes over from Mary Corkery.

The 44-year-old Henry has actually been with KAIROS longer than it has existed.

Read more in The B.C. Catholic.

Art allows God's voice to be heard

Offering something beautiful for God

On Friday night, Feb. 17,  20 participants at a recent pre-Lent retreat, heard God speak to them in the darkness, bringing them into a deeper realization of who they are as resurrected sons and daughters of God.

The retreat at Providence Renewal Centre, Feb. 17-19, was a chance to engage in learning about prayer through "paper art" - and surrending the hurts and difficulties of life in order to make more room for God's healing to enter the heart.

Sister Ambrose Stachiw offers something beautiful for God

Read more in The B.C. Catholic.

Mission goals accomplished

Organizations get a "slice" of the Project Advance pie

From schools to special needs, the Project Advance 2011 campaign funded major projects and charitable services in Vancouver.

 2011 Project Advance poster

The archdiocese's major annual fundraising drive is often described as a "win-win" as parishes can meet their own goals while contributing to programs for the wider Catholic community.

Read more about how Project Advance benefits projects and services and organizations which serve the Vancouver Archdiocese in The B.C. Catholic.

Agape teams bring God's grace to Downtown Eastside

'Birthday bags' joyfully accepted by the forgotten women on Vancouver's notorious skid row

Agape Street Ministers

Broken dreams are plentiful in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, but a beacon of hope shines through the Agape Street Ministry volunteers who offer unconditional friendship and God's love to women on skid row.

Agape teams stroll the Main and Hastings area each night handing out bags of candy with prayer cards and resource information to help women working in the area.

To get involved, call 604-215-411.

Read more in The B.C. Catholic.

Eight years, you say!

Academic formation is just one aspect of a religious vocation

Deacon Miguel Irizar hopes to be ordained a priest this summer

The seminary requires a sense of a divine call, deep reflection, prayer and rigorous education, sats Father Stephen Hero vice-rector of the St. Joseph Seminary in Edmonton.

Seminarians need about eight years of higher education, including degrees in philosophy and theology, plus a year internship in a parish before they can be ordained. l

The lengthy process is necessary if you want the priesthood, says Father Hero,

The Church has a holistic vision of the formation of seminarians and St. Joseph Seminary strives to prepare competent priests with a comprehensive pastoral outlook, enabling them to assume the pastoral duties that their service to God’s people requires, Father Hero added.

 

See the article in The B.C. Catholic

Newman Association scores 'coup' for Carr Lecture

Vatican astronomer seeks answers to great cosmic questions

Pope Benedict XVI with Vatican astronomer Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ.

In his book Brother Astronomer, Vatican astronomer Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, revisits the 17th-century conviction of Galileo by the Roman Inquisition for spreading the heresy that the earth revolved around the sun.

Brother Consolmagno will give the Newman Association of Vancouver Carr Lecture on Monday, Feb. 27, in UBC's Hebb Theatre, 2045 East Mall in Vancouver, at 7 p.m.

The event, co-sponsored by St. Mark's and Corpus Christi Colleges, is free and open to the public.

See The B.C. Catholic for more information.

School 'bursting at the seams' says Jesuit president

St. Paul's High School developing bursary program

Father Alan Fogarty, SJ.

Winnipeg's St. Paul's school is turning a bold plan into reality with a major injection of funds into its bursary program and the construction of a $10-million multiplex.

"We're bursting at the seams," said school president Rev. Alan Fogarty, SJ.

"At present the building project is funded to $11 million, but hopefully the excitement of the new building will attract more interest," Fogarty added.

Construction began Feb. 13 with opening planned for the 2013-14 academic year.

Sancta Maria House heals Christ's lost lambs

Sancta Maria House and the Agape Street Ministry  heal women on the street and in recovery

Residents at Sancta Maria House craft beaded jewellery

Christ can change the lives of women caught in the enslavement of addictions, says Sharon Dobin, director of Vancouver's Sancta Maria House.

"Sancta Maria for me has the three most crucial things needed to recover: God, healing, and the 12-step program. I have been given peace and forgiveness and I can laugh again and for that I am truly grateful," said a former resident.

The Sancta Maria House residency program offers a respite from the world for those willing to change their lifestyle and habits so recovery is possible, Dobin told The B.C. Catholic.

Read more in The B.C. Catholic.

Conflict with President Obama and Church continues

Cardinal-elect Dolan repudiates President's "accommodation." 

Cardinal-elect Timothy Dolan.

Citing an "unconstitutional infringement on religious liberty", New York Cardinal-elect Timothy Dolan said, "We bishops are pastors, not politicians, and you can't compromise on principles."

The Cardinal has said that President Obama's revision to the government's contraceptive mandate will not be accepted.

Read more in The B.C. Catholic

Downey installed as STM president

Welcome Dr. Downey!

Dr. Terrence Downey was officially installed as president of St. Thomas More College Jan. 21 during a eucharistic celebration at the Catholic college's chapel on the University of Saskatchewan campus.

Dr. Terrence Downey (c)

Pledging himself to the mission of the federated liberal arts college established by the Basilian Fathers, Downey was invested as president by Dan Perrins, chair of the STM Board of Governors.

"As a Catholic college, we are called to share in Christ's service to the people of God," Perrins said.

"Thus, the work of our college is not an end in itself, but must find application for the good of humanity."
Read more at The B.C. Catholic

Artist creates soundtracks for God

Getting to know musician Matt Maher

Catholic musician Matt Maher

Catholic composer and musician Matt Maher will kick off Archdiocesan Conference One
"One Faith, One Body, One Mission" with a concert on the evening of Feb. 17 at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre.

In a B.C. Catholic article, Youth and Young Adults Archdiocesan director Clayton Imoo interviewed Maher via email. Maher says he's thrilled to be coming to Vancouver.

The Vancouver Convention Centre's doors will open at 7 p.m. for the beginning of the Feb. 17 and 18 conference. http://www.wherevent.com/detail/roman-catholic-archdiocese-archdiocesan-conference-one-faith-one-body-one-mission

Life is "full of surprises" says bishop

Alberta bishop moves to Quebec

Bishop Luc Bouchard

Bishop Luc Bouchard gave new life to the Diocese of St. Paul, calling his decade of service there as a time of grace, challenges and of making lifelong friends.

The announcement Feb. 2 that Pope Benedict has appointed him bishop of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, came as a surprise even to him.

“A move from the pope is always surprising, but life is full of surprises,” said Bouchard. “When God is the one who surprises us, it’s always to bring us new challenges in life. 

“At the same time, we can count on his grace because he doesn’t ask us to do something without giving us his help.”

See The B.C. Catholic for the full story

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity comes to a close

Pray for Church unity the whole year long, says Presbyterian minister

Some 400 people who gathered Jan. 29 to mark the closing of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity were welcomed to the new Cathedral of the Holy Family in Saskatoon by Deacon Bob Williston.

Clergy at the closing ceremonies for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Saskatoon

Rev. Amanda Currie of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Saskatoon opened the celebration, the final in a series of gatherings organized in different Christian churches throughout the community by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism between Jan. 21 and 29.

"Although the week is coming to an end, I would encourage you to continue to pray for the unity of the Church throughout the year, and to take up the many opportunities for us to gather together as Christians and as churches to pray together, to worship together, to grow in relationship with one another and to engage in common witness and common mission in the world," said Currie.

Read more in The B.C. Catholic.

Corpus Christi offers the personal touch

Corpus Christi lives up to expectations, says student Olivier Coutant

Dr. Niall Christie engages students in debate

If someone asked you to describe university in a few words, how would you respond? Would you mention enormous lecture halls, a campus you could get lost in, and deranged professors?

 

Would you be shocked if I told you that the first phrases that came to my mind included "tight-knit community," or "challenging yet supportive," or even "I get free soup on Wednesdays?"

 

All three of these descriptions - as well as many others - fit Corpus Christi College. It is the ideal place for anyone who wants a great start to their post-secondary career, says Coutant, a first-year student at the college located on the UBC campus in Vancouver.

Read the whole scoop on Corpus Christi in The B.C. Catholic.

Truth needed in social justice

Father Soto Parra, SJ Social justice is a personal attitude says Father Soto Parra There are stubborn myths surrounding social justice, says a Venezuelan professor, lawyer and Jesuit priest Father Soto Parra who has taught ethics and human rights and lived and worked among the poor in a Caracas slum. Speaking at Winnipeg's St. Ignatius Church Adult Education Centre Feb.1, Rev. Eduardo Soto Parra said the untruths must be eliminated "in order to reach an understanding of social justice, and its applicability to our task as followers of Jesus Christ, in his holy church, as human beings who want to share this world as a gift from God, fairly with others." Check out the full story at The B.C. Catholic

Burns Lake could be "ghost town" says priest

Sawmill fire rocks Burns Lake community

Immaculata parishioners on Good Friday in 2011.

"The roof just exploded," is how a member of Immaculata Parish in Burns Lake, B.C., described the fireball which levelled the local Babine Forest Products mill Friday, Jan. 20.

On the Monday after the disaster the second of two bodies was pulled from the smouldering wreckage, said Immaculata parishioner John Bertacco, a member of the Babine native band.

Nineteen injured workers, some in critical condition, had earlier been flown to hospitals in Alberta and B.C.

The bodies of the two dead men were identified as Bertacco's cousin Carl Charley, 42, and Robert Luggi, 45.

Pastor Father Albanus Ogowuihe says he fears Burns Lake will be a "ghost town" without the mill.

See The B.C. Catholic for the full story.

Prolifers march to protest Supreme Court decision

Wide open abortions supported by tax dollars Carrying placards against abortion, about 20 people marched in front of Edmonton’s Law Courts Building Jan. 27 to mark the 24th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that threw out Canada’s abortion law. Abortion protesters in Edmonton “Twenty-four years ago, every (abortion) restriction in Canada was struck down by the Supreme Court,” lamented Edmonton Prolife spokesperson Karen Richert. “Abortion in Canada is wide open and is also paid for with your tax dollars.” See The B.C. Catholic for the rest of the story.