Thoughts from the Archbishop

Dear Parishioners and Fathers,

LATEST LETTER: Letter from Archbishop Pettipas on Mass protocols after the lifting of restrictions on July 1st. 

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Liturgical Notes for the Month of July
by Archbishop Gerard Pettipas, C.Ss.R 

July 3: St. Thomas the Apostle, also known as “the doubting Thomas”, due to his refusal to believe in the resurrection of Jesus unless he can touch Jesus’ wounds.  He later became a noted missionary, establishing the Christian Church in Persia and south-west India (Kerala).  He was later martyred in Madras (Chennai).  His tomb is in an altar at the shrine in his honour, found in the cathedral in Chennai.

July 15: St. Bonaventure was a Franciscan Friar Minor in the 13th century.  He contributed greatly to the philosophical and theological debates concerning reason and faith.  He became known as “the Seraphic Doctor”. He was elected the 13th Minister General of the Franciscan Friars Minor, and later made a bishop and cardinal.

July 22: St. Mary Magdalene was the most notable female disciple of Jesus Christ.  She is mentioned 12 times in the four gospels, more thn any other woman outside of Jesus’ family.  Because she announced to the apostles that she had seen the risen Jesus on Easter morning, she is referred to as “the apostle to the apostles”.  She is often confused with another Mary, a prostitute, also mentioned in the gospels. 

July 26: Sts. Anne and Joachim, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As parents of Mary, mother of Jesus, they were the grandparents of Jesus.  St. Anne is the co-patron of the Province of Quebec, with a shrine in her honour at Ste-Anne de Beaupre, north east of Quebec City.  St. Anne is also honored at Lac Ste. Anne, north west of Edmonton, home of the largest annual pilgrimage of Indigenous peoples in North America.

July 29: St. Martha, along with her siblings Mary and Lazarus, welcomed Jesus into her home in Bethany.  It was Martha who was distraught that her sister Mary was sitting with Jesus, leaving her to handle alone the chores of hospitality.  She witnessed the resurrection of her brother Lazarus from the dead.

July 31: St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).  Wounded in battle as a young soldier, Ignatius was inspired by reading the gospels and the lives of saints.  He founded the largest and most influential religious congregation in the Catholic Church.  He is also noted for his thirty-day Spiritual Exercises, as well as his Rules for Discernment.

 

Archbishop Pettipas

Gerard Pettipas, C.Ss.R.

Birth: 1950-09-06      Priesthood: 1977-05-07      Episcopate: 2007-01-25

Conversations with Bertha: Apostolic Succession
Eastern Catholics

Video Messages

Archbishop Pettipas’ Message on the Demolition of St. Mary’s School

Archbishop Pettipas’ Homily for the Mass for Life –         13 May 2020

Past Pastoral Letters 

LETTER: Archbishop Girard Pettipas offers his thoughts on the recent tragic discovery at the site of Kamloops Indian Residential School. 

April 1, 2021 Letter from the Archbishop (English) (français)

March 1, 2021 Letter from the Archbishop (English) (français)

Archived Letters, Addresses and Other Documents

Pastoral letter from the Bishops of Alberta and NWT in response to reports on sexual abuse in the Church.

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