On behalf of Fr. Peter Rowe of the parish of Saint Vincent de Paul, Niagara-on-the-Lake:

THE CATHOLIC AND CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES OF NORTHERN IBERIA AND SOUTHERN FRANCE

Fr. Peter Rowe and Ineke Brinkman invite you to be our travelling companion(s) on pilgrimage in 2023 (the dates: September 9-22)! Included in the itinerary are Fátima and Lourdes, Porto and Braga, Vila Real and Bragança, Leon and Oviedo, Covadonga shrine and Altamira cave, Bilbao and Pamplona, Loyola and Javier, Andorra in the Pyrenées, Montserrat and Manresa, and Gaudí’s Barcelona. 

Package price, with flights (Air Transat), is $4,850 per person based on double occupancy ($1,100 single supplement). To reserve your space, call Ineke (905/684-0888, x1415) or e-mail [ineke.brinkman@visiontraveI.ca]

St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School is holding a Kindergarten open house  Monday, February 13, 2023, 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Visit the Kindergarten classrooms, meet the staff, and tour the school. Register online at www.niagaracatholic.ca.

Below is a letter from the Most Reverend Gerard Bergie, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of St. Catharines, on the death of the former Pope, Benedict XVI. A memorial Mass will be celebrated Thursday, January 5, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. in the Cathedral of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. 

Lay Carmelites are Roman Catholic men and women who seek to embrace God’s Will in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life. They are part of an 800-year-old tradition of contemplative prayer, community and ministry. They meet the 2nd Friday of each month at 6:30pm at Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre at 7020 Stanley Avenue, Niagara Falls, Ontario. For information contact Trudy Bretzler at 905-732-0670 or trudybretzler9@gmail.com.

The Carmelites of the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, whose provincial centre is in Darien, Illinois, join the Church this week in celebrating National Vocation Awareness Week in the United States, from November 6-12. We ask you to join us in our efforts to bring future vocations to the Church and the Carmelites by taking a few minutes to watch messages from several of our Carmelites, including one of our newly ordained members, Michael Joyce, Roberto Mejia, who will be ordained in January 2023, and Roberto Reyes, who is currently finishing his studies at Whitefriars Hall in Washington D.C. Simply scan the attached QR code, click on the link, and enjoy the videos. May God continue to gift us all with shepherds who help guide us to God’s love in our lives and the world.

The Diocesan Anniversary Mass will be held on Friday, November 25, 2022, 11:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, 3 Lyman Street, St. Catharines, Ontario. Parishioners from across the diocese are welcome to attend.

The Bishops of Canada have pledged thirty million dollars to support Indigenous reconciliation efforts. Bishop Gerard Bergie has written a letter to the people of the diocese of Saint Catharines on this subject; it can be downloaded below.