The Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote a letter on behalf of the Bishops of Canada to the President of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua conveying solidarity and support in light of recent violence within the country.

"We all wish for you to know that we are in solidarity with you and to assure you of the fervent prayers of the Bishops and faithful of Canada for a speedy, peaceful, and just resolution of the societal malaise and disorder currently afflicting Nicaraguan society."

Letter from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua

The Royal Canadian Legion has invited faith groups across the country to take part in a unique remembrance initiative to mark the 100th anniversary of the signing of Armistice which ended the First World War. With this initiative, entitled Bells of Peace: A Remembrance of Those Who Served in the First World War, the Legion is inviting churches and houses of worship equipped with bells to toll them 100 times at sunset on November 11, 2018. The ringing is meant to prompt a moment of silence and reflection on the loss of life and suffering caused by war.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is pleased to share information on the Royal Canadian Legion's Bells of Peace initiative, as well as a commemorative document, which features correspondence, statements, and other texts from diocesan archives on the pastoral support offered by Bishops across the country to those who served in the First World War.

Bells of Peace: A Remembrance of Those Who Served in the First World War

Diocesan archival material – Pastoral support by Bishops and Canadian dioceses during the First World War (English and French)

Ottawa – The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation recently met in Mississauga, Ontario, 25-27 October 2018. The Consultation, founded in 1965, is sponsored by the Committee for Ecumenical Relations of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). To date, the Consultation has published numerous papers and responses on a wide variety of theological and pastoral issues affecting Catholic-Orthodox relations. Since 1997, when the CCCB became a sponsoring body to the Consultation, the group's meetings are hosted in Canada every five years.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle held its biannual meeting in Ottawa on 19 and 20 October 2018. The meeting included a guided retreat session, whereby members discussed, reflected and prayed on the mission, identity and purpose of the Circle. The members reiterated and reconfirmed the Mission Statement and the core purposes of the Circle, agreeing to give priority to creating spaces of dialogue between Catholic and Indigenous spiritualties, educating and providing formation for its own members on Indigenous cultural and spiritual practices in Canada, and serving as a catalyst for encounter and dialogue within the Catholic Church and in Canadian society at large on Indigenous questions.

The Most Reverend Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, has issued the annual message to mark the Hindu celebration of Deepavali. The text is entitled "Christians and Hindus: In Defence of the Vulnerable of Society". Deepavali (also called Diwali) celebrates the victory of truth over falsehood, light over darkness, life over death, good over evil. The celebrations last three days and mark the beginning of a new year, a time for family reconciliation, especially among brothers and sisters, and adoration of the Divine. The date for the feast can vary. Hindu communities in Canada begin their celebrations of Deepavali this year on 7 November.

Link to the Message

Born 27 October 1918 in Montréal, the Most Reverend Gérard Tremblay, P.S.S., Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Montréal, recently celebrated his 100th birthday. Bishop Tremblay was ordained a priest 16 June 1946 following the completion of his theological formation at the Grand séminaire de Montréal. He then pursued further studies in spirituality, theology and catechesis. Before being appointed Bishop, he taught at Collège André-Grasset and the Grand séminaire de Montréal and likewise served in various pastoral capacities at parishes within Montréal and in neighbouring dioceses. He was also the Second General Consultor for the Sulpician Province of Canada from 1970 to 1976.

On 20 March 1981, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Montréal, in which capacity he served for ten years. As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), he served on the French Sector Commission for Liturgy and the Sacraments, 1985 to 1989. In 1991, Bishop Tremblay resigned as Auxiliary Bishop of Montréal and subsequently served as the Superior of the Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Montréal for a period of five years prior to his retirement. From 1991 to 1992, he was also Bishop ponens for what was then the pastoral district of James Bay. Bishop Tremblay now resides at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Montréal.

Ottawa – On 20 September 2018, the Canadian House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion recognizing the recent violence against the Rohingya people as genocide. Today, in partnership with the Canadian Council of Imams, the Canadian Rabbinic Caucus and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), faith leaders in Canada responded to the crisis through the release of a joint public statement that calls for an end to the violence in Myanmar and for a just and peaceful resolution to the conflict. The statement has been endorsed by over 20 faith leaders and organizations in Canada, including The Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil and President of the CCCB.

CCCB Publications announced that the Order of the Dedication of a Church and an Altar is now available for purchase. Having received confirmatio from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, this publication contains the newly translated English-language texts (2018) for the dedication of a church and an altar.

Information for purchasing the publication is found at https://esubmitit.sjpg.com/cccb/index.aspx?component=ProductDetails&id=182-436, by email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), or by phone (1-800-769-1147) . 

Agenzia fides, the information service of the Pontifical Missions Societies, published the most recent Catholic Church Statistics in view of World Mission Sunday celebrated 21 October 2018. The tables captured in the statistics are sourced from the latest edition of the "Church's Book of Statistics" published (updated to 31 December 2016) regarding membership in the Church, Church structures, healthcare, welfare and education. Variations, increase or decrease, emerging from Agenzia fides' comparison with previous statistics, are marked increase (+) or decrease (-) in parentheses.

Catholic Church Statistics – Agenzia fides

In his Apostolic Letter Misericordia et misera ("Mercy with misery") of 20 November 2016 at the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee for Mercy, the Holy Father proposed that the Church consider celebrating the World Day of the Poor each year on the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. This year, the World Day is observed on Sunday, 18 November 2018. In Canada, each diocese and eparchy is invited to decide how and when to celebrate it as well as to focus on the challenges of poverty and its impact on local communities.

To assist dioceses and eparchies in their preparation for the World Day of the Poor, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) is circulating promotional tools developed by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul as part of its ongoing mission to help the poor. Each year, Society volunteers across Canada reach out within their parishes and communities to request donations for funds or non-perishable food items for those less fortunate.

More information on the 2018 World Day of the Poor campaign and promotional tools is available on the Society's website https://www.ssvp.ca/

At the annual meeting of the French Sector in September 2018, the Catholic Bishops of Canada of the Latin Rite decided that, as of the first Sunday of Advent (2 December 2018), the new French translation of the Our Father will officially replace the old version in all its public liturgical form. More specifically, the wording "Ne nous laisse pas entrer en tentation", will replace the current text "Ne nous soumets pas à la tentation" which has been in use across Canada since 1966.

Decree from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on the Use of the Modified Text of the Our Father (in French)

New version of the Our Father  (in French)

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) continues to post possible homily ideas and prayers of the faithful to help link the Sunday liturgy with the national pastoral initiative for life and family. The proposed texts for the month of November 2018 include suggestions from the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, 4 November, to the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, 25 November. As usual, the suggestions for homilies and prayers can be easily adapted for family prayer, as well as for personal prayer or for use with other groups or organizations. The texts for the month of November are available on the special Life and Family webpage, under the section "Documents and activities proposed by the CCCB".