(CCCB – Ottawa)... As part of the annual Plenary Assembly of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), the Bishops of Canada will lead the celebration of a Solemn Mass on the liturgical Feast of Saints Jean de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs (secondary patrons of Canada), with the Consecration of Canada to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. The Eucharistic celebration, which will also highlight the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace - Caritas Canada, will be held at Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica in Ottawa, 26 September 2017, beginning at 3:30 p.m. The Most Reverend Terrence Prendergast, S.J., Archbishop of Ottawa and Apostolic Administrator of Alexandria-Cornwall, will preside, together with the Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., Bishop of Hamilton and President of the CCCB, and the Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil and Vice President of the CCCB, as the two principal concelebrants. His Eminence Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec and Primate of Canada, will be the homilist. The Mass will be broadcast live on Salt + Light Television.

The Most Rev. Thomas G. Wenski
Archbishop of Miami
President, Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops

Your Excellency,

I am writing to assure you of my prayers, and those of the Bishops of Canada, for the people of the State of Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, which has caused extensive damage, including the loss of several lives.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has launched the "Pledge 150" campaign. With Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation in mind, and wishing to highlight the important role faith communities have played in Canada, the campaign aims to mobilize faith communities in undertaking 150 acts of kindness throughout 2017. The campaign's designated website provides details on how faith communities and their leaders can participate. The General Secretariat of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has shared the invitation with the Catholic dioceses and eparchies across the country.

Link to the campaign website

(CCCB – Ottawa)... His Holiness Pope Francis today named the Most Reverend Mark A. Hagemoen as Bishop of the Diocese of Saskatoon. At the time of his appointment, he was Bishop of the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith. Bishop Hagemoen succeeds the Most Reverend Donald Bolen who was appointed Archbishop of Regina on 11 July 2016. Archbishop Bolen served as Apostolic Administrator of Saskatoon until he was installed as Archbishop of Regina on 14 October 2016. Since then, the Reverend Kevin McGee has been Diocesan Administrator of Saskatoon.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) will hold its annual Plenary Assembly 25-29 September 2017, at the Nav Canada Centre, Cornwall, Ontario, in the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall. Salt + Light Television, the Canadian Catholic television network, will broadcast events live online and on television with selected repeats throughout the day (times indicated below are Eastern Daylight Saving Time). This broadcast schedule is subject to change.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has been notified that Father William (Bill) F. Ryan, S.J., died peacefully on 8 September 2017. He was residing at René Goupil House, the Jesuit infirmary in Pickering, Ontario. Father Ryan had served as CCCB English-language General Secretary, 1984-1990, and previously was Co-Director of the then CCCB English-language Social Action Office, 1964-1971. Over the years he also collaborated with the Conference on a number of other projects. The Funeral Mass will be on Saturday, 16 September 2017, at 9:00 am in Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Toronto, presided by the Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., Bishop of Hamilton and President of the CCCB.

(CCCB – Ottawa)... The Collection for the Needs of the Church in Canada will be held on 23 and 24 September 2017. In his letter to the parishes across the country, the Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., Bishop of Hamilton and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), recalls that the collection "is an opportunity for Catholics to truly help their diocese/eparchy participate in the regional episcopal assemblies and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB)." Bishop Crosby also notes that "all the faithful indeed participate in the life and mission of the Church through their active involvement in the life of their parish community, their prayers, their diverse charisms, their moral support, and the contributions of their time and talents."

The ordination of the Most Reverend Christian Rodembourg, M.S.A., as Bishop of the Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe will take place on Sunday, 17 September 2017, at 3:00 p.m., in Saint-Hyacinthe Cathedral. The Most Reverend Luc Cyr, Archbishop of Sherbrooke, will preside as the principal ordaining Bishop, along with the Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil and Vice President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Most Reverend François Lapierre, P.M.É., Bishop Emeritus of Saint-Hyacinthe, as co-consecrators. The Apostolic Nuncio, the Most Reverend Luigi Bonazzi, will be present, together with over 30 other Bishops from Canada. At the time of his appointment on 29 June 2017, Bishop Rodembourg was pastor of the Co-Cathedral of Saint Anthony of Padua in the Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil. The celebration will be broadcast live on the web by Salt + Light Television, as well as on the local Saint-Hyacinthe TV channel, COGECO.

Link to the diocesan website

Your Eminence,

Everyone in Canada has been following with great concern the news reports of the devastating flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey to the City of Houston and your Archdiocese, as well as throughout Southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana.

To mark the 2017 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, celebrated on 1 September, Pope Francis and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew have issued a joint message. In the message's conclusion they "appeal to those in positions of social and economic, as well as political and cultural, responsibility to hear the cry of the earth and to attend to the needs of the marginalized, but above all to respond to the plea of millions and support the consensus of the world for the healing of our wounded creation." Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew point out "that there can be no sincere and enduring resolution to the challenge of the ecological crisis and climate change unless the response is concerted and collective, unless the responsibility is shared and accountable, unless we give priority to solidarity and service."

Link to the joint message

(CCCB – Ottawa)... On the occasion of the third World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has published a new resource entitled Living Out Laudato Si': A Commentary and Practical Resource for Canadian Catholics. The preface of the document, written by the Honourable Graydon Nicholas, CM ONB, former Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, from the Tobique First Nation, states that this new resource not only presents Catholic Social Teaching but "also raises many of the environmental difficulties facing Canadians today and challenges us to discuss them frankly." The World day of Prayer for the Care of creation, celebrated on 1 September, was instituted in 2015 by Pope Francis.

(CCCB – Ottawa)... The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) will hold its annual Plenary Assembly, 25-29 September 2017, at the Nav Canada Centre, Cornwall, Ontario, in the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall. The meeting will be chaired by the Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., Bishop of Hamilton and CCCB President, who will finish his term as President at the end of this Plenary. Part of the 2017 Plenary agenda is dedicated to a reflection on Amoris Laetitia: the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on love in the family. The guest speaker for this reflection will be His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, who is Archbishop Emeritus of Québec. The Bishops will also take the opportunity of their annual gathering to consecrate Canada to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary as part of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. The celebration, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace - Caritas Canada, will be held at Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica in Ottawa, 26 September, beginning at 3:30 p.m.