2026.05.03 5th Sunday of Easter

Dear Parishioners,

This week, May 3-8, 2026, is celebrated as Catholic Education Week in our Catholic School communities in Ontario. Catholic Education Week invites us to pause and remember that education in the Catholic tradition is never just about information—it is about the transformation of a person- body, mind and spirit.  As noted in one of the Catholic education documents, Renewing the Promise, “Catholic Schools are places where children and young people encounter Jesus, and where they are encouraged to enter more deeply into a personal relationship with Him. They are privileged places, together with the family and the parish community, where our faith is handed on, and this can only succeed with the cooperation of all concerned.”  

  This week provides an opportunity for all the partners in the Catholic education triad – home, parish, and school – to celebrate our publicly funded Catholic schools. The theme for this year’s Catholic Education Week is “Pilgrims of Hope: On the Path to Holiness,” inspired by The Pilgrims of Hope Jubilee Year’s encouragement to serve the common good and pledge to recommit ourselves to prayer, service and evangelization.

  We are in need of the support and prayers of the entire Catholic community to counteract the increasingly strident demand that the funding of Catholic schools be terminated. As you may know, there are only a couple of Provinces in Canada that are blessed with publicly funded Catholic schools, one of which is Ontario. Each time there is an election in Ontario, the voices to stop the public funding of our Catholic schools are becoming louder. Therefore, in our prayer this week, we give thanks for the enduring gift of Catholic education and pray for its continuation.

Fr. Vijai, CSC ~ Pastor