My first time behind the wheel of a car is a moment I’ll never forget. I was getting picked up from school late on a Friday night. My heart skipped a bit when, as we were walking to the car, my dad tossed me the keys and told me I’d…
On the occasion of his official retirement as Archbishop of Toronto, I wish to express my heartfelt best wishes to Cardinal Thomas Collins. He is remembered with great fondness in the Archdiocese of Edmonton for his exemplary episcopal ministry here. As Archbishop of Toronto, he provided not only to his…
On February 11th and 12th, Archbishop Smith made an episcopal visit to the parishes of Stettler, Castor and Bashaw in the south-eastern part of our Archdiocese. The return of episcopal parish visits is met with much joy, as these visits had been paused since the beginning of the pandemic and…
The Archdiocese of Edmonton continues to seek ways to walk together along the pathway of healing and peace following the historic events of last year, from the First Nations, Metis and Inuit Peoples’ delegation to the Vatican, to the extraordinary ‘Walking Together’ pilgrimage of reconciliation of Pope Francis. The Bishops…
Catholics usually begin our prayers with the Sign of the Cross. Many of us do this automatically that we think about the deep reality it signifies: our belief that God is a life-giving family. We believe that God is one yet three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the…
Funeral Mass for Father Mitchell Fidyka Homily [Job 19:1, 23-27; Psalm 103; 2Corinthians 4:14-5:1; Mark 15:33-39, 16:1-6] At the opening of this homily, allow me to express, on behalf of the Archdiocese and everyone gathered here, our heartfelt condolences to the members of Fr. Mitch Fidyka’s family: his brother Zbigniew…
The speaker stood at the front of the room, holding up an old $50 bill and asked, “who wants this?” Immediately, every hand went up. After dropping it on the ground and pouring his coffee on it, he asked again “who still wants this?” Again, every hand went up. Finally,…
Rev. Mitch Fidyka, a priest for more than 40 years and most recently the pastor of St. Thomas More parish, has died of cancer Jan. 28. He was 69. “I was ordained to the priesthood over 40 years ago, a decision I have never regretted for a single moment,” Father…
Father Frank Sharma has been waiting to be a priest for his whole life. He was ordained in the Archdiocese of Edmonton after a lifetime of hoping to become a priest and 17 years of experience and formation since he first entered the seminary. Frank Sharma was born in Sri…
When he wrote The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien created a memorable group of characters to populate his world of Middle-Earth. Some of these characters are great and mighty, like the wise wizard, Gandalf, or the courageous warrior (and future King), Aragorn. Tolkien also created a very different kind…