News

The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has appointed Bishop Peter Hundt, Bishop of Corner Brook and Labrador, as the new Archbishop of St. John’s, Newfoundland.  He replaces Archbishop Martin W. Currie who has reached the canonical age for retirement.  Bishop Hundt has served as the Bishop of Corner Brook nd Labrador since April of 2011.

In a statement commenting on his appointment Bishop Hundt remarked:

“I am honored to have been appointed the Archbishop of St. John’s by His Holiness Pope Francis.  I will do my best to be worthy of this appointment and of the trust that has been placed in me.

I have greatly enjoyed my ministry as the Bishop of Corner Brook and Labrador and I am most grateful to the Priests, Sisters, Staff, Volunteers and Parishioners whose kindness and generous collaboration have been a great blessing to me.

Although I am pleased to have been appointed the Archbishop of St. John’s, I will find it hard to leave the people and ministry here that has been such an important part of my life these past seven and a half years."

Today, December 11, 2018, after 28 years with the Diocese, Patricia Jones retires from her position as Secretary of the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal and as Secretary of the Diocesan Chancellor’s Office.

We are grateful to Pat for the dedicated and generous service she has provided for these many years and we are sorry to be losing the benefit of her kind and experienced ministry.

We wish her well as she begins to spend more time with her husband, Wayne, and avails of the opportunity of time to travel and visit her sons and her grandchildren.

Please join with us in praying that she will enjoy a long, happy and healthy retirement.

On December 12, Catholics celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, Empress of Latin America and Protectress of the Unborn Child.

The National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples is celebrated annually by the Church in Canada on December 12, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas. The Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council celebrates this day of prayer, solidarity and reconciliation by issuing an annual message. The members of the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council have chosen as the theme of this year's message "Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment", which was also the theme of the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops held in Rome in October.

It is with great sadness that the Diocese mourns the death of Father Don Leonard.  Father Leonard died Tuesday, December 4, 2018, at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s at the age of 70.

In 2004, following the death of his wife, Mary, in 2003, Father Leonard began his theological studies at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, and was ordained to the priesthood by Most Reverend Bishop Douglas Crosby at Sacred Heart Parish, Curling, on June 28, 2006.

Father Don served as Chaplain for the Corner Brook area hospitals and nursing homes from 2006-2012.  In 2014, he became Administrator of Sacred Heart Parish in Curling and in May of 2016 he also became Administrator of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Benoit’s Cove. Due to failing health Father Leonard retired from full time ministry August 1, 2017.

Funeral Arrangements for Father Leonard are as follows:

Our sympathy is extended to his children, Donna, Jim, Bernard, Karen, Don Jr., Alice, and their families, his sisters, Patricia and Rosemarie, his brother Reginald  and their families.  May his soul and the souls of the faithfully departed rest in peace. Amen.

The Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador

Pastoral Planning Process

“…the hope to which we are called…”

Advent 2018 Pastoral Letter to the People of the Diocese

 

 

Dear People of the Diocese:

The first Sunday of Advent begins the new liturgical year.  Again this year, I am using it as the occasion to give an update on our Diocesan Pastoral Planning initiative.

During the past year, the Diocesan Pastoral Planning Advisory Committee has visited nine parishes to meet with their Pastoral Council, their Finance Councils and representatives from their parish missions.  The Committee met with representatives from 21 of the 51 Catholic Communities of our diocese.  These parish meetings; as well as, comments and suggestions from the annual surveys, have led the Advisory Committee to make arrangements for a Diocesan Pastoral Planning Conference to take place in Corner Brook from Friday June 7^th to Sunday June 9^th 2019.

Sympathy is extended to Father Terry Boland and his family on the death of their mother Bernice Woodrow.    Mrs. Woodrow died on Friday, November 23, 2018 at the age of 92.   She was predeceased by her first husband, Leo Boland in 1961 and her second husband Luke Woodrow in 2000.

Please join in praying for the repose of her soul and in praying for the grace of God’s consolation for Father Boland and his family.

We are pleased to welcome to our diocese Father Vanathuraj Rayappan, H.G.N., a member of Mary Queen of the Apostles Province of the Heralds of the Good News who arrived in the diocese on Friday, November 16^th. Please join in welcoming Father to the diocese and praying for God’s blessing upon his ministry.

On Sunday, November 18, Roman Catholics will celebrate the second annual World Day of the Poor. This new world day of prayer was announced by Pope Francis in a letter dated June 13, 2017 and is to be observed annually on the 33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The theme this year is “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him” (Ps 34:6). In his message for World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis challenges us to use this occasion to make an examination of conscience and consider whether we truly do hear the cry of the poor. The celebration of this day is an excellent opportunity for us to support our local St. Vincent de Paul and/or local Food Bank.

On Sunday, November 11, we celebrate Remembrance Day, a time to remember those who died in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War as well as in military operations and peacekeeping missions around the world. This year is the 100^th anniversary of the end of World War I, commonly called the “Great War” or the “war to end all wars”. We observe Remembrance Day on November 11^th because it was on November 11, 1918, at 11:00 a.m. that the peace treaty ending World War I came into effect. As we remember  let us pray for all those – military and civilian – who have suffered the horrors of war.