 On June 19, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the day for the
sanctification of priests, Pope Benedict XVI opens a special jubilee
year in honour of priests. Pope Benedict XVI has dedicated a Year for Priests in honour of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney. To mark the year, The Catholic Register will run a series of accounts from Canadian priests that celebrate the many ways we are served by the ministry of priesthood.
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Written by Fr. Faustino Kusoka as told to Carolyn Girard
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 A native of Angola, Fr. Faustino Kusoka will soon return to his homeland, but filled with the graces received from the church community in Canada. (Photo by Carolyn Girard)
My parents approached our priest one Sunday before Mass to ask him why, when other missionaries no longer came to our parish, he was still there. “Are you going?” they asked him. He replied “No, I’m not going. I’m staying with you.” I remember my father’s tears. For a long time I wondered why he had cried. I later realized it was because of the people’s need to have someone there for them. That priest touched my family in such a way that I felt as though priests were the people the world needed most. It was like having Jesus there in both moments of joy and despair. That experience really touched me and made me meditate for a very long time on the meaning of the vocational life, on why I wanted to be a priest.
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Written by Carolyn Girard, The Catholic Register
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 TORONTO - The Year for Priests has helped priests to grow deeper in their ministry, said Fr. John Bertao, one of the co-ordinators for Toronto’s events to commemorate the year.
“This project has invited me not only to look at my own priesthood, of which I celebrate 10 years this coming May, it has also made me realize that it is a ministry I share with so many others all over the world and for over 2,000 years,” he said.
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Written by Fr. Frederick J. Power, S.J. , as told to Carolyn Girard
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 Fr. Frederick J. Power, S.J.
As the full-time editor of the Canadian Messenger, I continue to marvel at the impact our publication can and has had. While a priest who preaches to his congregation might reach 2,000 to 3,000 people, by publishing 11 times a year we have been able to reach 40,000 people monthly. It amazes me how the published word multiplies the efforts of evangelization.
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Written by Sheila Dabu, The Catholic Register
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 David Twaddle
Twaddle, a 29-year-old aircraft maintenance engineer, says community and family support helped him make the first step in contacting his parish priest about discerning a call to the priesthood.
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Written by Kitty McGilly, Catholic Register Special
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 Cardinal Ambrozic in Rome
The cardinal’s birthday party at his residence in Providence Healthcare was small by choice, just family and a few friends, so typical of someone who shunned photo ops, big celebrations and any pomp and ceremony that focused attention on himself. To recall his first words in the cathedral as cardinal: “I have been introduced as Prince of the Church, yet I only wish to be shepherd and servant of all.”
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