Mission bishops descend on Toronto

TORONTO - Four missionary bishops are in the archdiocese of Toronto in November to spread the word about the needs of Canada’s mission territories.

Bishop Vincent Cadieux, O.M.I., of Moosonee and Hearst in Northern Ontario, Bishop Fred Colli of Thunder Bay, Archbishop Martin Currie of St. John’s and of Grand Falls, Nfld., and Bishop Gary Gordon of Whitehorse have been visiting parishes around the archdiocese and will continue to do so until the end of the month.

Cadieux and Colli have already spoken to parishioners in Mississauga and Markham, respectively, while Currie and Gordon have or will spend time in various parishes around the city of Toronto during the latter part of the month.

The bishops are in Toronto at the invitation of Catholic Missions In Canada, the national organization that exists to keep the Catholic faith strong in remote and poor communities across Canada.

Fr. Philip Kennedy, president of the Catholic Missions In Canada, says the bishops are in Toronto to give Catholics a glimpse of mission life.

Often, people think of international projects when they think of “missions,” but mission territory is also here in Canada, Kennedy said. There are about 600 missionaries, including priests, nuns and lay people, mainly serving in the northern, eastern and western parts of Canada, attending to people’s spiritual needs and spreading the Gospel in remote areas of the country.

For schedules, see www.cmic.info.