TORONTO - Ontario’s Catholic teachers are asking provincial Finance Minister Charles Sousa for freedom — freedom from bureaucrats, freedom from standardized tests, freedom to teach all kinds of students from four-year-olds to special needs kids to adult learners.

A discount flight, a tour bus and guide will put you in the middle of biblical history in a matter of hours. Particularly at Easter, pilgrims by the thousands arrive in the Holy Land.

Now in its third year, The Catholic Register’s Easter drawing contest has proven to be a hit with children aged six to 14. The biggest challenge continues to be selecting winners and choosing images to grace these pages from among the large stack of commendable entries.

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - When the doors of St. James School reopen next September, students will get a global perspective on the world while maintaining a Catholic presence in the community.

TORONTO - For the second consecutive year Annaleise Carr, the youngest person to successfully swim across Lake Ontario, has been honoured as an Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year.

LONDON, ONT. - What does it mean to be a Catholic university in this day and age?

In the southwestern Ontario hamlet of Woodslee residents have rallied to save St. John the Evangelist Catholic Elementary School.

Through Let’s Talk Science’s RaDI-N2 & You project, students from more than 300 Canadian classrooms, including three in the Niagara Catholic board, are collecting data on exposure rates to radiation neutrons in conjunction with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis on Mar. 13. The Catholic Register was there for the historic event and our special online section has captured all the news and photos from the conclave.

Catholic Register Associate Editor Michael Swan filed this report while on his way to Rome to cover the conclave to elect a new pope.