St. Bernadette’s Family Resource Centre is preparing for a hectic October, with initiatives prioritizing prayer and the love of children beginning to gain traction alongside the youth care services’ expansive daily operations and retreat events. 

The Toronto community-based organization, which has carried a vibrant mission of bringing faith, hope and inclusion to people of all ages since opening in 1992, is looking ahead to its participation in a nationwide Rosary Coast to Coast initiative, as well as a global children’s Holy Hour — two events staff hope will ignite young hearts in a time of global confusion and conflict. 

On Oct. 13, St. Bernadette’s will join EWTN for a children’s Holy Hour, a broadcast at 9 a.m. that invites children worldwide to pray for peace and order. Simultaneously, the centre continues to organize its annual Rosary Coast to Coast, a Canada-wide prayer event it has participated in since 2018. Through engaging every province and Indigenous communities, said Angela Carboni, everyone is able to pray for Canada with an emphasis on Our Lady as the Queen of Peace.   

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“ At this difficult time with so much conflict and anger, we are appealing to everyone to bring their children to prayer, because I really believe the prayers of the children are the answer,” said Carboni, founder of St. Bernadette's Family Resource Centre. “We're writing to all the schools in Canada (for the Holy Hour initiative), and on the same day, the Rosary Coast to Coast invites all the parishes to pray for our country, the next generation, our families, for everybody.” 

Apart from the two prayer initiatives planned for mid-October, the centre also continues to accept bookings for its various retreats, each designed to integrate individuals, some with developmental and physical challenges, in line with the centre’s operations, into a faith-filled community while prioritizing spiritual growth. 

The six unique retreats are: "You Are The Light of the World" which encourages participants to live out their faith boldly, "The Call," which guides youth to discern their vocation or purpose through reflection and prayer, "Communion & Confirmation," which prepares children and youth for these sacraments, "Saint Exhibit," an interactive showcase of saints’ lives, "Relics & Vatican Eucharistic Miracles," featuring authentic relics and stories of Eucharistic miracles, and "General Spiritual Retreats," where high school students and individuals with special needs from St. Jude’s Academy of the Arts engage in crafts, prayer and mentorship.

These retreats, held at St. Bernard de Clairvaux’s Parish hall, often attract upwards of 75 participants per session, typically featuring a blend of students, youth and adults with developmental and/or physical challenges. 

Carboni notes that through prayer, reflection and community, staff at St. Bernadette’s strive to bring hope to those who join by showing a way forward where faith and love can flourish, a message that forms the cornerstone of the centre’s mission. 

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“The retreats hold a special place in our mission because this charity was founded on God’s love for His children. Our retreats flow from this foundation. They are a time of renewal, healing and encounter with God’s love — a love that we ourselves have received and feel called to share,” she told The Catholic Register. 

For years, the retreats have been well-received across the board as well, with moments that bridge the connection between students and the adults the centre serves coming to mind as particularly moving and memorable. 

“During one of our retreats, a 15-year-old boy came to me with tears in his eyes and said, ‘I want to be a saint. I want to be like Carlo Acutis,’ ” she recalled. “I looked at him and told him, ‘You are.’ Moments like this reveal how deeply God touches young hearts during these retreats.

“I have seen children and teenagers come to me at the end of the day with gratitude for teaching them about their faith and reminding them how much they are loved by Jesus and Mother Mary. These encounters are a living sign of hope, showing that the seeds of holiness are being planted in the next generation.” 

Those planted seeds are expected to be seen further through her work with the travelling relic exhibit, now fully booked through Christmas and into next year, visiting churches and schools as far as Thunder Bay, Ont., with the relics of various saints, including newly canonized Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati. Carboni said she is  honoured to bring the two newest saints to the kids and churches, calling them a bright light in a very dark, confusing time. 

Whether through its many retreat options or upcoming initiatives, St. Bernadette’s is continuing its faith-inspired work with a clear passion and goal in mind.

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“We’re in the middle of a revival amongst the kids and amongst the youth, and we’re seeing it and we are excited about it — we need it so badly,” Carboni said. 

For more, see St. Bernadette’s Family Resource Centre website.