St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica is set to be illuminated red later this week as Aid to the Church in Need Canada’s Red Wednesday Mass is commemorated in downtown Toronto, signalling the church as a visual testament of support for millions of persecuted Christians around the world. 

On November 19 at 5:30 p.m., Most Reverend John A. Boissonneau, Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto, will celebrate this year’s Red Wednesday Mass at the basilica, calling on all of the faithful to defend the human right to religious freedom.

While Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) focuses on supporting poor, oppressed and persecuted Christians across the globe, Red Wednesday has been designed to specifically draw awareness to such injustices while fostering respect and tolerance across faiths. 

Advertisement

A symbol of the ​​Catholic and Pontifical charity’s broader work, according to Bishop Boissonneau, highlighting the upwards of 5,000 projects in up to 150 countries that ACN Canada supports. For him, Red Wednesday provides Catholics with two important opportunities when thinking about persecuted Christians around the world. 

“The important thing is to pray and be informed as well about how to best support the Aid to the Church in Need projects, so that in those countries where persecution is taking place, we can witness and help them,” Boissonneau said. “It’s a chance to be aware of what's happening, but also looking for ways to show our solidarity to Aid to the Church in Need and many other organizations that can do the same.” 

This month, upwards of 50 different Red Wednesday Masses, vigils, adorations and rosary events are set to take place in provinces across Canada, namely in Montreal, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador. Bishop McGrattan of the Diocese of Calgary will celebrate a Red Wednesday Mass on the same day at St. Mary’s in Calgary. 

It’s a welcome sight for Toronto’s Auxiliary Bishop, who is pleased to see Red Wednesday as a broader Canadian experience. 

Advertisement

In addition to each service and as recommended by ACN Canada, churches are expected to be lit red, the colour associated with martyrdom, during each accompanying Mass or vigil events

The international event was first initiated in Brazil in 2015, when the Brazilian office of Aid to the Church in Need illuminated Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue in red to draw attention to Christian persecution in Iraq. Aid to the Church in Need Canada joined the movement in 2018, and despite a decade having passed since Red Wednesday’s inception, Christian persecution remains extremely concerning.

“ It has increased in the last 10, 20 years, no question about it,” said Bishop Boissonneau. 

“According to their statistics, 327 million Christians live in a country where religious persecution takes place, and we're always reading about unfortunate killings in churches in countries like Nigeria and other places like that. It's not getting better, so the importance of this organization and its focus on Red Wednesday has only become more important since they began, I'm sure.” 

ACN’s statistics align with Open Door’s most recent World Watch List, which shows that 380 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, 310 million of whom face very high or extreme levels in the study’s top 50 country list alone. Additionally, their statistics show that in 2024, 4,476 Christians were murdered, 7,679 Churches and Christian properties were attacked and 4,744 Christians were imprisoned for their faith globally. 

Apart from parish commemorations, ACN Canada encourages schools' broader communities throughout the country to participate by praying, wearing red, hosting their own events, bearing witness online and fundraising to strengthen the charity’s support for those suffering for their faith.

Advertisement

Through fervent prayer and education on the reality that millions of worldwide faithful regularly face, Red Wednesday continues to be a time for fortunate Catholics and Christians alike to bear witness to their afflicted brothers and sisters.  

For more information on November Red Wednesday services in your area, visit Aid to the Church in Need Canada’s website.