Catholic Register Staff

Catholic Register Staff

AUCKLAND, NZ - Ottawa and Winnipeg pilgrims - including Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, priests, and deacons - arrived at St. Thomas More parish in Auckland, New Zealand for a welcoming breakfast at 7:30 a.m., shortly after roughly 20 hours in the air. Pilgrims were assigned to their host families and spent most of the morning with them.

From 11 a.m. to 12:24 p.m., pilgrims (yes, even the archbishop) cut bamboo sticks and planted trees. We were free to explore the city of Auckland all afternoon.

{mosimage}Pope Benedict XVI sent an e-mail to more than 30,000 people registered with the World Youth Day (WYD) official networking site, inviting them to pray for the young people of France. The Pope was to visit France Sept. 12-15.

The web site, www.Xt3.com, was designed to help WYD pilgrims stay in touch through online discussions while also providing a means to search for Catholic events worldwide, post and share photos with other users. Anyone can sign up to the web site regardless of having attended WYD in Sydney, Australia, or not.

{mosimage}Youth Speak News (YSN) officially began in the year 2000, with young writers local to the Toronto region. Since then, it has grown to include writers from across Canada — from the Rockies to the Atlantic provinces — bringing our readers news about youth from a youth’s perspective.

“I think young Catholics need to be aware of, supported in dealing with, and educated about the issues that affect our church and our world,” said Jessica Williams, our newest Albertan correspondent in Calgary.
{mosimage}TORONTO - Catholic high school students are being offered a chance to learn the special tools of journalism in a day-long workshop sponsored by The Catholic Register.

The third annual Student Journalism Conference and Workshop will take place Nov. 29 at Brebeuf College School, 211 Steeles Ave. E. It will feature keynote speaker Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., along with a group of professional journalists to offer training in all aspects of publishing a newspaper.
December 18, 2008

Christmas gift ideas

{mosimage}Christmas gifts don’t have to be expensive to be heartfelt and generous. With Christmas day upon us, there is still plenty of time to put together something memorable. To help you out, members of the Youth Speak News team have kindly shared some of their favourite gift and wrapping ideas that are   meaningful and different.

{mosimage}OSHAWA, Ont. - Providing a ministry of presence to post-secondary students is something that Deacon Bill Letterio considers the greatest aspect of Christian witness — and also the newest.

Letterio single-handedly started up a chaplaincy from scratch at Durham College at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) this past fall.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Joshua Lowe has taken the first prize in the seventh annual Friars’ Student Writing Award contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. (See here for Joshua's essay )

The Grade 11 student at St. Augustine Catholic High School in Markham, Ont., was one of more than 70 high school students between the ages of 14 and 18 who competed by submitting a 500-word essay on ecumenism.

{mosimage}GRAVENHURST, Ont. - The Teopoli Summer Experience, like a summer kids camp but with spiritual formation, is currently recruiting counsellors (teachers), lifeguards and health care professionals to make this 33-year-old tradition continue.

The camp offers swimming, canoeing, arts and crafts, sports, music, culture, drama, theology, daily Holy Mass and rosary.

{mosimage}A social networking site will offer humour as part of its Lenten program beginning Feb. 25.

Members of Xt3.com will be able to access a daily calendar that will include “daily readings, podcasts and music to give inspiration — and some laughter — during the 40 days of Lent,” according to a press release from the site.

{mosimage}Famille Marie Jeunesse will welcome 300 youth to join them for its 20th Youth Council — a bilingual weekend of prayer, skits, teachings and more, taking place June 26-29.

Famille Marie-Jeunesse is a movement of lay and consecrated young people living in community in Sherbrooke, Que. The community follows a Marian and eucharistic spirituality and is one of five similar households around the world.