Ten years ago this week, on October 2, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI officially declared the XIth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops open. The focus of this particular synod was “The Eucharist: Living Bread for the Peace of the World.” Of the approximately 300 bishops from around the world who participated, five were from Canada, including our own Bishop Paul-André Durocher.  

During the first two weeks of the Synod, each of the bishops was called
upon to make a presentation on an aspect of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. During the third week, the delegates were divided into linguistic groups for the discussion phase when proposals were formulated. Following a process of amendments and suggestions, the approved proposals were forwarded to a post-synodal council constituted by the Pope. The end result was the apostolic exhortation: SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS.

The following is a summary of Bishop Paul-André’s presentation.

The cross of Christ, made of a tree trunk and a beam, recalls the two dimensions of the saving death of Christ: vertical, the glorification of the Father; horizontal, the salvation of humanity. The cross calls the Christian community to unite in Christ according to these two dimensions - praise of the Father and prayer for the world - making of the Eucharist a liturgical action both doxological and missionary. But in our contemporary world, we tend to look first at our own personal fulfilment as well as for immediate gratification. In such a cultural context, we risk reducing the Eucharist to the narrowness of our own needs and desires. We must therefore develop these doxological and missionary dimensions cultivating the art of celebrating, remaining attentive to the possibilities of praise and openness to the world present in the heart of the liturgy, and even developing new forms of prayer, new prefaces and a new concluding rite. All of this in order to bring to life within the mass what the cross symbolizes.

This past Sunday, October 4, 2015, Pope Francis officially declared the XIVth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops open. The theme of this synod is "The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and in the Contemporary World". Once again, Paul-André, though now Archbishop of Gatineau, is one of the five Canadian delegates. Read more about Archbishop Paul-André's experience on his blog.

St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church
Located in Williamstown is one of the Diocese’s oldest parishes - The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or St. Mary’s as it is more affectionately known. Its inception began with a successful petition in 1845 to the Diocese of Kingston (remember our Diocese had still not been created at this point) to establish a new parish to meet the needs of the thriving communities of Williamstown, Martintown and Lancaster. 

On June 14, 1845, a committee was appointed to oversee the building of the church on land that had been donated by Hugh McGillis, Esq. a retired partner of the North West Company. However, it was not until October 16, 1854, that St. Mary’s was formally separated as a mission of St. Raphael’s. The first entry in the parish register was dated two weeks later on October 29, 1854.

The Stations of the Cross, which are oil paintings, were purchased in Paris by the parish’s second paster, Father Isaac McCarthy. Other priests who have served this historic parish include: Msgr Donald McDougald, Father Bernard Cameron, Father Tom Villeneuve, Father Bob MacDonald and the current pastor Father Louis Groetelaars. 


Shalom House
One of Bishop LaRocque’s first initiatives when he arrived in our Diocese was to develop a diocesan retreat centre to replace Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House. On October 17 1974, the Sisters of the Holy Cross, who had taught at Iona Academy, donated their former residence, located in St. Raphael’s, to the Diocese for $1.





In July 1975, Fr. Donald Scott was appointed to oversee the renovations and opening of Shalom. This became a true diocesan affair as groups such as the Knights of Columbus contributed money and items to the cause. In addition, individuals from around the diocese donated their time to paint and renovate.  

On October 14, 1976, Bishop LaRocque formally named and opened Shalom House.

Under the guidance of Sister Jeannine Bissonnette, with the assistance of Sister Georgette Thibault, members of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Shalom House grew into a successful and popular centre of spiritual growth. Sacred Heart Brother, Joseph Vaillancourt (This Week, September 9) was also part of the team for 17 years.

“Working at Shalom allowed us to share our order’s charism of charity, kindness and mercy with those who were looking for peace, the meaning of the word Shalom,” said Sister Jeannine.

During the 32 years that Shalom was located in St. Raphael’s 84,503 people were welcomed. On February 4, 2008, the Poor Clares left the Diocese and donated their former Alexandria convent to the Diocese for $2. The decision was made to move the diocesan retreat centre to this new more modern facility, where it continues to flourish. 

This afternoon, October 22, 2015, St. Francis de Sales Parish hosted the annual Daisy Mass. It was a beautiful celebration presided by Bishop Marcel and attended by most of our clergy. In recognition of the Diocese’s 125th anniversary, Msgr Réjean Lebrun spoke about some of the illustrious priests who have served our diocese during these last 125 years, including: Bishop Alexander Macdonell, Bishop William Macdonell, Father Paul-Antoine DeSaunhac, Father Duncan MacDonald, Father Alcime Poirier and the three McRae brothers (Albert, John and Charles).

The Daisy Movement was founded in 1981 by Louise Ward of Aylmer, Quebec. She felt inspired to launch the movement one Sunday during the Eucharist in her parish church of St. Mark's. The purpose of the movement is to pray for our priests by offering one day a week for a particular pries to support him in his priestly ministry and spiritual life. A "Daisy" is a team of prayer partners, a group of seven people praying for an 8th, their adopted priest. 

There is a similar program for deacons called the Trillium Movement.

 

The Diocese of Alexandria came into being on January 23, 1890. The first bishop of the newly created diocese was Father Alexander Macdonell who was ordained nine months later on October 26, 1890. 

Alexander was born in Lochiel on November 1, 1833, to James Macdonell and Christina MacDonald, who were farmers. His parents, who were devout Scottish Catholics, named their son after the first bishop of Upper Canada (right).

Following his education at the local common school, he moved to Ottawa to study at the College of Bytown. Three years later he enrolled at Regiopolis College in Kingston, where he studied theology. In 1862, he was ordained to the priesthood. He was initially assigned to a parish in Gananoque, but within the year, Bishop Horan sent him to his home parish in Lochiel. 

He stayed in Lochiel for 16 years before being reassigned in 1879, to the growing town of Alexandria, where he took charge of the parish of St. Finnan’s. It soon became apparent that the church building was too small, so Father Alexander initiated the construction of a new church. It was this church that he chose for his cathedral following his ordination as bishop. 

At the time of Bishop Alexander’s ordination, the Diocese of Alexandria had 21,550 Catholics, 10 parishes and 12 priests. 

During his episcopacy, Bishop Alexander oversaw the construction of the Hotel Dieu Hospital (with the bulk of the work being done by five sisters of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph )and St Paul’s Home for the Aged Poor in Cornwall, the convent of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in Alexandria and a new episcopal palace located across from St. Finnan’s.
During this same era, the number of French speaking Catholics significantly increased, particularly in Cornwall. In 1892, the decision was made that La Nativité would serve the French speaking population. Although the French in Alexandria also sought their own parish, this project was left to his successor, Bishop William Macdonell. 

Eventually the stresses of the office began to take their toll and Bishop Alexander’s last three years were spent in ill health. In 1905, he was hospitalized at Montreal’s Hotel Dieu where he died on May 29th, 1905.