Canada’s Catholic Bishops welcome today’s announcement from the Holy See providing further details of the itinerary of Pope Francis’ historic visit to Canada, July 24 – 29, 2022. This will be the fourth papal visit to Canada and the first since Saint John Paul II’s journey in 2002.

On the 24th of June we will celebrate St. John the Baptist, patron saint of the Province of Quebec. In both the religious and civil calendars, this holiday has for more than 150 years been bringing together great and small, and this year, once again, the Diocese of Montreal will launch the festivities with our traditional Mass for St. John the Baptist at the Church named for him in Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal.

Save the Date! On Wednesday, November 16th, the Canadian office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) will hold its eighth consecutive Red Wednesday, an event of solidarity that serves as a reminder that the persecution of Christians is an ongoing phenomenon. “Just like last year, I am sending a special message to all Catholics in Canada: light up a building or monument in your area in red for the occasion,” Marie-Claude Lalonde, National Director of ACN Canada requests.

One in three dioceses and one in eight priests in the world have benefitted from ACN assistance.