Visit to my dad's old stomping grounds

 I drove in to Toronto this morning for the week-long plenary of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario (ACBO). I got here early for a meeting at Regis College, but then I realised I was close to the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (PIMS). I had never visited there before, but my father had studied there as a young man back when Étienne Gilson and Jacques Maritain and Marshall McLuhan were part of the life of the Institute. So I decided to just show up and introduce myself.

I was very warmly received by the President, Father Augustine Thompson, and we have a great time chatting about the Institute, salvation theology, and the current state of the Church. He also gave me a tour, and I was grateful to see the places where my dad would have studied and prayed. There is a notable spiral staircase in the common room, so I made sure you go up and down once, just to literally follow in Dad's footsteps. 

Special celebration for the Jesuits of Sudbury

 Last fall, the Society of Jesus announced that they would be leaving the city of Sudbury, after being here since 1883. So today, we celebrated a special commemorative Mass for them, at Sainte-Anne-des-Pins parish. Here is a photo of the priests who were present:

Left to right: L'abbé Thierry Adjoumani Kouadio, Mgr Roch Martin, Bishop Thomas Dowd, Père Ron Perron SJ, Father John McCarthy SJ.

The parish also decided to dedicate their parish hall to Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Once the Mass was ended, we went downstairs and I blessed the doors to the hall.

While the celebration was lovely, it was also bittersweet. The Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, and indeed all of our society, particularly the francophone population, has benefitted from the leadership of the Jesuits for decades. I hope history will remember their contribution.