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.