1-
A Visit from Switzerland...
On March 14th the Winnipeg Priory was honored and pleased to welcome
Rev. Fr. Franz Schmidberger, Assistant General of the SSPX. Father
had also been Superior General from 1982-1994. Needless to say,
he is well acquainted with the life of the Society, and with the
negotiations with Rome. Father was touring Canada's major Priories,
and gave a lecture on the Crisis of the Church. Among other things,
he told us the Pope and some Cardinals see that there is a crisis
in the Church, but do not perceive its origin to be in the errors
of Vatican II. There is still a lot of work and prayers to be
done to change that state of affairs.
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Fr. Jean Violetter with
Rev.
Fr. Franz Schmidberger |
2-
Ignatian Retreats…
Rev. Fr. Gerard Rusak, Winnipeg Prior, preached 2 Ignatian Retreats
there from March 20th to April 1st. One for women, the other for
men. We were glad to have the great help of Mrs. Anna Barnia and
her husband for groceries and cooking, and of Mr. Jason Sliva
for bell ringing and a lot of odd jobs necessary for the good
functioning of the Retreats. Both groups were happy with their
experience. Please pray for their perseverance.
3-
A Special Supper!
In Welwyn, Sk, on Maundy Thursday (April 13th), Fr. Patrick Girouard,
SSPX, celebrated the special Liturgy, that includes the washing
of the feet of twelve men, representing the 12 Apostles. After
all the day's ceremonies, Father and these twelve men went to
a faithful's house and had a special supper together, similar
to the one Our Lord had with His Apostles. Thus they had lamb,
home made bread, spinach (bitter herbs…), red wine, etc.
It was a unique occasion for the men to meet together, and they
unanimously voted for the creation of the Holy Name Society in
Welwyn.
4-
A Kingly Meal!
On Easter Day, April 16th, the faithful of the Regina Mission
(SK) organized a Potluck after Mass. Fr. Girouard, after having
passed the Holy Week in Welwyn, was driven by Mr. Jacques Saurette
to Regina for a Mass at noon. Everybody was happy to have the
opportunity to share a meal together, especially since the priest
doesn't normally have time to stay after the monthly Mass.
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| Easter
at Regina after annual potluck |
5-
On the Ice!
On Saturday April 22nd, a lot of faithful from Ontario and Saskatchewan
met in Winnipeg for the annual Hockey Tournament. The ice of Lorette
arena had been rented for 3 hours. After 30 minutes period of
free skating, the tournament started. There were 3 thirty minute
games, with 10 minute intermissions in between. Welwyn won against
Dryden; Winnipeg won against them also; and Welwyn won the last
game 5-0 against Winnipeg, thus winning the coveted St. Raphael's
trophy. During the last half hour, two teams were made up from
players of the 3 provinces, and a game "for fun" ensued.
Players and spectators then gathered into a hall and shared pizzas
and soft drinks. Everybody enjoyed this event. Let us thank God
for our beautiful national sport, and for our communion in Faith
and friendship!
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| The
Welwyn team poses with the St. Raphael's Cup |
6-
A Long Pilgrimage...
From May 18 - 20, this year was the seventh annual pilgrimage
in honor of St. Joseph. Pilgrims walked 96 km from Our Lady of
Sorrows Church in Rocky Mountain House, AB, to the shrine of St.
Joseph near Sundre, AB. The shrine was built by the SSPX. The
walk took three days, with about 8 hours of walking each day.
At the end of the last day (Saturday) there were more than 70
people walking, which is a record. On Sunday May 21 there was
a solemn Mass at the shrine and a barbecue for all our parishioners.
More than 200 people attended on Sunday. Special guests this year
were Fr. MacPherson, teacher at our Winona Seminary and two deacons,
Rev. Mr. May and Rev. Mr. Arabadjis.
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St.
Joseph Pilgrimage in Sundre, Alberta |
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| After
Mass at Sundre |
7- A Mission in Winnipeg
The Winnipeg Parish had the great grace of a 3-day mission preached
by Rev. Fr. Philippe Pazat, SSPX, currently Master of Novices
for our Brothers in Winona. Father has been a priest for 28 years,
and knew Archbishop Lefebvre very well. The subject of the mission
was: "The main virtues of Archbishop Lefebvre, and how to
imitate him". In thanksgiving for his good work among us,
we organized for him a flying session with a parishioner who is
an Air Force Captain, Mr. Les Beothy.
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| Rev. Fr.
Philippe Pazat goes Flying |
8-
The Seat of Judgment!
On June 19th, it was closing day at St. Michael's Academy in Welwyn,
Sk. Fr. Patrick Girouard, SSPX, celebrated the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass for the students, teachers, parents. In his sermon,
he told the students the purpose of their going to school is their
becoming able to fulfill their obligation to make their talents
fructify, so as to be ready to do God's will, whatever it may
be. Afterwards, Father sat on a chair, and he handed out the report
cards to the students, not without reading them to the assembly.
Fortunately, all the students had worked hard during the year,
and their results were very good. Finally, we had a picture taken
of the students, teachers, etc. Everybody was happy for such a
good conclusion of this first academic year. Deo Gratias!
