Catholic Mission In Canada

Catholic Missions In Canada, then known as The Catholic Church Extension Society of Canada, was established in 1908 under papal mandate to foster the missionary spirit in the clergy and the people and to preserve the faith among Catholic immigrants then resettling in the Canadian West.

 In the early days, the Society began raising funds in the East to build small chapels across the Western prairies. Later, it encouraged priests in the Atlantic provinces to go West and serve in the remote and priestless parishes. As the need for missionaries grew, the Society began supporting the education of seminarians.

 In 1910, the Society was given energetic support by the recently formed Women’s Auxiliary, a group that enabled the Society to send tons of toys, books, altar linens, vestments and funds for seven chapels to the West.

The Women’s Auxiliary group, many of whose members were also members of the Catholic Women’s League, paved the way for other women’s organizations, notably

the Catholic Women’s League of Canada, in supporting the work of the missions. 

The League has been supporting Canadian missions for many years, and since 2001, through a National Voluntary Fund as well as through direct donations from their local councils and parishes.

Under then National President Vivian Bosch (2000-2002), the League adopted the theme, “The Open Door,” to allow the Catholic Women’s League of Canada to reach out to all of Canada. Lucille Cullen, Honourary Life Member, suggested that the League should support Catholic Missions In Canada, a national charity that served every region across our vast country and whose mission was to support the struggling missionary church across Canada.

Bosch was the National President who put Catholic Missions In Canada forward as a National Voluntary Fund, which was adopted by the membership. In 2003, at League’s national convention, delegates voted to make the fund permanent.

In 2002, the first collection was $3,929.15. In 2009, this fund—illustrating the growth in support of the individual councils of the Catholic Women’s League—has grown to $30,822.76. Over the last nine years, a total of $179,455.62 has been sent in to support our Catholic missionaries.

Today Catholic Missions In Canada (www.cmic.info) supports more than 600 missionaries serving in poor and isolated home mission communities across Canada.

An excerpt from Catholic Women’s League Honorary Life Member Lucille Cullen's book, From Member to Member, 2010.