Catholic Mission In Canada

“I think the whole idea of home missions inspired me,” says Margaret Bouclin, a Catholic Missions In Canada donor and farmer from Saskatoon who established an endowment several years ago.

Margaret’s home diocese, the Diocese of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, has supported missions in Brazil for many years and continues to do so. The diocese has sent priests to work in that South American country; in fact, one continues to serve there.

“What got me thinking of our home missions was a young woman from Saskatoon who came to talk at our parish on how she’d always wanted to be a missionary,” recounts Margaret. “She actually found a mission right in her own area. She never thought she’d ever be doing mission work in the middle of Saskatoon, in a native parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe.”

Margaret, a convert to Catholicism, was struck by the young woman’s statement about the Canadian home missions. She has always admired the courage of the priests who serve in our Canadian missions. “I can’t imagine what it is like for some of them to work in such isolated and extremely harsh conditions.”

As soon as she became aware about the missions here in Canada, Margaret made it her priority to support them. When she began to think how our missions needed more priests and discovered that through our Endowment Fund she could support the education of other seminarians, she wrote to Catholic Missions In Canada to find out more.

As a farmer, Margaret knows firsthand about hardship and how farming is so uncertain. “Some years are good, others are not.” Her main concern was whether, after setting up an endowment with a small amount, she be would be able to continue to make payments each year until she met her goal.

Catholic Missions In Canada’s gift planning officer Winnie Quinn assured her that her endowment would be established with her first installment.

Margaret was also given reassurance that the endowment would continue to earn interest and benefit the missions into perpetuity even if she is unable to continue with her current payments. She could add to it once she is able.

This was back in 2002. Even before she began, Margaret had to put it on hold as the drought that year cut into her resources. She had to postpone her decision until she saw how things would go.

In August 2004 Margaret was finally able to make her first installment, and has been doing so for the past three years. She’s also praying for good farm weather these days. “I hope to make another payment as soon as I get the proceeds from my grain.”