At 119 Wellington Street West in Toronto, in the heart of the business district of the city, one hundred years ago this month, Father Alfred Burke was organizing the headquarters of The Catholic Church Extension Society of Canada. There were just three little rooms, dark, wood-panelled and a bit musty, occupied by the staff of three, and later four priests, whose job it was to make the Society work. The place was furnished by old chairs, cast-offs from local church rectories, a desk that a school didn’t want any more, and a couple of sad-looking tables. Even the paper was begged and borrowed, piles of varying shades of faded cream, and none with a letterhead.
Stories from our magazine
Hardships for early Whitefish missionariesBY PETER REIS  Under the 1876 Indian treaty, a reserve was established at Whitefish Lake in Saskatchewan in 1888, and the tribes of Stoney Lake, Whitefish Lake, Big River and Pelican Lakes agreed to amalgamate...+ Full Story | Other Articles | |
‘My Christmas in North Battleford’BY FATHER DAVID WARREN, S.F.M.  Christmas 2006 was unlike any Christmas I had ever experienced. I have celebrated Christmas in the Philippines, in Guyana in South America, and in Toronto. But in 2006 I celebrated Christmas with the...+ Full Story | Other Articles | |
Honorary OblateBY FATHER JANUSZ BLAZEJAK, O.M.I.  When we think about the Ascension of our Lord, most of us have an image of Jesus slowly rising up to heaven then disappearing behind the clouds. While it is true that this is the image we get from...+ Full Story | Other Articles | |
Vita Nova: A touch of GodBY FATHER JANUSZ BIZEWSKI  Three years ago, Our Lady of Czestochowa parish, in the Diocese of Prince Albert in Saskatchewan, was just about shut down. Parishioners were sad, almost depressed. Their dream, which started twenty...+ Full Story | Other Articles | |
A hundred years ago: A good start |
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On June 25, 1908, the first organizational meeting was held in the archbishop’s residence on Sherbourne Street, with the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Donato Sbaretti present as the honorary founder. Fergus McEvay became the first Chairman of the Board of Governors, and his Vice-Chairman was Bishop Joseph-Alfred Archambeault of Joliette, who was accompanying Archbishop Louis-Nazaire Bégin from Québec, also a member.
President's Reflections
