Canada

Jul 112010
 

Canada
[map of Canada]
Article

Self-governing parlimentary republic and dominion of the British Empire in North America covering 3,684,723 square miles with (2010) estimated population of 33,750,000.

Missionary work in Canada was introduced by Franciscan Recollects in 1615 and continued by Jesuits and Sulpicians. When English rule was established in 1629 all the missionaries withdrew to France but returned in 1632 when Canada was restored to France. Missions were started at Trois Rivieres (Three Rivers) and Miscou; the College of Quebec was opened in 1635, and Gaspe, Acadia, and Cape Breton were evangelized. Among the saints and martyrs of the country, the most famous are the five Jesuit missionaries whose heroic lives and stirring martyrdoms warranted their beatification in 1925. The first Ursulines and a band of nursing sisters settled in Quebec about 1639, and in 1653 Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys founded the Congregation of Notre Dame at Montreal. In 1659 Blessed Francis de Montmorency Laval was appointed Vicar Apostolic of New France and became first Bishop of Quebec in 1674. The Jesuit Father Allouez travelled as far as Lake Superior in 1667 and there organized two missions. At Sault Sainte Marie the cross was planted by Father Claude Dablon and Father Jacques Marquette, the western shores of Lake Huron were evangelized by the Jesuits, and Father Charles d’Albanel penetrated to Hudson Bay. The Iroquois missions south of Lake Ontario were reorganized by the Jesuits, who built the permanent mission of “La Prairie de la Madeleine,” the home of Catherine Tekakwitha for many years. It was from Canada that Louis Joliet and Father Marquette set out on the trip which resulted in the discovery of the Mississippi River. By the Treaty of Paris in 1763, Canada was ceded to England. For a time under the new rulers, Catholic interests were menaced and ecclesiastical property was confiscated, but by the Quebec Act of 1774 and the Constitutional Act of 1791, the religious orders were confirmed in the possession of their estates, freedom of worship was granted to Catholics, and the collection of the customary tithes was permitted to the clergy. In 1819 Joseph Octave Plessis became the first Canadian archbishop. The union of Upper and Lower Canada, accomplished in 1840, marked a forward step in the growth of the Church. The shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupré is a famous place of pilgrimage. Since 1899 Canada has had an Apostolic delegate who resides in Ottawa.

Ecclesiastical Divisions

Born in Canada

    Died in Canada


      Additional Information

        MLA Citation

        • “Canada”. Gazetteer of the Faith. Saints.SQPN.com. 11 July 2010. Web. {today’s date}. <http://saints.sqpn.com/canada/>

        Mount Sinai

        Jun 132010
         

        Article

        The “mountain of God” (Exodus 3) situated in the desert of Sinai between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Akabah, on which the Law was given to Moses (Exodus 31). The Old Testament speaks of Mount Sinai and Mount Horeb as synonymous; some writers say they are two mountains of the same range. God appeared to Moses at Horeb, from a burning bush, and told him He wouid deliver the Israelites from the Egyptians (Exodus 3); after the Exodus, Moses smote water from a rock in Horeb (Exodus 17). Mount Sinai, however, is most famous as the places where Moses recieived the tablets of the Law and spent 40 days and 40 nights with God (Exodus 19).

        MLA Citation

        • “Mount Sinai”. Gazetteer of the Faith. Saints.SQPN.com. 13 June 2010. Web. {today’s date}. <http://saints.sqpn.com/mount-sinai/>

        Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas

        Sep 242009
         

        Also known as

        • Diocese of Kansas City
        • Diocese of Leavenworth
        • Vicariate Apostolic of Indian Territory East of the Rocky Mountains
        • Vicariate Apostolic of Kansas

        Founded

        Elevated

        Suffragans

          Bishops

            Additional Information

            Notes

            Name changed to the Vicariate Apostolic of Kansas in 1857. Name changed to the Diocese of Kansas City, Kansas on 22 May 1891, back to the Diocese of Leavenworth on 5 March 1897, and then to the Diocese of Kansas City on 10 May 1947.

            Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas

            Sep 242009
             

            Also known as

            • Dioecesis Corporis Christi

            Founded

            Elevated

            Suffragan of

            Bishops

              Additional Information

              Notes

              The Oblate Fathers, notably Father Verdet, were first missionaries in Texas; Father O’Reilly built the first church in Corpus Christi in 1856.

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