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Current Events/News
Catholic Spiritual Care Available after Lapu-Lapu Festival Tragedy
In these days of sorrow following the tragedy at the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival in Vancouver, I continue to hold you all, especially our Filipino community, in my prayers.
If you or your loved ones are seeking spiritual care, Catholic hospital chaplains are available to offer prayer, support, and the Sacraments, including Anointing of the Sick. Faith-based counselling and other spiritual supports are also available to help individuals and families carry their grief with hope.
Resources are likewise available for clergy, parish staff, ministry leaders, and Catholic educators to accompany those affected by trauma, drawing on the best practices of pastoral care.
For more information on these supports, please visit rcav.org/lapu-lapu
May our merciful Lord bring healing to all who are suffering, and may our Blessed Mother comfort every broken heart.
+ J. Michael Miller, CSB Apostolic Administrator
Special Collection -Support Victims and Survivors of the Lapu-Lapu Tragedy
In response to the tragic events after the Lapu-Lapu Festival, the Archdiocese of Vancouver is holding a special collection at all parishes.
Your gift will help meet immediate needs and ensure that ongoing healing and outreach services are available in the weeks and months ahead.
If you are donating through the parish, please make the cheque out to St. Marks Parish with a notation ‘for Lapu Lapu.’ If you are donating cash, please mark your envelope clearly for Lapu Lapu Tragedy.
Your donation will be added to a central fund managed by the Archdiocese.
To donate online or learn more, please visit rcav.org. Thank you for your support.
https://rcav.org/lapu-lapu Click on donate: Special Collection
With gratitude to God, the Archdiocese of Vancouver joyfully welcomes The Most Reverend Richard W. Smith as the Archbishop of Vancouver.
Due to limited space, the Mass will be by invitation only.
Everyone is invited to watch the live stream at https://rcav.org/events/installation-mass-of-archbishop-richard-w-smith and join us in prayer on Friday, May 23 at 7:00pm.
Formation for Lay Ministry Scholarship at SMC
The Formation for Lay Ministry Scholarship at St. Mark’s College supports the ongoing formation of people serving in a variety of parish and non-parish ministries within the Archdiocese of Vancouver. (Application deadline is May 15)
Examples of ministry involvement could include RCIA, sacramental prep., catechesis, faith sharing, prison ministry, hospital outreach ministry, etc.
Learn more here…
The annual British Columbia and Yukon Bursary program known as the Bishop Thomas J. Lobsinger, OMI Memorial Bursary Program is underway. The 2025 program is now receiving applications. We are privileged to offer fourteen bursaries of $1,000.00 each to Catholic students across the Province of British Columbia. These bursaries are made available on a one-time only basis to young practicing Catholic students who are in Post-Secondary education at a recognized institute of higher learning within the Province of British Columbia. Applications are accepted from January 1, 2025 until June 30, 2025 with the bursaries being awarded in the fall.
The Terms of Reference may be found on our web site (kofcbc.org) after Jan 1, 2025. Requests for application should be addressed to:
Knights of Columbus BC & Yukon
2809 Mara Drive, Coquitlam, BC V3C 5T9
Attn: Herb Yang, Bursaries Chairman.
Or email: herbykofc@gmail.com
We would like to congratulate the many recipients once again over the past years and look forward to the opportunity to assist many more young people in the advancement of their education.
Bishop Thomas J. Lobsinger, OMI Memorial Bursary Program
Registration for the 2025 Bishop Thomas Lobsinger Bursary has just opened. We are offering 14 – $1,000 bursaries to post secondary Catholic students in British Columbia up to the age of 25.
Additional information including terms of reference
can be located on the Knights of Columbus
website: https://kofcbc.org/bursary-program-2025/
Past Events and Ongoing information
Door is Open - Food & Clothing Drive
This September, our team at St. Mark’s Parish is resuming the food & clothing collection for the Door is Open. The once/week delivery initiative will be pursued. The need continues to be great.
Thanks for St. Mark’s parishioners’ past generosity.
We humbly request that folks donate clean clothing & non-perishable food items as listed on the donation boxes at the church’s entrance.
We humbly ask to avoid making donations that are really not useable and are just being discarded.
Knights of Columbus - BC & Yukon State Council
COME & be a MEMBER: The Knights of Columbus empowers Catholic men to live their faith and serve their family, parish, community and country.
Free One Year on-line membership
Enjoy the benefits of being a Knights of Columbus Member.
Go to: www.kofc.org/joinus
Promo Code: BLESSEDMCGIVNEY
Covenant House Vancouver
… exists, now more than ever, to support young people experiencing homelessness and to provide them with a source of relentless support, unconditional love, and absolute respect.
Your generosity provides food, shelter, and medical attention for some of the most vulnerable in our community.
Visit their website for more information
Permanent Diaconate Program
Now accepting applications. Contact deacons@rcav.org
This hugely successful conference which took place at the beginning of May, marks Pope Francis’ 10th year of Pope Francis in his Papal office.
Listen to the three plenary speakers on the CCE website here.
Birthright of Vancouver
Services provided: Friendship, Love & Hope Phone: 604-687-7223
Birthright’s focus is on loving the mother, reminding her that there is hope
and ensuring she is not alone.
We offer love, friendship, and support to women who are pregnant or think they may be pregnant. Birthright is available to women for as long as they need us. Birthright is interdenominational.
Visit – https://birthright.org/vancouver
Door is Open. A Roman Catholic Charity
Ongoing needs and information
The Door Is Open is a drop-in ministry that provides food, clothing, counselling, shelter services and referrals, a warm and safe environment in the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a neighborhood recognized for the highest concentration of the poorest urban population in the whole of Canada.
Season after season, the challenges faced by the Door is Open charity do not fade away. In these days of summer, the Door is Open mission is making a special appeal for food donations.
Non-perishable food item:. Special requests are for pasta (macaroni and spaghetti mostly, but other kinds are accepted), pasta sauce & tuna cans. Due to health regulations the ministry cannot accept home baking & food that is past their expiry date.
Toiletries: Unopened toiletries such as:
Shampoo, bar soap, brushes/combs, sanitary products, toothpaste/toothbrushes
Clothing: Season-appropriate clothes for men and women.
We are grateful for all your donations which bring hope & healing to these most vulnerable people. Visit: https://www.thedoorisopen.ca/you-can-help/donate/
© 2017 Photography by Sarah Scali
News Archives
ROMERO HOUSE - Refugee Settlement Worker Program
An exciting & meaningful opportunity awaits university, college students & graduates from Canada, the United States and many other countries.
The Romero House worker program in Toronto offers a life transforming experience of living the joy of concretely integrating service & social justice.
It is a wonderful & unique program which gives young adults to do significant work, making a real difference in the lives of people in great need. Workers are given a great deal of responsibility, they grow & stretch humanly and spiritually in the process.
Of course, in this time of the covid19 pandemic & in consultation with public health, we have adjusted our ways of working with our residents & off-site clients in ways to ensure the health & safety of everyone in the community.
This time of a disrupted economy when graduates are finding fewer employment opportunities, we believe that our worker program is a safe & meaningful way to spend a year in the context of a supportive community.
Contact Harold Wright at workerprogram@romerohouse.org
Website: www.romerohouse.org
