Page 3 - The Annual Collection Newsletter - Catholic Church of Montreal - Volume 3, Number 1, February.indd

THE SOCIAL LIFE
HOUSING
FOR ELDERLY
OR SICK
PRIESTS
FINANCIAL NEEDS
The Church of Montreal needed priests to
establish and develop its numerous parishes,
much of it occurring in the last century, for
priests play a crucial role in the mission of
the Catholic Church of Montreal and in the
lives of the faithful.
Today, it is them, our priests, who need
the Church after dedicating their life to
evangelizing our large family, the faithful.
So, providing them with health care and
maintaining their quality of life, in a way that
is in keeping with the dignity of the human
person, constitutes a duty for us all.
Priests are part of the family of each
baptized individual, and most certainly
when they are retired, because at this stage
in their ministry, they continue to contribute
through their prayer life and celebration of
the sacraments.
In fact, the richness of their experience
as pastors, once they reach the age of
CORNER
OF PRIESTS AT SQUARE NEWS
ANGUS “WHATEVER
YOU ASK IN
On August 25, 2016, I became director of Square-Angus FAITH THROUGH
Residence, where 57 retired priests from the Archdiocese PRAYER, YOU WILL
of Montreal currently reside. Located in the Rosemont RECEIVE.”
District, this complex also serves as a residence for the
Grey Nuns and lay people. We have a wonderful chapel, Matthew 21:22
open 24/7, where people can pray and where priests, For those who believe
religious brothers and sisters, and lay people can gather in the strength of praying
daily to celebrate the Eucharist. Those with less autonomy in communion with others.
can follow the celebration in their apartment through
closed-circuit TV. The diocese has mandated three people The Annual Collection
to respond to the priests’ requests, accompany them invites you to submit
your prayer requests,
spiritually, attend to their material needs, and assist with which will be transmitted
their financial management. We pay particular attention
to those priests who have special needs. Some suffer to the cloistered Community
from Alzheimer’s disease; others with mobility issues.
of Missionary Recluses of
Volunteers from the diocese accompany ailing priests: Montreal, who will include
help to feed them, walk them to the chapel for Mass, etc.
them in their contemplative
This represents a challenge, but we wholeheartedly do all prayer every day.
we can so that our resident priests live their retirement in
the peace and joy of the Lord. You can send your
In 2019, Archbishop Christian Lépine made two pastoral prayer intentions to
the Annual Collection
visits, something the priests really appreciated. On his
retirement, fills their heart with zeal for the first visit, he celebrated the priestly jubilees occurring by mail, by telephone at
faith, even though their age, in some ways, that year. A solemn Mass was held in the chapel, and each 514-925-4300 # 238, by
slows them down. anniversary was mentioned. It was followed by a fraternal email at collecteannuelle@
Considering that a great number of resident- meal. On his second visit, he came to explain why he has diocesemontreal.org or
based priests need support, the Archbishop transformed the diocese into a “missionary worksite.” by entering them on the
of Montreal mandated an actuary firm to Several retired priests who do not live at Square-Angus Archdiocese of Montreal
determine the amount required to provide also attended. It was a very interesting meeting! website under the last
for their basic needs. Fr. Robert Lapointe, section of the page
In short, retired priests who need diocesan Director with the following link:
assistance live at the residence where they diocesemontreal.org/
receive health care according to their health en/lets-connect/prayer-
status. When their health deteriorates, costs requests
rise since they require more assistance.
The actuarial valuation had not been LET US SUPPORT
completed at the time this newsletter went EACH OTHER IN
to print. We know, however, that the amount PRAYER AND BY
of capital funds required as of December 31, PRAYER!
2018, was in the range of $15 to $20 million.
Benoît Cardin
Director, Development and Planned Giving
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal