Recent News

Archdiocese of Winnipeg - Reverend Samuel Argenziano was ordained to the priesthood on February 15, 1979, at St. Edward the Confessor Parish in Winnipeg. Let us pray in thanksgiving for Father Sam and his forty years of fruitful ministry as a priest of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

A little about Father Sam, from the Holy Rosary Church website where he is currently Pastor:

Born on October 23, 1947, grew up with his family on Staten Island, New York City, USA where he remembers special times of Sunday Gatherings with his Italian family and friends. As a child he loved beach parties and riding the Cyclone Roller Coaster at Coney Island.

While other grade two boys dreamed of being a policeman, Astronaut or Firefighter, this young man knew he wanted to be a Priest. With this goal in mind he set forth into the world to pursue his dream. After finishing grade 8 the young Sam entered High school and College by joining a Religious Community of Italian Origin. It was named the Missionary of St. Charles Romeo also know as the Scalabrini Fathers. After graduation he studied Theology at the University of Toronto. In his 2nd year of study He left the Community and was invited to join the Archdiocese of Winnipeg where he met with Cardinal George Bernard Flahiff who accepted him as a student.

Father Sam was ordained at St Edward the Confessor Parish on Arlington St in Winnipeg, MB on February 15, 1979. He remembers that day vividly as it was -42 below zero and with the wind chill of -50, just another typical Manitoba winter.

His ministry started at St. Peter’s Parish on Keewatin, where he worked for 5 months, he was ordained a deacon at this parish on May 13, 1978. He was transferred to St Edward the confessor on August 1, 1978 where he was associate pastor until 1982 and then became the pastor. He remained there until 1990. On July 1, 1990 he became the pastor at St Anthony of Padua in West Kildonan. Father Sam was transferred on August 1, 1995 to his present home at Holy Rosary Church.

When he has some spare time he enjoys movies and reading. Father Sam loves to travel his best trip and most favourite place to visit, is of course Italy, he visits there at least every two years. His best and most remembered trip was in 1997 when he flew from New York City to Italy and traveled to many beautiful cities, ate the best cuisine of Italy, stayed in villas at Portofino and enjoyed the history our homeland is so rich with.

Father Sam says he loves being a priest and wants to thank all of his parishioners from his first day at St. Peters to now for blessing his life with their love, faith and generosity.

Archdiocese of Winnipeg - Your kind prayers are requested for the repose of the soul of Reverend Christian Soeterboek, who passed away on January 29, 2019 at the age of 91.

A priest of the Archdiocese of Winnipeg for over 63 years, Fr. Chris was born in Bakel, Netherlands on June 30, 1927. After completing his seminary formation at St. Peter's Seminary in London, Ontario, Fr. Chris was ordained to the Priesthood on June 4, 1955 in St. Mary's Cathedral.

Fr. Chris served a number of parishes throughout the Archdiocese including: Parochial Vicar of St. Edward's Parish in Winnipeg (1956-1960; during part of this time Fr. Chris was also the Diocesan Director of Sodalities), Chaplain of Fort Churchill (1960-1961), Administrator of St. John's Parish in Portage la Prairie (1961), Parochial Vicar of St. Edward's Parish in Winnipeg (1961-1962), Pastor of St. Theresa's Parish in Plumas (1962-1967), Pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Winnipegosis (1967-1971), Parochial Vicar of St. Edward's Parish in Winnipeg (1971-1972), Pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Russell (1972-1974), Pastor of St. John's Parish in Portage la Prairie (1974-1981), Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Virden (with attached missions) (1981-1983), Pastor of St. Viator's Parish in Dauphin (1983-1989), Pastor of St. Dominic's Parish in Neepawa (with attached missions) (1992-1995) Parochial Vicar of St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish in Brandon (1995-1997). In addition to these parish responsibilities, Fr. Chris served as Judge in the Regina Regional Marriage Tribunal for many years and as Dean of the Dauphin Deanery. 

While Fr. Chris retired from active ministry in 1997, he continued to replace in parishes in the Westman deanery, including a brief period as Parochial Administrator of St. Dominic's Parish in Neepawa, and as Sacramental Minister of St. Jude's Parish in Erickson (with attached missions).

Funeral arrangements are as follows: Vigil Prayers on Tuesday, February 5 at 7:00 pm at Clarke Funeral Chapel, Gladstone. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, February 6 at 11:00 am at St. Dominic's Parish in Neepawa. Interment will take place in the Plumas Cemetery.

May he rest in peace.

- From Reverend W. Richard Arsenault's memo to all Clergy, all Parishes, and all Institutes of Consecrated Life

St. Mary's Cathedral, Winnipeg - On Friday, January 25th, hundreds of young adults warmed the worship space of St. Mary's Cathedral for a night of adoration, praise and worship, reconciliation, and fellowship.

As taken from their website, "Illuminate is a ministry centered on adoration of the Holy Eucharist. We hope to invite people of all ages from across Manitoba to worship Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and come together as one Catholic Church." On January 25, Archbishop Richard Gagnon gave a reflection on the conversion of St. Paul. "We are Christ. We are Christ. It is Christ who lives in us. We are the Body of Christ."

Archbishop Gagnon encouraged those present to have "zeal for the good." He said that Paul had "great compunction - from 'puncture', Paul was punctured by his sinfulness. Yet this did not lead him to sadness. Paul saw himself as being in God's favour."

Illuminate also features the sacrament of reconciliation. A number of priests from the Archdiocese of Winnipeg and Archdiocese of St. Boniface were present to hear the confessions of the attendees, who lined up to receive the grace and mercy of God.

For more information on Illuminate, please go to www.illuminatemb.com or at facebook.com/illuminatemb.

The Salvation Army Heritage Park Temple - The Ecumenical Worship Service held in Winnipeg to mark the 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity took place on Sunday evening, January 20, 2019.

Please see below a letter from Reverend Robert Polz, Pastor of St. John XXIII parish, and Chair of the Winnipeg celebration of the WPCU.

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Dear distinguished church leaders and friends in Christ: 

On behalf of the planning committee, a sincere and heartfelt “THANK YOU” for your recent participation in the City-wide Ecumenical Worship Service held in Winnipeg to mark the 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  (Our celebration took place on Sunday evening, January 20, 2019 at The Salvation Army Heritage Park Temple.) 

Please find attached a copy of a few group photos taken just prior to and during the worship service.  

Also, you will find below a link to a YouTube video of a variety of photos taken throughout the entire service.

The photos and YouTube video were taken and compiled by Paul Swart.  Please feel free to use and distribute them as you see fit, preferably with appropriate acknowledgement of Paul Swart as the photographer. 

Sincerely yours in Christ, 

Reverend Robert Polz 

Link to further photos: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXiG-0F6_cA&feature=youtu.be

 Names of those in the first photo (from left to right):

 Most Reverend Richard Gagnon

Very Reverend Paul N. Johnson

Very Reverend Archpriest Taras Udod

Louise Hébert-Saindon

Right Reverend Geoffrey Woodcroft

Reverend Jason Zinko

Reverend Dwight Rutherford

Reverend Professor Dr. James Taylor Christie

Reverend Noël Suministrado

Most Reverend Albert LeGatt

Reverend Dr. Loraine MacKenzie Shepherd

Reverend Tyler Gingrich

Reverend Robert Polz

Major Brenda Critch

Major Shawn Critch

Catholic School of Evangelization, St. Malo - God had many graces prepared for all of us who attended the 2019 Discernment Retreat at the Catholic School of Evangelization (CSE).

I was blessed to be a part of an amazing team of 20 who welcomed, served, and journeyed with 27 young adults hailing from different backgrounds and experiences including participants from Winnipeg and as far as Regina, Brandon, and St. Theresa Point. Those who were on the team included Fr. Peter Nemcek and Fr. Joshua Gundrum - the vocation directors for the Winnipeg and St. Boniface Archdioceses, Sr. Jo-Ann Duggan, SGM and Sr. Marie Moquin, FDLC, Brian Trueman and Christian Mutombo – seminarians for the Archdiocese of St. Boniface; and many other single and married lay people. Kevin Prada, the retreat leader and Associate Director of the CSE, led us into discovering the beauty of each vocation; each vocation being the gift of self that we offer to Christ and His Church. There were talks about each vocation as well as testimonies of those living out their vocations. Archbishop Albert Legatt celebrated the Eucharist with us on Saturday and Archbishop Richard Gagnon shared with us tools for discernment on Sunday morning. Participants also were able to sign up for an Emmaus walk – a time to journey with another person during the retreat; a time to ask questions and share struggles. Saturday evening was an evening of prayer, Adoration and a renewal of our Baptismal vows. Many of the participants shared during our “glory story” time how much it meant for them to be present and how much God had blessed them during their time of retreat. 

“Spiritually, this weekend was probably the best weekend of my life, I feel that the mist has been cleared… and I thank you all for playing a part in that. As soon as I got back to my home (…), I looked in the bathroom mirror and I honestly didn't recognize myself.” – participant

“... the Discernment Weekend was so life giving for me to be among such God filled people. The weekend renewed me in many ways as I sincerely love being with the young people.” – team member

I am looking forward to the conference being held at St. John XXIII parish on March 30^th with Bishop Lionel Gendron and Emily Callan who were both at the most recent synod of Bishops in Rome on Young People, the Faith and Vocation. This will be another great opportunity to grow in appreciation of our vocational calls and a time to discern where God is calling local initiatives to grow and continue to serve young people.

- From Anita Van Der Aa

RBC Convention Centre, Winnipeg - On March 16, 2019, Father Sam Argenziano will receive the inaugural Sons of Italy "Heart of the Lion" Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Sons of Italy "Heart of the Lion" Lifetime Achievement Award  recognizes an individual that has tirelessly given of themselves and has made significant contributions to the community. The "Heart of the Lion" Lifetime Achievement Award is a special honour bestowed by the Sons of Italy, Garibaldi Lodge.

For more information, please click here.

- From the Sons of Italy Newsletter

Catholic Centre, Winnipeg -  Be one of our featured contributors. Help build bridges in our local church and share about the many beautiful things going on in your community! Submit photos and articles for publishing in our archdiocesan News Bulletin, website, and social media platforms.

Our Communication Services Office prepares and sends a weekly news bulletin to all of our parishes, schools, and various organizations. We would like to cover as many news stories as possible to keep our community informed about important events, activities, and initiatives. We need your help to accomplish this!

Format
Please include the date, venue, title of the news story, and as many quality pictures as possible in your submissions. Short articles suffice - a couple of paragraphs describing the event/activity/initiative, 150 words and up.

Editorial Process
News submissions are accepted until 4:30 p.m. on Fridays, for inclusion in the following week's bulletin. Due to space constraints, some articles may be included in the bulletin two to three weeks after submission.

Submit To
All submissions are to be sent to communications@archwinnipeg.ca. Questions may also be directed to this address. Thank you for your generous participation in this important ministry of the Archdiocese.

St. Boniface and Winnipeg - Some forty-five youth ministers from all over Western Canada met in Winnipeg, from January 31 to February 3rd to build connections, grow as leaders and to learn how to better reach out to youths and meet them were they are at. Organizers and participants take a look back at the annual gathering and AGM of the Western Canadian Association of Catholic Youth Ministers (WCACYM). 

Article and photos from Daniel Bahuaud (Archdiocese of St. Boniface)

Click here for the full article.

Prelate, Saskatchewan - The Ursuline Sisters announce the 100th anniversary of their Foundation at Prelate, Saskatchewan. A celebration of thanksgiving will take place on Saturday, June 1st, 2019, at the Cathedral of the Holy Family.

The Cathedral is located on 123 Nelson Road, in Saskatoon, SK. There will be a Historical Presentation at 12:45 p.m., followed by Mass presided by Bishop Mark Hagemoen, Bishop of Saskatoon. There will be a reception after the Mass. Rejoice! One Hundred Years of Blessings!

Chancery Office, Archdiocese of St. Boniface - Members of the tri-diocesan committee for the 2019 National Week for Life and the Family (NWLF) met on January 17, 2019, at the Archdiocese of St. Boniface Chancery Office. This year's theme is "Listening to the Gospel as a Family".

The NWLF is an initiative of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Some materials are provided by the CCCB, but dioceses from throughout the country are also encouraged to develop additional resources and discern the best ways to implement the week-long celebration in their locale. Meetings of the tri-diocesan committee are attended by Archbishop Richard Gagnon (Winnipeg), Archbishop Albert LeGatt (St. Boniface), and Metropolitan Lawrence Huculak, O.S.B.M. (Archeparchy of Winnipeg), along with officials and representatives from their local churches. Patti Fitzmaurice, the Archdiocese of Winnipeg's Social Justice Coordinator, serves as the tri-diocesan committee's facilitator.

Additional resources and event announcements will soon follow regarding the 2019 NWLF celebrations.

Our Lady of Victory School - On February 4th, James Allum, MLA for Fort Garry-Riverview, came to Our Lady of Victory School to read to their K-4 classes. On February 7th, the school welcomed Tanya and Louie the Lion from Take Pride Winnipeg to read to the students. These events were held to mark "I Love to Read Month".

Please support our Catholic Schools! The OLV School Open House will be held on February 19th, from 6-8 pm.

Radio Canada - Please take a look at this interview with Talitha Lemoine, the Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO) missionary leader at the University of Winnipeg. She talked about the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the call to consecrated life.

Click here to listen in on the interview (in French).

Christ the King Chapel, St. Paul's College - On Sunday, January 27, 2019, Archbishop Richard Gagnon blessed the two recently-commissioned stained glass windows at St. Paul's College's Christ the King Chapel.

One of the panes is of Saint Ignatius, while the other is of Saint Paul. The Archbishop blessed the windows during the annual St. Paul's Day Mass and Academic Ceremonies. 

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Photos from Shawn Jordan, Communications Coordinator at St. Paul's College. 

Our Lady of the Perpetual Help, Winnipeg - On February 2, 2019, Development and Peace held its "Share the Journey" Share Lent Workshop. It was attended by a good number of people who remain dedicated to justice and service initiatives around the world. 

Some quotes from the workshop:

"I came to Canada fifty years ago from Kenya in East Africa. I have seen people who were oppressed and had very little of the necessities of life that we take for granted here in Canada. That is why I support the Catholic Church initiative of D and P. The whole purpose of D and P is to assist the poor and marginalized especially in the poor countries of the global south."
- Serge Laval (St. Charles Parish)

"D and P is a social justice organization in solidarity with many of the most vulnerable in the world. Over the years it has become more and more an expression of who I am - almost like it's a part of my DNA."
- Diana Ludwick (St. Ann's Parish)

"Share the Journey is a theme that should speak to us all about our common home occupied by our one human family. When some of us suffer, all of us suffer. We are called to take care of one another as the brothers and sisters we are in Christ."
- Rosemary  Van Rosmalen (Our Lady of Perpetual  Help Church)

"I am always motivated after running D and P Workshops. I'm happy and encouraged that Catholics will Share the Journey with 62.5 million children, women and men forced to flee from their homes."
- Janelle Delorme, MB Animator, Development and Peace

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We would like to thank Eva Arsenault from St. Charles Parish for the photos and the quotes. It is through contributions like yours that we learn about the many beautiful stories surrounding us throughout the Archdiocese! 

If you have a news item that you'd like to submit, send us an e-mail at communications@archwinnipeg.ca. 

Vatican City - During the January 20th Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis invited men and women from around the world to participate in his prayer ministry through a mobile app called "Click to Pray."

Click To Pray (www.clicktopray.org) is a platform that invites men and women from around the world, to accompany the Pope in a mission of compassion for the world. It has a website and a mobile app, both for Android and iOS, with its social networks, available in six languages (Spanish, English, Italian, French, Portuguese, and German).