On the day that the Consolata Missionaries celebrate 113 years of existence, a new digital platform has been launched to help building a better world for all: INSPIRIT

Fr. Marco Bagnarol

On the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord - a missionary feast - Fr. Marco Bagnarol received his missionary mandate in the parish of St. Andrew, Etobicoke. 

The highlight of the four Holy Masses presided by Fr. Marco was the celebration in Italian; before the reading of the holy Gospel, Fr. Marco was given the book of the Gospels and was told to "announce to all peoples, by word and by example, the Gospel that you proclaim in this Church, so that the mystery of Christ and of the Church may be revealed to everyone".

At the time of the missionary mandate Fr. Marco, kneeling in front of the Altar, had his parents - Lazzaro e Maria - standing beside him with their hands on his shoulders while the prayer of the mandate was being said by the pastor of St. Andrew's and religious superior of the Consolata Missionaries. Maria Marta Crucini Bagnarol held the Crucifix in her hands before handing it to her son who received it and honored it with a kiss.

As Fr. Marco stood up and, together with his parents, faced the assembly he was greeted with a great applause of encouragement and gratitude.

At the end of all the celebrations presided over by Fr. Marco people bade farewell to him and manifested their support by kissing his missionary Cross.

Fr. Marco will depart for his new mission field, Brazil, on January 31, 2014.

 

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missionary mandate

Fr. Marco Bagnarol received, from the hands of the religious superior and pastor of St. Andrew's, the missionary Crucifix as a sign of his missionary mandate from Toronto to Brazil:

"Fr. Marco, receive the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
compendium of his whole life,
your support on toils,
consolation in difficulties,
and a sign of love and of victory.
Preach Christ crucified,
and hasten the day on which all peoples
will form one single family,
and recognize the only God and Father of all.
Amen.

the ministry of serving

Yair Alberto, a 34 year old Consolata missionary from Columbia, was today ordained Deacon by laying on of hands of Bishop John A. Boissonneau, auxiliary Bishop of Toronto.

The ceremony took place at St. Andrew's Parish in Etobicoke, Toronto - Canada, at the evening Mass in a fully packed church with parishioners, with friends of the newly ordained Deacon Yair and with benefactors of the Consolata Institute.

All the Consolata members of the Toronto community were present, together with two Consolata missionaries from Montreal, a number of other priests and Deacon Joseph who ministers at St. Andrew's.

Mgr. Boissonneau highlighted the Deacon's ministry comparing it with Joseph's attitude of getting up and being ready to follow God's voice for the service of the Holy Family.

After the Eucharist a reception followed in the parish hall.

Christmas Carols at St. Andrew’s

As the feast of Christ's birth is approaching the Knights of Columbus, Council of St. Therese of Calcutta, put in motion a process for a evening of Carols singing by all the choirs of St. Andrew's Parish.

Today, December 21, the community gathered to participate and enjoy a beautiful evening of Carols singing in diverse languages.

The choirs of the different Eucharistic celebrations that take place on Sundays took their turn in sharing their singing gifts with the assembly; besides the different languages there also were different ages, from children to youngsters to grown ups.

The great evening of singing was concluded with a beautiful moment where all the choirs sang together a Christmas song before heading to the hall for a time of fellowship and sharing.

Merry Christmas to all parishioners of St. Andrew's!

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Sharing

This Christmas, as it has been done in the past, the Conference of St. Vincent De Paul involved  the whole Parish of St. Andrew's in sharing food items, toys and clothing with the people in need living around St. Andrew's community.

During the first three weekends in December the parishioners brought their donations to the church. The six schools that exist in the parish territory were also involved in collecting items to be shared with the less fortunate ones; the students of two classes of one high school, as they came to attend Mass at the church, brought their food donations carrying them in their backpacks under a heavy snow storm.

On Friday, December 20, a great group of Volunteers - of all ages - sorted out all the items and placed them in numbered boxes, ready to be collected.

Today, December 21, the people in need started arriving at 9 am: over 120 persons came to receive their Christmas hampers, together with a Christmas card and a voucher for veggies. 

Our greatest gratitude to everyone who helped making life easier and warmer for some of our brothers and sisters.

Happy and blessed Christmas!

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Volunteers' Day

 On Friday, December 13th, 2013, the Consolata Missionaries celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving and Luncheon for all of the people who have and continue to help us in our work at the Mission Centre. Fr. Fernandes, the local superior, and F. Peter con-celebrated the Mass. The other fathers had previous commitments preventing them from being present.

During the homily, Fr. Fernandes thanked the volunteers for their years of service. Their presence is important for us missionaries because they form part of the history of this mission on Islington.

Their work varies from doing the laundry, cooking for fundraising events, packing clothes for the poor, holding garage sales, maintaining the grounds and raising funds for external missions. All of this is important because everything is done for the Lord.

After the Eucharist, we continued our celebration in the Dining Hall with a delicious meal prepared by our new volunteer friends from Italy. After the blessing of the food, we had a leisurely lunch while talking with each other.

Thanks to the generosity of Emma Foods, we were also able to give out fresh Milan panettones to each of the volunteers. Unfortunately, some of our volunteers were unable to attend the celebration due to ill health. However, we are certain that the prayers offered for them during the Mass will lead to their rapid recovery.

We thank the Lord for the grace and privilege of serving Him as missionaries and for always sending us collaborators to work with for His Heavenly Kingdom.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

Father Peter Turrone IMC