From ‘Yes’ to ‘Amen’

* Join a panel of five newer religious from different Congregations. What were the changes they experienced and the graces they received?

Sunday, March 8, 2026

1 – 2.30pm EST over Zoom

http://csj-to.ca/religiouslife

Hope is our North Star Conference

* The National Association of Vocation and Formation Directors of Religious Communities and Dioceses across Canada are having a Conference September 23 – 25 in St. John’s at the ALT Hotel. The theme for this Conference is:

HOPE IS OUR NORTHSTAR
SHINE YOUR LIGHT!

All are welcome to join the Conference Mass in the Basilica on Wednesday, September 24 at 5 PM.

Death of Pope Francis

* Vocations Canada (NAVFD), joins the world in great sadness as we hear of the death of Pope Francis. He has lead the Roman Catholic Church since March 13, 2013, and was admired greatly for his devotion, dedication, advocacy of the poor, the marginalized, the environment, and those in need. He was a true leader in every sense of the word! We are saddened with his passing, but are thankful and celebrate his many gifts and talents, his willingness to address wrongdoings in the world, and his courage and humility in doing so.

Ursulines of Jesus – First and Final Vows

The Ursulines of Jesus, are profoundly grateful to God, for the new life burgeoning in our Congregation. Sr. Rachel, from Cameroon, pronounced her final vows August, 2020.
                       
Srs. Bernadette, Cecile and Prisca pronounced their first vows September 8, 2020 in Madagascar.  The theme for their vows was, “Jesus Only” (Jesus Seul) a favourite phrase of our founder, Louis-Marie Baudouin.

The novitiate community joyfully welcomed 9 novices on October 5th.

Please hold these women in your prayer that they may be faithful to God’s call and that many more will hear that same invitation and respond with generous hearts.

Visit the Ursulines of Jesus directory listing

What is a religious brother, really?

Br. Denis Claivaz fpm

In September 1975, I arrived in the northern part of Ghana, West Africa, specifically in a town called Navrongo, where I was to begin my new life as a Missionary. In my orientation days I was asked by a number of people, some who should have known better, why I had become a “Brother” and had not gone “all the way” to Priesthood. After all, my academic qualifications pointed to a “higher” vocation than brotherhood.

I guess I could understand these queries in the environment in which I found myself. It was the “White Fathers”, the Missionaries of Africa, who had opened up the trail of Christianity here. Their way of entering into new mission territories was to allow the Brothers to go first so that the infrastructures could be put into place. The Brothers, who were the carpenters, plumbers, masons, etc. the artisans of the group, took the lead and so the locals became accustomed to seeing and working with these men in putting up the house for the Fathers, the school for the kids and the Chapel for the Lord. They were the ‘hands on’ people of the Missions.

Neither was there a great deal of surprise in these queries about being a Brother, as I had spent a great deal of time, on my vocation journey, answering the very same questions. Why a “Brother”? Ever think of the Priesthood? Something the Sisters have yet to encounter. It is amazing how misunderstood the vocation of a Brother really is. However, I have never questioned my “call” to my vocation as a Religious Brother.

On October 4th, 2015 (the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi) the Vatican published a document about “being a Brother”. It was entitled the “Identity and Mission of the Religious Brother in the Church”. A document long overdue but much appreciated. In it the official Church gives a recognition of the uniqueness of the Brother’s vocation which had not been analyzed in such depth before. Usually the official definition of who a Brother is would suffice: “A religious brother is a member of a Christian or who commits himself to following Christ in of the Church, usually by the vows of poverty, and obedience”.

But the Vatican document seems to give a weightier stance to the vocation. It states, “the bonds of communion of the Religious Brother extend beyond the boundaries of the Church, because he is driven by the same “universal character that distinguishes the People of God. The vocation of the Brother is part of the answer that God gives to the absence of brotherhood which is wounding the world today. At the root of a Brother’s vocation lies a profound experience of solidarity that essentially matches that of Moses before the burning bush: he discovers himself as the eyes, ears and heart of God, the God who sees the oppression of his people, who hears their cry, feels their anguish and comes down to liberate them”.

I believe that my authority to “be a Brother” is directly related to the fact that the Lord called me to be one. It is in the call that the Brother is introduced to the Lord and can become intimate in his relationship with Jesus. It is Jesus who works through me. I have noting and am nothing if it is not ‘in the Lord’. My relationship with the Lord is the foundation of my vocation.

In my early discernment I visited St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal every month. This place was built by a simple person who had a huge heart and a great devotion to St. Joseph. On my visits to the tomb of Br. Andre I had many discussions with him about who I was and where I was going. His gentle guidance steered me along the ‘right path’. The magnificence of the Oratory was in stark contrast to the utter simplicity of the ‘man’. I wanted to be like Andre. And so, when I revealed my decision to my family and friends, I took solace in the great faith of this simple man.

An atheist went on a Buddhist retreat and wound up a Jesuit priest

June 15, 2019

If you had met Fr. Ted Penton, SJ, right before turn of the millennium and told him he’d be ordained a Jesuit priest in 2019, he wouldn’t have believed you.

Ted was an atheist when he decided to go on a retreat at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand while traveling after college. His experience there changed everything, and led him on a path back to the Catholic Church, the spiritual home of his childhood.

Fr. Ted is one of the newest Jesuit priests in the world. He ordination was just a few weeks ago in Toronto, one of the 22 Jesuits set to be ordained to the priesthood this year. In this conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey, Ted opens up about his faith journey, his ordination, and how he went about writing the homily for his first Mass as the presider when the Gospel for the day wasn’t his all-time favorite passage.

Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud.

Salesian Sisters Come and See

Bringing God to the young and the young to God!

March 29-31, 2019

To register: www.salesiansisterscanada.com

Download the poster

Sr. Nathalie Becquart, xav – Witness Interview

Sr. Nathalie Becquart, xav, is a member of the Xavière Missionaries of Christ Jesus, an apostolic religious institute rooted in the spiritual tradition of St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits). Sr. Nathalie is the former Director of the National Service for Youth Evangelization and for Vocations of the Bishops’ Conference of France. She is currently the Vice-President of the European Vocations Service. She acted as one of several coordinators for the Pre-Synod meeting of youth held at the Vatican in March 2018, and has been named as an auditor of the Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment at the Vatican during the month of October 2018.

Retreat for Religious Under 55

For the second consecutive year a retreat was held for those living religious life who are new to their communities and/or 55 ish and under. Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI offered talks and facilitated our reflection time. The 20 young religious in attendance were able to bring their questions and desires to a casual atmosphere that included times of silent prayer, conversation, joy, and laughter over a 5 day period. In an effort to continue to extend support to all of the new and young religious in Canada (and Canadian religious living abroad) there are plans in place for a retreat next year and a new blog for young religious. More details are on their way so please stay tuned!!

Recent Vocations to Religious Life in Canada

We at NAVFD are thrilled to present the final report of the research study, “Recent Vocations to Religious Life in Canada” conducted for us by the Centre for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). We are most grateful to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation for funding this amazing project.

Download the report (Large PDF – 20MB)

Download the appendices (PDF)