“The Bishops of Canada are fully committed to addressing the historical and ongoing trauma caused by the residential school system. In moving forward with our collective financial commitment, we will continue to be guided by the experience and wisdom of Indigenous Peoples across the country.”

Bishop Raymond Poisson
President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB)

Overview

Today, we stand at a crucial time in the life of the Church, and in the history of Canada, as the necessity of healing through love has reached a critical moment. While the Church and Indigenous Peoples have been on a journey towards reconciliation and healing for several years, the recent visit of the Pope reaffirms this objective. Pope Francis stated, “My presence here and the commitment of the Canadian Bishops are a testimony to our will to persevere on this path.”

A Christ-Centred, Co-Journey Towards Healing is the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall’s initiative to raise funds and to enhance the relationship between the Archdiocese and Indigenous Peoples living on the territories it serves. There are more than 40,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples in the Archdiocese. These are the people to whom we are connected geographically and these are the people with whom we want to journey. We also want to fund opportunities that will serve them.

Special Collection

As part of our fundraising efforts, Archbishop Damphousse has created a special collection to support the commitment to Indigenous Peoples.
The first special collection took place on the weekend
of November 5 and 6. However, we continue to accept your donations at all times.

Events

We are in the process of planning several events. Stay tuned for details.