News
Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall
September 2024
The Métis Artists Collective receives a grant to support their Reconciliation Through Art event.
August 2024
Mādahòkì Farm receives a second grant to expand its Mishdatim (Horse) Equine Assisted Learning program.
May 2024
Two of the IRF grant recipients saw their projects come to fruition:
- Student Exchange between Ottawa’s Notre-Dame High School and Fort Providence’s Deh Gáh Secondary School.
- Ahkwesahsne Mohawk Board of Education Cultural Celebration
April 2024
An Evening with Deantha Edmunds: A Concert to Benefit the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (to view the concert go to the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall’s YouTube channel.)
November 2023
Second Special Collection for the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund.
October 2023
Three new projects are approved for grants from the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund.
Walking Together on a Journey Towards Reconciliation. This event, hosted at St. Paul’s University, included a panel discussion on how parishioners, clergy and Indigenous Peoples can engage more closely with one another on the path to Reconciliation. The event was a joint effort of St. Paul’s University and the Archdiocese of Ottawa.
August 2023
Two new projects are approved for grants from the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund.
June 2023
The first three projects are approved for grants from the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund.
April 2023
The Diocesan Reconciliation Committee meets to discuss their Terms of Reference and to create the IRF Application Package.
November 2022
First Special Collection for the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund.
Creation of the Diocesan Reconciliation Committee.
October 2022
Kickoff: A Christ-Centered, Co-Journey Towards Healing – Ottawa-Cornwall’s Fundraising Campaign in Support of Reconciliation.
July 2022
Archbishop Damphousse and Bishop Mathieu accompany two groups of Indigenous pilgrims to Quebec City to see Pope Francis during his trip to Canada. One group represents the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Circle (Ottawa) and the other group represents the Mohawks of Akwesasne from the St. Regis Mission Church Akwesasne.
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
As of October 2024, with your help, the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF) has raised more than $17,000,000, putting the fund on schedule to exceed its five-year $30 million commitment. Visit the IRF website to learn more about projects being funded across Canada.
The Bishops of Canada wanted to acknowledge the continuation of their journey of hope, reconciliation and healing with the Indigenous peoples of our country by offering four letters. Three letters are addressed individually to First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. The fourth letter is addressed to the Catholic faithful in this country.
The content of the letters to Indigenous peoples is rooted in conversations with Indigenous partners and speeches by Pope Francis who invited the bishops to continue to take concrete steps in this process of reconciliation.
The individual letters confirm the bishops’ commitment to Indigenous peoples to:
- Continue the dialogue.
- Fulfill the commitment of the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund ($30 million over five years).
- Support Catholic educational institutions, seminaries and religious houses, as well as programs of pastoral formation in their efforts to foster a greater understanding of Indigenous cultural, linguistic, and spiritual traditions.
- Work together with local community leaders to address social challenges, including addictions, suicide, violence, poverty and incarceration.
- Provide accompaniment in the quest for justice in the spirit of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Catholic Social Teaching.
- Stand in solidarity with the Indigenous in the stewardship of Creation, our common home.
- Share an appreciation of respect for the spiritual wisdom of elders.
The letter to the Catholic faithful:
This letter is an invitation from the Bishops of Canada to all members of the Catholic Church in Canada to join them in continuing efforts at reconciliation and healing.