Parish News
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE:
EPCOR has started doing drainage work in the alley behind the rectory and in the parking lot next to the rectory. It is expected to take 10-14 days.
While this work is done, there will be no access to the alley behind the church or to the south parking area at all.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Temporary Road Closure
We have been informed that there will be a temporary road closure that will affect 113 Street on Saturday, January 25, and Sunday, January 26.
Dates: January 25 & 26
Time: 7:00 am to 5:00 pm
Location: Between Jasper Avenue and 100 Avenue on 113 Street from 100 Avenue extending 65 metres North
During the closure period, no vehicular traffic will be allowed on the specified section of 113 Street. 112 Street is a recommended alternate route.
Pedestrian access will be maintained during the closure and emergency vehicles will be allowed access if needed.
Faith CaFE
Our parish will resume Faith CaFE on Sunday, January 26, 2025.
For those of you who have not attended a Faith CaFE yet, CaFE stands for Catholic Faith Exploration. CaFE helps adults between ages 18-106 years to learn about our faith together in a relaxed, welcoming 'café'-style atmosphere.
Our next series is called Believe: Reflections on the Nicene Creed. You will find pamphlets in the pews listing the topics and dates for the sessions in this 6-week series. Each Sunday you will see a short video and then discuss what you’ve seen and heard with other adults. The series will begin on January 26 in the O’Leary Hall, after the 12:30 Mass, and it will continue for the subsequent six weeks at the same time, in the same place. We promise that we will be finished by 3:30 PM each week, so that you can get to your Sunday dinner on time! Please consider joining us on January 26!
Jubilee Year 2025
The Vatican announced that diocesan Holy Doors will not be featured in the 2025 Jubilee. The Holy Doors of cathedrals around the world that pilgrims passed through during the special Jubilee of Mercy in 2015-16 were an innovation of Pope Francis.
For the Holy Year 2025, the pope is returning to the tradition of having Holy Doors only at the Vatican and in Rome. Even though there are no Holy Doors in cathedrals, you can still make a prayerful visit to the cathedral. These visits are called pilgrimages and can be a way to virtually pass through the Holy Doors.
The cross-installed near the altar area will remain there on display for veneration until the close of the Holy Year in 2026, a sign “that the cross of Christ is a firm anchor of hope.”
In the Archdiocese of Edmonton, Catholics will have a number of opportunities to embark on the “Pilgrimage of Hope”. The Jubilee webpage, caedm.ca/jubilee, will have various links, resources and information about the Jubilee throughout the year.
National tour brings relics of Canadian Martyrs to Edmonton
For the first time ever, the major relics of the Canadian Martyrs are travelling across Canada from the Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, ON. Accompanying them is the relic of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Indigenous North American saint. The tour schedule can be downloaded here.
Date: January 22, 2025
Locations: Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples & Corpus Christi Parish
Times:
Sacred Heart of the First Peoples:
9:00 am - 9:30 am - Mass
9:30 am - 12:00 pm - Veneration of Relics and Healing Service
Corpus Christi:
2:00 pm - 5:30 pm - Veneration of Relics
3:00 pm - 5:30 pm - Sacrament of Reconciliation
5:30 pm - 6:00 pm - Mass, Votive Mass to the Canadian Martyrs
6:15 pm - 7:00 pm - Talk by Fr. John O'Brien, Martyrs' Shrine Director
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Veneration of Relics
Pilgrims who participate in the Relic Tour at either parish can receive the Jubilee Indulgence, if they meet the requirements.
For more information, visit the Relic Tour Website here.
Basilica Seniors Group
Our next gathering will be on Wednesday, February 12, after the noon mass. Please call the office at (780) 488-7295 to register so we can prepare enough food for the number of people attending.
Sacramental preparation
First reconciliation and communion:
Registration is now open for First Reconciliation and First Communion for children age 8 and up. The deadline for registration is February 14, 2025. Registration forms are available through the Basilica office. Parents will need to provide their children's Baptismal Certificates. The cost is $60.00 for materials.
Preparation classes will begin March 1, 2025, for 4 weekly sessions, with First Reconciliation taking place on Saturday, April 12, 2025, and First Communion taking place on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at the 5:00 pm mass.
Confirmation:
Registration is now open for Confirmation. The deadline for registration is April 11, 2025. Registration forms are available through the Basilica office. Parents will need to provide their children's Baptismal and First Communion/Reconciliation Certificates. The cost is $30.00 for materials.
Preparation classes will begin May 3, 2025, for 4 weekly sessions. The Sacrament will be celebrated on Sunday, June 1, 2025, at the 10:30 am mass.
Our Sacramental Preparation is only available to registered parishioners of St. Joseph’s Basilica. To sign your child up for their Sacraments, please call the office at 780-488-7295 or email basilica.info@caedm.ca.
Bulletin Boards & Pamphlet Holders
Any items being posted on the bulletin boards in the church or the pamphlet area at the rear of the nave must be approved by Father Joseph and be stamped by the office. Any items that are not approved will be removed.
FORMED Subscription
St. Joseph’s Basilica has purchased a parish subscription to FORMED for our parishioners.
What is FORMED? Often described as “Netflix for Catholics”, it is an On-Demand platform that has Catholic movies, audio books, podcasts and more.
To access FORMED, go to formed.org, then click on Formed for Parishes, followed by Find Your Parish Subscription. Enter our Postal Code - T5K 1N8 (be sure to have a space entered in the middle) and select our parish, St. Joseph. You will be prompted to enter your name and email address and that’s it, you can enjoy all the programming it has to offer.
Communion for Sick & Homebound
If you or a family member is ill or cannot make it to mass in person, we do have a ministry that will take communion to people. Please call the office to request a visit.
Pastoral Priority Launch
Worship, Witness, and Service – these are the foundational pillars for our diocese, as identified by Archbishop Richard Smith in his pastoral letter Living in the Word.
Growing as a synodal and pastoral Church, we are translating these pillars into action through our 2024-2027 Pastoral Priorities. “Be It Done: Living in the Word” is the theme.
What are the Pastoral Priorities?
Over the next three years, we will draw inspiration from Mary, our patroness, whose life exemplifies Worship, Witness, and Service. Guided by the Blessed Mother’s life and vocation, our pastoral priorities are:
· Formation for Eucharistic Worship: We are a faith community that joyfully celebrates and better understands the Eucharist.
· Formation for Confident Witness: We are a faith community that is confident in proclaiming the Great Commission to spread the Good News of the Gospel within our respective vocations, professions, and communities.
· Formation for Service to Families and Marriage: We are a faith community that accompanies families, fully recognizing the centrality of marriage and family in God’s plan.
Learn more at caedm.ca/pastoralpriorities
Safety Concerns
We have received concerns regarding persons panhandling around the church and by the parking area. These are vulnerable folks who require help, however, giving them money only increases the risks for them, ourselves, and our fellow parishioners. We have witnessed them later in an intoxicated state and they may require medical assistance, cause a nuisance in and around the church, or worse! Safety of our parishioners, visitors, and staff is our priority and we recommend you refrain from assisting these individuals with money. Thank you for your cooperation.
Respect for our beautiful Basilica
Recently, there has been an increase in the amount of garbage left in the church pews and on the floor following masses. Our employees have been regularly gathering up disposable cups, candy and gum wrappers and other types of refuse.
There are trash containers by the Holy Water fonts and at the rear of the Narthex for your use. Please leave any trash you have in the containers on your way out.
If we all cooperate and show respect for our Basilica, it will remain a beautiful and tranquil location for many years to come.
loading zone reminder
A few months ago we had a 15 minute loading zone installed in front of the sidewalk leading to the accessibility door to better accommodate parishioners with mobility issues. This zone is for drop off and pick up of passengers ONLY! Frequently, parishioners try to park in the two hour zone in front of the church or office, but only a small part of their vehicle is in the parking area and the rest is in the loading zone. If your vehicle does not completely fit between the parking signs, you are likely blocking the loading zone. Please be courteous to your fellow parishioners who require the use of the zone and park in designated parking areas or in the lot across the street. Thank you for your cooperation!
Church Etiquette
As Catholics, there are certain guidelines we must follow to ensure we receive the sacraments validly and to simply respect our beautiful Basilica. When attending mass, it is proper to do the following:
· Arrive early to ensure you are properly settled and ready to worship God. If you are arriving during or after the homily, you are late and will disrupt those that arrived on time.
· Dress modestly and appropriately before the Lord. Men and boys, kindly remove hats, toques, etc.
· Make the Sign of the Cross with holy water upon entering the Church.
· Fasting is an obligation for a minimum of 1 hour prior to mass, except medicine, water or if someone is ill and needs to eat.
· Please do not bring any food or beverages into the sacred space of our Basilica. Chewing gum is also considered impolite.
· Turn your cell phone off or to silent mode.
· Say Amen before receiving the Body of Christ. Amen means 'it is true' or 'let it be so'.
It is important that all Catholics who are receiving Communion respond with ONLY “Amen” and not “Thank You”.
· If you receive communion in your hand, consume the host immediately. Do not take it back to your pew.
· Refrain from conversations in the Nave of the Church, they are disruptive to those who are trying to pray.
· Don’t exit the church until after the final song and after the priest has completed the recessional procession.
Organ Renewal Project
The Organ Renewal Project is now reaching its culmination, and we give thanks to Almighty God for all the generosity, creativity and hard work that has gone into this 7-year project.
We have managed to address all 3 stages
1. Restoration of our original gallery organ;
2. Installation of a new chancel organ;
3. Enlargement of the gallery organ of the full project with
only some minor revisions to the third and final stage.
We now possess two flexible instruments - a unique scenario in Western Canada. Both organs work independently or are playable together by just one organist. This new set-up is excellent for our needs as a metropolitan cathedral-basilica and puts us in an advantageous position for the next 50+ years, allowing for all our liturgical needs with both cantors and choirs, and allowing improved use for concerts of sacred music.
Throughout the process, we have published updates on the various stages of the project, including the financial cost of such a massive undertaking. Organs are an excellent way of permanently memorializing loved ones. Our Casavant gallery organ is the Archdiocesan memorial to the fallen of both World Wars, and paid for by many individual donations in 1963 on behalf of lost loved ones. In 2017, an anonymous donor gifted the Basilica $300,000 to restore and upgrade the existing gallery, covering the costs for stage 1. At the completion of that first stage in 2021, a further donor kindly gifted $200,000 in memory of a beloved grandfather for the second (and a greatly reduced third) stage, which enabled us to purchase a second-hand Casavant instrument. We are indebted to all these benefactors for their generosity stemming from a desire to inspire beautiful music to enhance our Catholic worship and cultural witness. These donations have enabled us to realize our musical vision.
In order to complete the wooden casework and conceal the visible pipes and organ mechanisms, an additional $150,000 needs to be raised. Please consider making a donation today to support this endeavor. Thank you for your continued generosity and support.
Our heartfelt thanks to parishioners and friends who continue to support the parish. Your support is essential to us as we continue our mission.
To make an e-transfer email SJB.etransfer@caedm.ca or click the button below to donate.
