Dear faithful,

I would like to thank-you for your prayers over the past week. The Motu Proprio of Pope Francis took us all by surprise but things at St. Clement’s are proceeding as per usual. We are fortunate to have an Archbishop who is understanding and supportive of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. The US and Canadian Bishops have been largely supportive of the FSSP and seem to be generally taking the stance that the new Motu Proprio is not directly dealing with Societies of Apostolic Life like ours. However, let us continue to pray that our apostolates be secure. I would invite you to pray especially to St. Joseph, who has been named special Patron of the North American Province of the FSSP.

You may remember that I was away in the United States for a special meeting of the FSSP in Pennsylvania. At this meeting the North American District of the FSSP was elevated to the status of a Province. At the parish level, FSSP communities will not see much change. The differences will primarily be administrative: a Provincial Superior has ordinary power, whereas a District Superior does not. The Province will be able to handle things such as priest assignments, without having to refer them up to the Superior General. Overall, it makes the administration of the FSSP in North America operate locally through the principle of subsidiarity. This change is a great testament to the growth of the FSSP in North America, especially at a time when many religious orders are consolidating existing provinces rather than forming new ones.

Fr. William Lawrence, FSSP has been named our first Provincial. He has been priest for many years with much experience in teaching at the seminary. He was also a former pastor of our parish in the Diocese of St. Catharine’s and so is a bit more familiar with the needs of Canada. Fr. Deprey has been appointed “Delegate for Canada”, a sort of regional superior working on behalf of the Provincial. This will entail more work for me. The Province has also divided the territory into regions with Deans overseeing the needs of priests in a grouping of apostolates.

While our new Provincial wants to see the FSSP grow, he is also conscious of the need for more priests in our present apostolates, as we are a bit short staffed. We currently have 12 priests working alone, which is not good for the priest. The FSSP emphasizes community prayer and community life in our rule. Please pray that we have more ordinations to the priesthood so that those who are alone can get an assistant soon.

I have some sad news to report – it has now been confirmed that Fr. Breton is being transferred to Québec City. He is to begin his new assignment on August 1st. I would like to thank him for all his years of hard work at St. Clement’s. It has truly been a blessing to have him as an assistant. Fr. Breton’s dedication to parishioners of all ages, whether it be in terms of sick calls, confessions, activities with youth, has been outstanding. Despite all the hard work and the crunch of time management he always seems to keep his peaceful smile and energy. He will be sorely missed by both the priests and parishioners. We wish him God’s blessings and promise him our prayers as he takes on his new assignment.

Unfortunately our Superiors are unable to send us a replacement priest at this time. So there will be only two priests at St. Clement’s for the next while. Please understand that this will mean some modifications to our schedule so that the priests can pace themselves and so attend to all of our duties. At the same time please pray that, if a priest does become available somehow, that our Superiors send him to St. Clement’s as a 2nd assistant.

As we approach the Feast of St. Ann, a co-patroness of our parish, let us entrust all of our needs to the Lord through her intercession. St. Ann, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus, is patroness of unmarried women, housewives, women in labour or who seek pregnancy, grandmothers, mothers and educators. She is also a patroness of horseback riders, cabinet-makers and miners. As the mother of Mary, this devotion to Saint Anne as the patron of miners arises from the medieval comparison between Mary and Christ and the precious metals silver and gold. Anne’s womb was considered the source from which these precious metals came. Saint Anne is also said to be a patron saint of sailors and a protector from storms. She will undoubtedly assist us in the storms of life, if we beseech her intercession.

Saint Ann, pray for us!

Be assured also of our prayers.

God bless,

Fr. Erik Deprey, FSSP
Pastor
St. Clement Parish