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Historic parish in Toronto Archdiocese to finally break ground on new church #Catholic After well over a decade of prayer, planning, and perseverance, a historic parish in the Archdiocese of Toronto, St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario,  Canada, will officially break ground on its new church May 24.For many, the project’s next — and most important — step marks a joyous continuation of a dream long held by generations of parishioners and clergy alike.Celebrations will take place on Pentecost Sunday with Mass at the current St. Patrick’s Church, followed by a procession to the new site located at 150 Martin Byrne Dr. for the formal blessing and groundbreaking ceremony. There, Toronto Auxiliary Bishop Ivan Camilleri will preside, joined by parishioners, major donors, local mayors, and councillors. The day will conclude with a festive barbecue, live music, games, and family activities back at St. Patrick’s.Monsignor Owen Keenan, pastor of St. Patrick’s, the archdiocese’s second-oldest parish, said the long-awaited moment is deeply meaningful for all. He spoke to Canadaʼs The Catholic Register about the parish communityʼs vision for a larger church, dating back to the 1980s, with planning truly intensifying in 2015 under the late Father Vito Marziliano. Unfortunately, misfortune befell the project even in its earliest stages.“ First, our architect Renzo Pianon died at 47, and then COVID hit us hard with the drop in attendance and various fundraising challenges before Father Vito left us far too young,” Keenan said. “There were moments of asking what is next? How much more can the community endure?”Still, the community persisted through Marziliano’s Loaves and Fishes Campaign — a project solely dedicated to St. Patrick’s mission of building a new, larger church property to serve a growing local population. A rendering of the front of the new St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Construction on the new church is scheduled to begin May 24, 2026. | Credit: Screenshot from St. Patrick promo video Speaking to The Catholic Register in October 2025, Keenan revealed that the City of Brampton, Region of Peel, and the City of Caledon anticipated an increase of between 50,000 to 60,000 people within the confines of the parish in the next 15 to 20 years. He also shared the growing interest from parishioners — and pledges of million to be paid upon the start of construction and an additional million in bequests from an anonymous parishioner and an area business, respectively.While the community has continued to rally behind the cause — including a promising showing and fundraising efforts at last year’s gala in October —Keenan concedes that a sense of restlessness has been creeping in.“ Weʼve managed to maintain and reestablish a good level of fundraising after COVID, but weʼve run out of runway — people are only going to throw money at a question mark for so long. Thus far, we have around 0,000 worth of new donations already, with more expected as we go and as we break ground,” he said.In total, the project has amassed several million dollars for the project.Despite the impressive figures, Keenan reiterated that rising prices have played a role in the project’s delay. Even as the market shows itʼs a good time to build, a 32,000-square-foot project in 2018 was estimated to cost .9 million, but by 2024, a reduced 28,000-square-foot building was estimated to cost as much as .5 million, leading the parish to scale its operation back from wants to needs.Still, the new church itself is set to be Marziliano’s swan song and become something truly unique as his original vision promised.“He was quite an artist, and so the design for the new church will be based on a 19th-century reconstruction of a sixth-century church in the Holy Land, specifically the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish in Tabgha, Israel,” Keenan said.The extensive project involves building a bigger version that remains faithful to the original design, complete with a traditional Romanesque style, rounded apse, cruciform shape, and pillars up the aisles.Now, the project that required a true test of the communityʼs resiliency, patience, and faith will reach its most defining moment with May 24’s first dig.Looking back on the multigenerational effort, Keenan is grateful for the patience and steadfast support of parishioners who have sacrificed for this new church over a decade.“ We are all very excited, and I canʼt say enough about the good people of this parish who have been wanting this for so long. There are lots of good people for whom weʼre enormously grateful,” he said.“We want a place for families who are stressed to be able to come together to appeal to the Lord. Letʼs find our identity in Christ, as St. Paul says, and letʼs truly rejoice together.”This story was first published in Canadaʼs The Catholic Register and has been adapted by EWTN News. It is reprinted here with permission.
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Historic parish in Toronto Archdiocese to finally break ground on new church #Catholic After well over a decade of prayer, planning, and perseverance, a historic parish in the Archdiocese of Toronto, St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario,  Canada, will officially break ground on its new church May 24.For many, the project’s next — and most important — step marks a joyous continuation of a dream long held by generations of parishioners and clergy alike.Celebrations will take place on Pentecost Sunday with Mass at the current St. Patrick’s Church, followed by a procession to the new site located at 150 Martin Byrne Dr. for the formal blessing and groundbreaking ceremony. There, Toronto Auxiliary Bishop Ivan Camilleri will preside, joined by parishioners, major donors, local mayors, and councillors. The day will conclude with a festive barbecue, live music, games, and family activities back at St. Patrick’s.Monsignor Owen Keenan, pastor of St. Patrick’s, the archdiocese’s second-oldest parish, said the long-awaited moment is deeply meaningful for all. He spoke to Canadaʼs The Catholic Register about the parish communityʼs vision for a larger church, dating back to the 1980s, with planning truly intensifying in 2015 under the late Father Vito Marziliano. Unfortunately, misfortune befell the project even in its earliest stages.“ First, our architect Renzo Pianon died at 47, and then COVID hit us hard with the drop in attendance and various fundraising challenges before Father Vito left us far too young,” Keenan said. “There were moments of asking what is next? How much more can the community endure?”Still, the community persisted through Marziliano’s Loaves and Fishes Campaign — a project solely dedicated to St. Patrick’s mission of building a new, larger church property to serve a growing local population. A rendering of the front of the new St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Construction on the new church is scheduled to begin May 24, 2026. | Credit: Screenshot from St. Patrick promo video Speaking to The Catholic Register in October 2025, Keenan revealed that the City of Brampton, Region of Peel, and the City of Caledon anticipated an increase of between 50,000 to 60,000 people within the confines of the parish in the next 15 to 20 years. He also shared the growing interest from parishioners — and pledges of $1 million to be paid upon the start of construction and an additional $1 million in bequests from an anonymous parishioner and an area business, respectively.While the community has continued to rally behind the cause — including a promising showing and fundraising efforts at last year’s gala in October —Keenan concedes that a sense of restlessness has been creeping in.“ Weʼve managed to maintain and reestablish a good level of fundraising after COVID, but weʼve run out of runway — people are only going to throw money at a question mark for so long. Thus far, we have around $350,000 worth of new donations already, with more expected as we go and as we break ground,” he said.In total, the project has amassed several million dollars for the project.Despite the impressive figures, Keenan reiterated that rising prices have played a role in the project’s delay. Even as the market shows itʼs a good time to build, a 32,000-square-foot project in 2018 was estimated to cost $12.9 million, but by 2024, a reduced 28,000-square-foot building was estimated to cost as much as $26.5 million, leading the parish to scale its operation back from wants to needs.Still, the new church itself is set to be Marziliano’s swan song and become something truly unique as his original vision promised.“He was quite an artist, and so the design for the new church will be based on a 19th-century reconstruction of a sixth-century church in the Holy Land, specifically the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish in Tabgha, Israel,” Keenan said.The extensive project involves building a bigger version that remains faithful to the original design, complete with a traditional Romanesque style, rounded apse, cruciform shape, and pillars up the aisles.Now, the project that required a true test of the communityʼs resiliency, patience, and faith will reach its most defining moment with May 24’s first dig.Looking back on the multigenerational effort, Keenan is grateful for the patience and steadfast support of parishioners who have sacrificed for this new church over a decade.“ We are all very excited, and I canʼt say enough about the good people of this parish who have been wanting this for so long. There are lots of good people for whom weʼre enormously grateful,” he said.“We want a place for families who are stressed to be able to come together to appeal to the Lord. Letʼs find our identity in Christ, as St. Paul says, and letʼs truly rejoice together.”This story was first published in Canadaʼs The Catholic Register and has been adapted by EWTN News. It is reprinted here with permission.

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St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario, is bursting at the seams. Now, on May 24, it will break ground on its long-awaited new church.

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Punk legend Patti Smith, Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao to represent Vatican at Venice Biennale #Catholic For the fourth consecutive year, the Holy See will have its own pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in Italy.The Dicastery for Culture and Education announced the participation of several influential figures in contemporary art and culture — including American singer Patti Smith and Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao — in the Holy See Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, which will be held May 9 through Nov. 22.This edition of the Italian cultural event, titled “In Minor Keys,” is a sensory and meditative experience that seeks to reconnect participants with the emotional and affective roles of art in society.In a press release, the Dicastery for Culture and Education announced the 24 artists who will form part of the Holy See’s selection this year, reflecting the eventʼs concept for 2026, which invites visitors to slow down the pace of life and open up spaces for reflection and silence.This edition is marked by the unexpected death in May 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, of its curator, Koyo Kouoh, a Cameroonian-Swiss artist globally recognized as one of the most powerful voices in the promotion of contemporary African art.Patti Smith is popularly known as the “Godmother of Punk.” Her 1975 debut album “Horses” marked a turning point in New York punk by fusing rock and poetry.The prestigious Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, internationally renowned for her humanist and social approach to architecture, will also participate in the project. She designed the pavilion for the 2025 Venice Biennale, a project titled “Opera Aperta” (“Open Work”), which received a special mention from the jury.Inspired by a medieval saintInspired by the life and spiritual legacy of St. Hildegard of Bingen, the Holy See’s pavilion as explained by the Vatican is conceived as a space for contemplation and deep listening. Titled “L’orecchio è l’occhio dell’anima” (“The Ear Is the Eye of the Soul”), the pavilion will be hosted across two historic venues in the city: Cannaregio and Castello. St. Hildegard of Bingen. | Credit: Haffitt (CC BY-SA 4.0) It has been curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers in collaboration with the Soundwalk Collective and draws upon the life and spiritual legacy of St. Hildegard, a 12th-century Benedictine nun, mystic, composer, and thinker who was proclaimed a saint and doctor of the Church in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.The works commissioned from the participating artists are conceived as a “sonic prayer”: an art form that unites music, spoken word, film, and silence, and invites the visitor to an experience of contemplative listening.As explained by the Vatican, the proposal reflects a curatorial vision that conceives of sound as a path to inner knowledge and spiritual experience, reviving a central insight of the thought of Hildegard of Bingen.The project is curated by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Punk legend Patti Smith, Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao to represent Vatican at Venice Biennale #Catholic For the fourth consecutive year, the Holy See will have its own pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in Italy.The Dicastery for Culture and Education announced the participation of several influential figures in contemporary art and culture — including American singer Patti Smith and Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao — in the Holy See Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, which will be held May 9 through Nov. 22.This edition of the Italian cultural event, titled “In Minor Keys,” is a sensory and meditative experience that seeks to reconnect participants with the emotional and affective roles of art in society.In a press release, the Dicastery for Culture and Education announced the 24 artists who will form part of the Holy See’s selection this year, reflecting the eventʼs concept for 2026, which invites visitors to slow down the pace of life and open up spaces for reflection and silence.This edition is marked by the unexpected death in May 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, of its curator, Koyo Kouoh, a Cameroonian-Swiss artist globally recognized as one of the most powerful voices in the promotion of contemporary African art.Patti Smith is popularly known as the “Godmother of Punk.” Her 1975 debut album “Horses” marked a turning point in New York punk by fusing rock and poetry.The prestigious Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, internationally renowned for her humanist and social approach to architecture, will also participate in the project. She designed the pavilion for the 2025 Venice Biennale, a project titled “Opera Aperta” (“Open Work”), which received a special mention from the jury.Inspired by a medieval saintInspired by the life and spiritual legacy of St. Hildegard of Bingen, the Holy See’s pavilion as explained by the Vatican is conceived as a space for contemplation and deep listening. Titled “L’orecchio è l’occhio dell’anima” (“The Ear Is the Eye of the Soul”), the pavilion will be hosted across two historic venues in the city: Cannaregio and Castello. St. Hildegard of Bingen. | Credit: Haffitt (CC BY-SA 4.0) It has been curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers in collaboration with the Soundwalk Collective and draws upon the life and spiritual legacy of St. Hildegard, a 12th-century Benedictine nun, mystic, composer, and thinker who was proclaimed a saint and doctor of the Church in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.The works commissioned from the participating artists are conceived as a “sonic prayer”: an art form that unites music, spoken word, film, and silence, and invites the visitor to an experience of contemplative listening.As explained by the Vatican, the proposal reflects a curatorial vision that conceives of sound as a path to inner knowledge and spiritual experience, reviving a central insight of the thought of Hildegard of Bingen.The project is curated by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

The exhibition by the Dicastery for Culture and Education features the work of contemporary artists in various fields, inspired by the life and spiritual legacy of St. Hildegard of Bingen.

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Picture of the day Fortified city of Carcassonne during the blue hour, France. Founded during the Gallo-Roman period, the citadel derives its reputation from its 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long double surrounding walls interspersed by 52 towers. The medieval citadel, situated on a hill on the right bank of the river Aude, was restored at the end of the 19th century by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In 1997, it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites because of its exceptional testimony to the architecture and planning of a medieval fortress town. #ImageOfTheDay
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Picture of the day Fortified city of Carcassonne during the blue hour, France. Founded during the Gallo-Roman period, the citadel derives its reputation from its 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long double surrounding walls interspersed by 52 towers. The medieval citadel, situated on a hill on the right bank of the river Aude, was restored at the end of the 19th century by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In 1997, it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites because of its exceptional testimony to the architecture and planning of a medieval fortress town. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Fortified city of Carcassonne during the blue hour, France. Founded during the Gallo-Roman period, the citadel derives its reputation from its 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long double surrounding walls interspersed by 52 towers. The medieval citadel, situated on a hill on the right bank of the river Aude, was restored at the end of the 19th century by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In 1997, it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites because of its exceptional testimony to the architecture and planning of a medieval fortress town.
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