Updates, initiatives, and resources shared during Admin Day 2025

By Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News

Parish representatives, pastors, and ministry leaders from across the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon gathered Sept. 18 for an annual Administration Day featuring updates, themes, and needed information for the year ahead.

Bishop Mark Hagemoen provided an overview of the diocesan mission and vision for this year, which continues to reflect that of the diocesan Pastoral Plan: “To Proclaim Christ and God’s Kingdom Today” and “To have the same mind and heart as Christ Jesus” (Phil.2:5).

The bishop reflected on the past year in the universal Catholic Church — in particular the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday and the election of Pope Leo XIV. In a time of terrible war in many parts of the world, Pope Leo’s opening words: “peace be with all of you” resonate in a particular powerful way, Hagemoen said.

Further to this year’s Jubilee 2025 theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” he noted the diocesan young adult Jubilee pilgrimage to Rome in May, and the local response to summer pilgrimages in our own diocese this year.

As for the year ahead, the bishop stressed that beginning with the first priority of the diocesan plan “to draw people into deeper intimacy with the Lord,” the ministries and programs undertaken by the diocese in 2025-26 will also continue to focus on making every Sunday matter, building and supporting family and community, encouraging all the baptized to embrace their priestly mission, promoting ongoing healing and conversion, and moving from maintenance to mission in everything, including administration.

Other themes this year will include synodality, with the implementation phase of the Synod on Synodality underway around the world, including in our diocese, he said, with a local committee chaired by Fr. Joseph Salihu, and plans for further discussion by the Diocesan Pastoral Council and at Clergy Study Days later this fall.

Synodality — with its focus on being led by the Holy Spirit on a path of unity, listening, communion, and co-responsibility — has the potential to be an antidote to the terrible divisions, polarization and conflicts in our world,  said Hagemoen, noting that many in our world and in our communities are struggling in today’s tough times.

“The Jubilee Year and the Synod inspire and urge us to move beyond slogans and assumptions, to really being present and in-relationship with one another,” the bishop said, adding that this also continues to resonate with the ongoing work of truth and reconciliation in the diocese and across the country.

Bishop’s Annual Appeal

Administration Day again included information about the diocesan fund-raising Bishop’s Annual Appeal, scheduled to launch in parishes across the diocese on Sept. 25 in support of a wide range of diocesan ministries and programs.

In conjunction with the dicoesan Admin Day, the Diocese of Saskatoon Catholic Foundation hosted a breakfast meeting to introduce this year’s BAA to pastors, parish leaders, and parish BAA coordinators.

Foundation Executive Director Raissa Bugyi announced the 2025 theme “Pilgrims of Hope: Rooted in Prayer and Mission” and gave an overview of resources for parishes to use in introducing the Appeal to parishioners, including a video (LINK) highlighting the BAA’s impact, which was also shown later as part of Bugyi’s presentation during the Administration Day program.

Opening of Administration Day

Administration Day itself began with a welcome from MC Greg Chatlain, Director of Administration and Finance for the diocese, a land acknowlegment by Ferdinand Gemoh, Parish Life Director for Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, and an opening prayer by Daniel Pettipas, Coordinator of Evangelization and Adult Faith Formation at Saint Anne Parish in Saskatoon, which included a Lectio Divine reflection on a scripture passage about hope in God: Lamentations 3: 21-25.

Welcome to new priests and staff

Bishop Mark Hagemoen welcomed all to the annual gathering, and introduced newly-arrived priests and staff to those assembled, including Fr. Isaac Mensah, who is serving as pastor at St. John Bosco in Saskatoon and St. Francis Xavier in Vanscoy, as well as  parochial vicar (associate pastor) at St. Mary Parish, Saskatoon; Fr. Frank Offin-Sekyere, who is serving as parochial vicar (associate pastor) at parishes in Humboldt, Pilger, Burr, and Muenster; and Fr. Tekie Kidane Michael, who is serving the Saskatoon Eritrean Catholic community at St. Paul Co-Cathedral, with a future assignment to be announced.

New parish staff since last year welcomed at Admin Day include:

• St. Augustine, Humboldt – Melissa Stockbrugger-Knaus, pastoral associate;
• Little Flower, Leader – Stephane Talon, bookkeeper;
• Holy Spirit, Saskatoon – Wendy Lepage, baptism coordinator; Mike Ward, custodian;
• Saint Anne Saskatoon – Hannah Levesque, children’s ministry;
• St. John Bosco, Saskatoon – Gaitane Giasson, office administrator; Amanda Chan, pastoral associate;
• St. Joseph, Saskatoon – Paula Hudec, administrative assistant;
• St. Mary, Saskatoon – Jennifer Nunes, coordinator of outreach and mission;
• St. Paul Co-Cathedral, Saskatoon – Carmen Kolla, financial administrator; Michael Raney, music coordinator; Liz Roth, marriage preparation coordinator; Sr. Peter Mary, pastoral associate;
• St. Peter the Apostle, Saskatoon – Lea Mariano, secretary/bookkeeper;
• St. James, Wilkie – Lynn Christiansen, office administrator.

New Catholic Pastoral Centre staff since the 2024 Admin Day were also introduced, including:

Evangelization and Catechesis / Family Life

Adult Faith Coordinator Astrid Alas provided an overview of upcoming adult faith “Awaken” events, including a fall session on Tuesdays in October about the Creed, with speakers Fr. Gerard Cooper, Sr. Malou Tibayan, Fr. Joe-Nelo Penino, and Sr. Mirasol Abala, and a winter session on the “Art of Listening.”

Adult faith “Encounter” retreats will be held in Advent (“Rejoice”) and in Lent (“Man of Sorrows”), she noted.

Rural Catechesis

Connecting with catechists in the diocese’s many parishes outside the city of Saskatoon is the focus for the diocesan Rural Catechesis Office, explained new coordinator Quin Kleiboer.

“My job is to help plant the seed of God’s love and help it find good soil,” he said.

In October, Kleiboer will launch an online “Catechist Connection” gathering to be held monthly, with two times offered: noon to 1 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The goal of the one-hour digital gathering is to build community and share insights and ideas among catechists across the diocese, as well as to discuss topics relevant to this important ministry of faith formation for all ages.

“I am willing and able to offer catechist training in parishes and parish mentorship in renewal efforts,” Kleiboer told the assembly, adding that his office also has resources for sacramental preparation.

Hospital Chaplaincy

Coordinator of Hospital Chaplaincy Jacqueline Saretsky introduced the priests who are specifically assigned to hospital chaplaincy in the diocese of Saskatoon:

• Fr. Benedict Arakkal (full-time hospital chaplain “whose parishes are Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital”)
• Fr. Daniel Louh (part-time hospital chaplain at St. Paul Hospital and to cover other hospitals as needed)
• Msgr. Don Vito Pavilando (who presides at the 4 p.m. Sunday Mass at St. Paul’s Hospital and assist with ministries on Sundays).

Saretsky reported that the Saskatchewan Health Authority has created a new Memorandum of Understanding about spiritual care in hospitals, creating a new partnership for the diocese and parishes with the SHA.

The SHA Volunteer Services department has re-instated the “spiritual care question” when a patient is admitted into the hospital, which was dropped a number of years ago, she added. “Thankfully, they are starting to acknowledge that denominational chaplains are in the hospitals, and that we are there to help support patients,” Saretsky said, noting that right now the question requesting spiritual care does not apply to those admitted through the Emergency Department. “They are working on getting the nurses oriented to asking that question when a patient gets admitted to the floor, so we are making progress.”

Saretsky also reported on the development of new resources, including an information pamphlet on the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick that has been distributed to hospitals and long-term care facilities to assist people in understanding the sacrament, and when it might be received — for instance, not just at the point of death.

A second project underway is the creation of a pamphlet by the Catholic Health Association of Saskatchewan (CHAS) entitled “Accompaniment through serious illness: A guide to conversations on death and dying.” CHAS is currently developing the resource with input from across the province, responding to “the problem of lack of (spiritual care) volunteers, because people are afraid to talk to people about dying: they don’t know how,” said Saretsky.

“This pamphlet is a conversation guide that has the goal of providing perspective and direction about how to enter into difficult conversations about suffering and death,” she said, adding that its purpose is not to catechize people and it does not specifically address assisted suicide/ euthanasia.

“The brochure is specifically focused on the tendency of individuals to try and ‘fix’ people, or to avoid emotionally-charged conversations about suffering and death, and it aims to point them toward helpful responses that can translate into supportive actions,” she said. “It is also meant to encourage people to become more comfortable talking about death and dying, and help alleviate the fear of the unknown.”

“If there were more of us accompanying people at the end of life, there may be less people contemplating ‘MAiD’ (medically-provided death) out of fear and lonliness,” she said. The target group for this pamphlet will be the ordinary person, she added, noting that it will “all be grounded in the passion of Christ.”

Saretsky also gave an update on the ongoing effort to offer the Catholic toolkit “Horizons of Hope” about palliative care and end-of life, including a workshop at St. Patrick, Saskatoon Sept. 27.

Prison Ministry

Diane Anderson, coordinator of the diocesan Office of Restorative Ministry, who provides outreach to men at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre, spoke about a new initiative by Saint Anne Parish in Saskatoon to offer the Rescue Project at the prison.

“I’ve been in prison ministry now almost 20 years, and I’m always looking for new projects,” said Anderson, listing such initiatives as Return to Spirit, one-to-one meetings with inmates, spiritual days at the Correctional Centre for over 600 inmate (a number which is growing). Anderson than invited Daniel Pettipas to come forward to speak about the latest program being offered by volunteers.

 

As parish Coordinator of Evangelization and Adult Faith Formation, Pettipas has been involved with running the Rescue Project program at Saint Anne Parish. A parishioner who had recently joined the church (and who was greatly impacted by the Rescue Project himself), suggested taking the program to the prison.

“I messaged Dianne and before we knew it we were taking the project to the Saskatoon Correctional Centre,” he said. “We are really happy to be there.”

Pettipas had never done prison ministry before, but supported by Anderson, a small team of four went in to present the video-based program to men at the Correctional Centre. “The guys who come down for the Rescue Project have made us feel so welcome, and so loved. There is a brotherhood there that I wasn’t expecting. There is a real sense of community,” he said.

“There is something about the content of the Rescue Project that is really resonating with these guys,” noted Pettipas. “There is a message of hope in the Rescue Project… that Jesus comes to rescue us from despairing…  there is a lot of desire for this new story.”

When it comes to prison ministry in the diocese, Pettipas encouraged others to come forward with their ideas and assistance. “Dianne is amazing, so if you have an inspiration or a parishioner has an inspiration, carry that forward and see what can happen. I am sure she will help you to provide some really great ministry in the prison.”

Justice and Peace

Myron Rogal provided an overview of Justice and Peace initiatives in the diocese of Saskatoon, encouraging all those present to be “a sign of contradiction” bringing peace, healing and outreach to our world.

He began with a focus on Returning to Spirit, which earlier this year returned to the diocese. The Indigenous-led program has been delivering reconciliation workshops since 2001, including the one held this June in Saskatoon (link to article).

Return to Spirit began “as an intensive scrutiny of the perceived divisions lingering from the legacy of Residential Schools. Since then the scope has been extended to create a process for Canadians to heal and come together,” he said.

“Return to Spirit defines reconciliation as the ability to be at peace with ourselves, others and the world, no matter what the circumstance.,” he said.

“Through group process, conversation and personal process Return to Spirit grounds participants in reclaiming responsibility to work through key obstacles to reconciliation.” These obstacles include blaming self and others, difficulties letting go of the past, a preoccupation with surviving, pride, and fear, Rogal listed.

“The program teaches the simplicity of shifting from a place of resentment to one of acceptance, from resignation to ambition, victimhood to responsibility, cynicism to inspiration,” he said, sharing the impact of the workshop described by participants at the June workshop in Saskatoon.

He encouraged parish leaders to explore other initiatives of the Justice and Peace Office that are included in the 2025 Resource Guide.

As a final note, Rogal reported that a Care of Creation Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 12 by Bishop Mark Hagemoen at the Cathedral of the Holy Family, using new prayers added to the Roman Missal this year. The Eucharistic celebration will also be live-streamed at saskatoonmass.com.

Office of Migration update: refugee sponsorship

Migration Office Coordinator Hannah Enti-Brown provided an overview of the office’s work administering the diocese’s role as a government-designated Sponsorship Agreement Holder or SAH.

Refugees vetted by the Canadian government are fleeing war, violence and persecution and are forced to leave their home country to survive. “We welcome the stranger, extending Christ’s teachings in action,” she said.

 

Recent changes by the federal government have eliminated other kinds of private sponsorships and cut down on the numbers of refugees that are welcomed into Canada, including by SAHs and their Constituent Groups, Enti-Brown said.

Allocations have dropped from about 65 a year to only 30, and there are more sponsorship requests each year than spots available, she reported, noting that a family of four is not one spot, it is four spots. A diocesan Selection Committee has been formed to review applications to ensure an equitable distribution of sponsorship spots in the diocese. Even when a sponsorship is approved, it can take many months before a family actually arrives.

As a designated SAH, the diocese oversees and enables private refugee sponsorships by constituent groups such as Roman Catholic parishes.

“Constituent groups do what we call. ‘pre-settlement,’ which is helping to get the application ready for submissions, and when the families do arrive, they do what we call ‘post-settlement’ — meet the families at the airport, help them get accommodation, if they have kids, help them get settled in schools — everything they need to get their lives in Canada in place.”

She described the parish Constituent Groups as “our backbone” and the heart of sponsorship in the diocese: “we cannot do this work without them.”

Continuing the policy “need not creed” articulated by the late Fr. Paul Donlevy who oversaw refugee outreach in the diocese for many years, the Migration Office and its constituent groups welcome refugees of all religions, not just Christians, she noted.

“We invite more parishes to take up this Gospel call. Whether it’s forming a CG, supporting another parish, or learning about refugee sponsorship, you can make a difference,” she said inviting all those interested to contact migration@rcdos.ca. “Let us walk this mission of mercy and hope together.”

“Turn Debt Into Hope” – DPCC campaign

Guest speakers Michelle Dinter-Lipinski and Norman Lipinski provided an overview of the  work of Development and Peace-Caritas Canada (DPCC), which was established by the Canadian Catholic bishops in 1967.

A democratic movement for global solidarity rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, DPCC has two goals: partnering with grassroots partners to assist with community development and humanitarian aid overseas, while also raising awareness, advocacy and action in Canada.

“Locally in Canada we are made up of members across the country — hundreds and hundreds of people of good will who support the mission of Development and Peace — and they are almost always based in parishes,” explained Dinter-Lipinski. The national DPCC council includes four Catholic bishops, as well as youth representatives, and there are diocesan and parish councils across the country.

Serving as interim provincial animators for DPCC, the couple from St. Philip Neri Parish in Saskatoon are in the process of promoting the 2025 fall education and action campaign “Turn Debt into Hope,” which includes an opportunity to sign a petition asking Canada’s political leaders to take action during this Jubilee Year.

With local workshops and an online national launch of the campaign on Oct. 4, DPCC is highlighting the call to forgive unjust debt burdening countries across the developing world.

As part of launching the 2025 Jubilee Year, Pope Francis called for the cancellation of unjust and unpayable debt, noted Lipinski.

As a result of that call, DPCC has partnered with Caritas Internationalis (the international Catholic development and aid agency) and ecumenical partners all over the world to say “this is a Jubilee Year, release prisoners, settle debt, make the world a better place,” he said.

“On July 25 of this year, the Canadian Catholic Bishops issued this pastoral letter calleld “Forgive Us Our Debts” which is an allusion of course to the words of Our Father,” he said. “The bishops emphasize in that pastoral letter the success of the last Jubilee in the Year 2000 which you may recall again called for a forgiveness of debt for the nations of the developing world, and at that time over $100-billion dollars was forgiven from the debt of over 30 countries. It was considered to be a huge success.”

One flaw in that program 25 years ago pointed out by the Canadian bishops in their recent letter was that the structures that created the debt in the first place weren’t changed, Lipinski noted. “And so in this succeeding 25 years there has been civil unrest, there have been wars, there’s been natural disasters, there has been climate change, there has been the COVID pandemic, and many of these same countries find themselves in the same or worse positions than they were 25 years ago.”

The interests rates that countries in the developing world pay can be two to twelve times higher than what Canada pays to borrow, he said. “Right now, over 3 billion people live in countries where more paid is on the interest on the debt than is spent on health or education.”

The petition that began with Share Lent calls for public, private, or multi-lateral lenders to cancel or forgive debts. “The three calls of the petition are to stop the debt crisis by cancelling and remedying unjust and unsustainable debts, and prevent future debt crises… and to establish a permanent, transparent, debt framework within the United Nations.”

The goal in Canada is to collect 100,000 signatures on the petition which at the end of the Jubilee Year will be presented to the various institutions involved in this debt, said Dinter-Lipinski. She encouraged parishes to get involved, to highlight the petition and make it available to parishioners to sign this fall. She also called for a Development and Peace-Caritas Canada contact person to be appointed in every parish.

Administration and Finance

Throughout the diocesan day, presentations and information also addressed a range of administration and finance procedures and updates.

Senior Finance Coordinator Amit Raj updated parish representatives on various matters, including parish annual reports, the Canadian Revenue Agency’s online portal, tax receipts, clergy health and pension premiums, and insurance.

Administration and Finance Director Greg Chatlain provided information about updates to the diocesan Covenant of Care: Safe Environment policy, as well as about safeguarding training.

Information about the diocesan Parish Development Fund and the Capital Construction Policy was also provided, along with updates and reminders regarding communications, e-mail, information technology, and KnowBe4 anti-spam and security training.

The new Human Resources Coordinator for the diocese of Saskatoon, Benny Nwagwu, spoke about the importance of human connections and a shared sense of belonging and mission among all those working or volunteering in the diocese and all its parishes.

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