July 2016

A little known fact about auxiliary bishops is that they have a diocese of their own too. In my case, I am an auxiliary bishop for Montreal but also the titular bishop of Treba in Italy  (today known as Trevi nel Lazio, in the province of Frosinone).

One of the traditions associated with becoming a bishop is having a coat of arms. This is not mandatory in any way, but most bishops around the world have at least an unofficial coat of arms that they use, and some in Canada have received a formal grant of arms through the Canadian Heraldic Authority. The advantage of doing so, of course, is that the resulting coat of arms fully respects the heraldic tradition.

I'm in Guelph, Ontario, at the Jesuit retreat centre, where I'll be doing the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius for 8 days. There is a cemetery in the back of the house where many Jesuits are buried, including Father George Topp. Many moons ago, when Father Topp was helping at the parish where I was as a teenager, he suggested that I think about becoming a priest. I remember the words being like a spear to my heart, piercing through my defenses with a clarity about my inner being.

Was in Midland today and saw where the Jesuit martyrs were killed and buried. Simple but very moving.