SAVE THE DATE!
We will be having the Parish Picnic on June 29th after the 11:00 am Mass.
Location: St. Francis de Sales Church
Hot dogs, Hamburgers, and Beverages will be provided!
Please bring your favourite Salad or Dessert, as well as Lawn Chairs if you would like to eat outside.

With gratitude for the blessings of God, I invite you to explore the 2024 Impact Report of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary.

The impact report is not only a summary of our activities but also a testimony to what God can accomplish when we say “yes” to His call, especially in this time of the Jubilee Year of Hope and the pastoral renewal.

Christ has invited us to “cast into the deep” and to rely on Him in carrying out our mission. We are humbled to share with you the fruits of our work together in Christ with the following key highlights from 2024:

1. Parish Renewal Survey & Engagement Over 20,000 parishioners participated in our diocesan-wide survey, guiding the next steps in our renewal journey and revealing a strong desire for deeper community, discipleship, and mission.

2. Sacramental Life Flourishing Sacramental participation saw significant growth: 3,089 baptisms, 3,281 First Eucharist celebrations, and 2,613 Confirmations… clear signs of a living and growing Church.

3. 40 Hours Devotion for Vocations Initiated across 29 parishes and 11 schools, over 1,200 hours of Eucharistic Adoration were offered for vocations… rekindling prayer and spiritual commitment across the Diocese.

4. Faith in Action With over 2,000 volunteers involved in both programs, Feed the Hungry served over 17,000 meals and 16,000 care packages, while Elizabeth House supported over 26 women and children, offering a path of hope, dignity, and a network of life-long support.

5. Formation of Future Leaders We accompanied 13 seminarians and 12 diaconal candidates and aspirants in formation, investing in future servant-leaders.

View or download the full report here: https://www.catholicyyc.ca/2024impactreport.html

Thank you for your faithfulness to prayer, ministry, and the various apostolates. May this report inspire all of us to grow in hope, as we renew together our commitment to Christ and proclaim: You are called. You matter. You belong.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Bishop William McGrattan

Diocese of Calgary

Hello! My name is Madeline McCallum, and I am a parishioner here at St. Francis De Sales! This past year, I volunteered as a NET missionary in the states. NET ministries is a Catholic missionary organization that sends out adults ages 18-28 out around the country in teams of 8-10 to put on Catholic retreats for middle school and high school students. This past year, my team alone traveled to 27 states, held 138 retreats, and impacted over 6700 youth!
This past year has been so fruitful for me, and I have been able to grow as a person, and also in my relationship with God. Not only have I changed, butI have seen the lives of teens change everyday through these ministries. Through much prayer and discernment, I have decided to go back to NET for another year of mission work! I am so excited to be back and serve the church in this way.
As a NET Missionary, I am responsible for forming a team of ministry partners who will support the work of NET Ministries with monthly or one-time gifts totaling to a minimum of $9,500-11,000. This support helps offset expenses for my training, healthcare, transportation, equipment, and a small monthly stipend. With the blessing of Fr. Marius, I am asking you to partner with me this year to help me reach this minimum funding goal. I will try to be at the back of the church taking any donations. If you would like to donate through cheques, it would be best to write them out to me. You can also donate online at
www.netusa.org/supportamissionary and select Madeline McCallumin the team member box. Be sure to select the 2025-2026 NET year at the top of the NET page.
None of this ministry would be possible without the financial support of you. Know that your yes to supporting me is truly changing the lives of youth who are so desperate to know Jesus. This year, I have witnessed youth coming into the retreat not believing in God, and leaving with a fire for the faith, wanting to know more about the Catholic church. For a quick example, there was a youth in Austin, Texas that had said all day that he did not believe in God or that there was a God. At the end of the retreat, during the prayer time of the retreat, he got up and knelt in front of the monstrance in adoration for an entire hour. He left that retreat believing in God and wanting to know more about the Catholic faith. This is the change that your support is going towards. This change is not possible without the support of you. Your yes to donate is more impactful than you know.
I am very grateful for the support I’ve received from the parishioners of this parish. Please keep me in your prayers and know that you remain in mine.

Sincerely,
Madeline McCallum

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, commonly known as Trinity Sunday, is a unique celebration in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. Unlike most feasts that commemorate events in the life of Jesus, Mary, or the saints, Trinity Sunday is a theological feast honoring God’s very nature: one God in three divine Persons Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Historical Origins

The roots of Trinity Sunday go back to the early centuries of Christianity. The doctrine of the Trinity was formally articulated in the early ecumenical councils, such as Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381), to defend the faith against heresies like Arianism, which denied the full divinity of Christ. These councils defined the belief in one God in three co-equal Persons—an essential mystery of Christian faith. Although the belief was central from the beginning, the feast itself was not established until later. In the Middle Ages, devotion to the Trinity began to flourish more explicitly. The feast was first celebrated locally in monasteries, particularly in the Frankish regions. St. Thomas Becket is known to have celebrated it in Canterbury as early as the 12th century.
In 1334, Pope John XXII officially inserted the feast into the universal calendar of the Roman Church, assigning it to the first Sunday after Pentecost. This placement reflects a theological progression in the liturgical year: after celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Church turns its focus to the fullness of God's inner life.

Liturgical Significance

Trinity Sunday brings to conclusion the celebrations of salvation history that stretch from Advent through Easter and Pentecost. It is a moment to pause and contemplate the God who has revealed Himself to us as a communion of love—Father, Son, and Spirit. The liturgy emphasizes the majesty and mystery of God. The prayers and readings highlight God's triune nature, particularly using texts like:
· Matthew 28:19 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
· 2 Corinthians 13:13 – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”

The Preface of the Mass on this day is beautifully crafted to praise the mystery of the Trinity: “We praise you with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; three Persons equal in majesty, undivided in splendor, yet one Lord, one God.”

Devotions and Traditions

Though Trinity Sunday is not associated with widespread popular devotions like some Marian feasts, there are traditional ways in which the faithful honor the Trinity:
· The Sign of the Cross is perhaps the most universal and frequent Trinitarian prayer, tracing the Cross over oneself while invoking the Trinity.
· The Glory Be (Gloria Patri) is a short, ancient doxology that encapsulates the mystery of the Trinity in daily prayer.
· Some parishes and religious communities celebrate the day with processions or special hymns, such as Holy God, We Praise Thy Name or Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty.
Trinity Sunday is also an important day for theological reflection, often prompting homilies that explore the relational nature of God and the invitation for Christians to live in loving communion, reflecting the divine image.

A Feast That Shapes Identity

More than an abstract doctrine, the mystery of the Trinity shapes the entire Christian life. Christians are baptized in the name of the Trinity, pray to the Trinity, and live in the grace and communion offered by the Trinity. As St. Augustine once said, “You see the Trinity if you see love.”
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity is a call to enter more deeply into the divine mystery—not merely to understand, but to worship, to live, and to love in the image of the Triune God.

On this special day, we extend our heartfelt wishes and deepest gratitude to all the fathers in our parish community.
Thank you for your strength, your wisdom, and your unwavering love. Whether you are a father by birth, adoption, spiritual guidance, or example, your presence is a powerful reflection of God's own fatherly care for each of us.
May St. Joseph, the humble and faithful guardian of the Holy Family, be your inspiration and companion. And may God bless you abundantly with joy, peace, and grace in your vocation as a father.
Happy Father’s Day! You are a true gift to our parish and to the Church. With prayer and appreciation,
Your Parish Community