”Pope Francis would be pleased to hear what is here,” said Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi after he received briefings from all eight of the Saskatchewan School Divisions. It was the first day of a week-long Saskatchewan visit that had him bless and dedicate the Sisters Legacy Monument in Wascana Park (see PM October 7 issue), visit all Saskatchewan Catholic dioceses and visit Catholic schools in each diocese. He finished the week with a full day in Regina, beginning with breakfast at the Hotel Saskatchewan, meeting recipients of Papal Honours and other guests, touring several Regina Catholic schools then celebrating an evening mass to mark the centennial of Regina becoming an Archdiocese.
Saskatchewan Catholic Schools Boards Association (SCSBA) Executive Director Ken Loehndorf led off the October,1, meeting with the Nuncio describing the SCSBA emphasizing Saskatchewan Catholic School’s constitutional rights. “We are one of only three provinces that have that right,” said Loehndorf. He was followed by each of the eight division’s representatives who gave brief descriptions of their schools and some showed short videos of their division.
Archbishop Daniel Bohan told the group he had invited the Nuncio to attend the unveiling, blessing and dedication of the Sisters Legacy Monument. When the other Saskatchewan bishops were told of the visit they asked if the Nuncio could also visit them. “It is an honour to have the Pope’s personal representative here with us,” said Bohan. The Regina Archbishop said the province was blessed to have Catholic education, “we are a minority in Canada.” He referred to Christ as the teacher, “One of the first things Jesus taught us was to go out and teach.”
“Everyone of you is a representative of the one teacher,” said Bonazzi in his response to the group. He referred to a special feeling when entering a Catholic school, “there is a feeling difficult to express in Catholic schools. Through the teacher we see Jesus Christ as the teacher. This is a special feeling in our schools.” Our faith is an expression of love, said Bonazzi.
