One of the first steps in forming our new Family of Parishes was choosing a name for our Family. This name would designate the Family as a whole; it would not replace the canonical titles of the individual parishes or Catholic communities within the Family.
Since we want to maintain each parish and community as a distinct entity, each one still be referred to by their name and the Family name will be used to refer to the group as a whole.
The goal of the Family of Parishes model is not to create a “melting pot”, but rather a rich mosaic where each parish is respected and create together a unique picture of the Catholic faith in an area. The Diocese of London has some guidelines when it comes to choosing a Family name:
- The name cannot replicate the canonical title of any of the parishes.
- It is preferable that the name of the family does not have a religious designation but, rather refer to the geographic region or area where the parishes in the family are situated.
- If there is a national community within the family, the chosen name needs to be translated into the particular language and appear alongside the name in English on all printed materials.
The committee was dissatisfied with names that were purely geographic and wanted something that had a meaning for each community. As a result, the committee concluded that each of our parishes and communities have strong and distinct cultural heritage:
- St. Alphonsus – One of ten parishes that founded the diocese, first school for black students, social justice
- St. Angela Merici – Italian National Parish, early Italian immigrants
- Assumption – Early French settlement, oldest parish in Canada west of Montreal
- St. Benedict – Tridentine Rite (Latin Mass)
- St. Daniel Comboni – African Community
It was decided to include the word “Heritage” in the name.
After approval from Bishop Fabbro, our name will be used starting September 1st, 2020.