{"id":8,"date":"2021-05-05T19:22:02","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T19:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/catholicisminquebec\/?page_id=8"},"modified":"2021-05-15T02:03:40","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T02:03:40","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/catholicisminquebec\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you were to step inside a church in one of Quebec\u2019s rural towns today to attend mass, you would have a one-in-three chance of encountering a priest who migrated to Canada from another country. For more than 10 years, bishops in the province have been recruiting religious leaders from Africa, South America, Asia and the Caribbean to fill a widening gap in the local supply of priests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fewer Canadian men are pursuing careers in the clergy. This is a problem for the Roman Catholic Church, because most of its priests are aging and will soon be too old to work. Yet the need to replace them is considerable. Although attendance at mass, baptisms and Catholic marriages has decreased steadily since the 1970s, there are still many churchgoers in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dioceses in Quebec are increasingly relying on priests from abroad to serve in their parishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore and more, we are entering into partnerships with other dioceses where they will allow one of their priests to stay for six years, 10 years to do ministry in in our diocese,\u201d explained Gatineau Archbishop Paul Andr\u00e9 Durocher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this issue is about more than just a human resources challenges for the Catholic Church. It is also reflection of Canadian society becoming more diverse and less religious. In exploring the migration of foreign-born religious workers to Canada, this project uncovers greater truths about tolerance in all corners of Canada as well as the very future of one of the foundational institutions of our society \u2013 the church.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the priests decide to stay for good and officially change their affiliation from the diocese in their home country to the one they serve in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trend is not limited to Quebec or the Catholic church. Religious workers of all faiths have been migrating to Canada to take up jobs. The majority of them settled in Ontario and British Columbia, but they can be found in all provinces and territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where do religious workers settle when they migrate to Canada?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n