Saint Patrick's Cross County Meath, Ireland

Saint Patrick's Church Justice and Charity

Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic Church worships within the diverse and vibrant inner-city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Saint Patrick's community has identified as central to our mission these words from the Vatican II pastoral constitution The Church in the Modern World:

Today there is an inescapable duty to make ourselves the neighbour of every individual without exception and to come to their aid in a positive way whether they be an aged person abandoned by all; a foreign worker despised without reason; a refugee, an illegitimate child or a starving human being who awakens our conscience by calling to mind the words of Jesus, "As you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40)

It is the inescapable duty of our local Church to remain committed to finding ways of being present to the marginalized in our Church and world. Saint Patrick's Church continues a long tradition of carrying out the work of justice and charity in our local Church and world.

Saint Patrick, our patron saint, was a man of justice and charity; his deep sensitivity and passion for justice and charity were formed by his own life experience. Patricius (Patrick), a Roman citizen of Britain, was enslaved by the Irish king Miliucc at the age 16 and taken to Ireland to work as a shepherd in the hills of Antrim. Patricius endured the lonely and harsh life of a shepherd boy in a foreign land. Patricius had "two constant companions, hunger and nakedness and that the gnawing in his belly and the chill on his exposed skin were his worst sufferings." It was under these harsh and lonely conditions that Patricius turned to the "God of his parents" in prayer and became a holy man. After a religious experience where Patricius heard a voice tell him "Your hungers are rewarded; you are going home", he escaped Ireland and made his way back to Britain. After six years of bondage, Patricius was a changed man, no longer the carefree boy of his youth. Patricius' visions continued and in one vision, the Irish people beckoned him "we beg you to come and walk among us once more." Patricius leaves Britain and eventually returns to Ireland as Saint Patrick, missionary to the Irish nation, after preparing for ordination.

Within Saint Patrick's life-time or shortly after, the Irish slave trade was brought to a halt and other forms of violence in Ireland decreased. Saint Patrick openly condemned the slave trade in Britain and he advocated for Irish slaves taken hostage in Britain. Saint Patrick also advocated for the dignity of Irish Christians who were not considered by British Christians as "full fledged Christians or as human beings.....because they were not Romans." Saint Patrick is said to have passionately proclaimed "Is it a shameful thing....that we have been born in Ireland?" Saint Patrick's own experience of suffering moved him to work for justice in addressing the degradation of human bondage and advocating for dignity and rights of Irish Christians.

The first parishioners of Saint Patrick's, much like Saint Patrick, endured the loneliness and harshness of life in a foreign land as an immigrant people. In the 1830's, these early Irish immigrants gathered to worship in a barn on the southwest corner of Gottingen and Gerrish Streets and by the 1840's, the first community of Saint Patrick's was formed. These humble early beginnings are the roots from which Saint Patrick's Church continues to draw on its faith, courage, and hope to move into the future and to work for justice and charity in our contemporary setting. Our ongoing challenge is to discern where new initiatives are needed and areas where we can collaborate with others in the work of justice and charity. The following Church groups carry forward some of the works of justice and charity:

St. Vincent de Paul Society
Saint Patrick's Conference of St. Vincent de Paul is one of the oldest and busiest in the Archdiocese of Halifax. Our conference was established at Saint Patrick's in December 1867. The mission of St. Vincent de Paul "seeks in a spirit of justice and charity and by person to person involvement of its members, to help those who are suffering." (Rule of the Society of SVDP) At Saint Patrick's conference, this mission is carried out through home visits and the gift of food and other basic necessities. In 2006 we made 770 home visits for food requests, medical, utility and rent assistance.

Refugee Committee
Over the years successive refugee committees have welcomed and supported refugee families from Vietnam, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Liberia.

Outreach Committee
The committee has focused on presence in the neighbourhood, collaboration with community services and educational institutions such as the Parent Resource Centre (supporting mothers and children), Parker Street Food Bank (food contributions), Saint Patrick's-Alexandra School (school supplies), and other groups and organizations.

Hope Cottage Meals
The Saint Patrick's Hope Cottage Committee consists of 25 members and in 2007 will provide 1,500+ evening meals for the homeless and poor of our Church community. All food and committee needs are donated by parishioners and friends of Saint Patrick's.

Fr. George P. Leach, S.J., Scholarship
The scholarship was established in honour of our former Sacramental Minister, Fr. George Leach, S.J. Each year five $100 bursaries are awarded to students graduating from St. Patrick's-Alexandra Junior High and one $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a student in the Church or local community attending university or community college.

Development and Peace
Representatives of Saint Patrick's Church participate in the work of the Development and Peace Committee for the Archdiocese of Halifax.

Pastoral Care
Parishioners engage in pastoral care on a continuous basis both within and beyond the Church boundaries. This service includes ministry to seniors at Victoria Hall, Gordon B. Isnor Manor, and Sunrise Manor.