 This Sunday, we celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the cathedral of the Pope and “mother and head of all churches in the world.” Built by Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, it was the first public church in Rome. This feast reminds us that every church building is a sign of the living Church and that each baptized person is a living stone in the temple of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for the Pope, for unity in the Church, and for hearts renewed in faith.
Ways to commemorate this feast with your family or parish community:
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Last weekend, on October 18th, our choir, the St. Hildegard Singers, presented a concert centered on the Holy Rosary. We sang all the prayers of the Rosary: the Creed, Our Father, Glory Be, Fatima Prayer, and the Salve Regina, along with ten different settings of the Hail Mary. It was such a beautiful opportunity for all of us to pray to Our Lady in a new way, and we even gave people the chance to have their Rosaries blessed by a relic of the True Cross. The initial idea for the concert came from our co-director, Nate DeMong. He suggested that we sing ten Hail Marys for the Feast of the Rosary, and we thought, why stop there? Every prayer has a musical version, so we decided to sing them all. The music was a mix of chant and classic choral works. Some we discovered along the way, such as The Prayer of Fatima by Laurence Rosania, which is a stunning example and quickly became one of our favourites. Others were pieces we already knew, like Victoria’s and Haydn’s Ave Maria settings. We spent many hours listening to choral music on Spotify and YouTube to find the right selections. One of the most memorable pieces was a women's-only version of Ave Maria by Canadian composer Eleanor Daley. The music in that one is so ethereal, it almost makes the air shimmer. We hope that those who attended the concert left having discovered a new way to pray through music. We also hope the pieces touched them more deeply than words alone could. For any non-Catholics who came, we pray that the experience may have sparked curiosity about the faith. Above all, our hope is that this concert helped people see that the Catholic tradition is rich and full of beauty, and that we can draw from it to bring greater depth and reverence to our liturgies. The St. Hildegard Singers (SHS) were founded alongside the St. Francis Xavier Chaplaincy (SFXC) in March 2019. The Chaplaincy’s mission has always been to equip young adults to become active disciples who will grow into leaders in their own communities and parishes. SHS not only teaches its twenty members how to be musical leaders but also strives to renew our liturgies through sacred music. If you missed the concert, you can watch the full performance on our YouTube channel. If you would like to support us and the work that we do, please consider donating here: https://www.catholicyyc.ca/donatetosfxc.html
Written by Maryna Szojka, founder and director of the St. Hildegard Singers at St Francis Xavier Chaplaincy.  St. Hildegard Singers at the Litany of St. Joseph's Concert, Jack Singer Concert Hall, Calgary.  Mary, the Mystical Rose Concert Performers It was early in June, in the sacristy after midweek Mass here in Banff, that Fr. Dan Stévènot informed me that he had asked St. Mary’s parishioner Nan Hughes Poole to organize a concert for the Marian pilgrimage week here in the Rockies. Later that week, I sent a text message to Nan to ask if she still “needed any people” for this concert. In my mind, I was thinking I could volunteer as an usher at the front door of the church. However, my text messages often will not express everything that I intend to say, so as things progressed, I was invited to play the oboe in this concert in honour of Mary, the Mystical Rose. Now, I have played the oboe for about 17 years, since grade seven band class; however, it has been years and years since I have played regularly, and I have barely played any public concerts since I graduated from university in 2019. The psychological games and social pressures from music school had wreaked their havoc, and I developed a tremor in my hands and arms whenever I played solo or chamber music; ultimately, it is why my degree is a BA in music history, rather than a more performance-based B.Mus. However, the die had been cast, and I figured that I might as well accept the invitation and see what the Lord had in store, and see what fruit would be revealed. Now, writing a few days later, I can say with clarity that this was one of the most spiritually enriching musical experiences that I have participated in. Nan invited two of her closest friends, Kathy McMillan Wilhelm and Amy Anderson de Jong to star in the concert as vocalists, as well as pianist Jack Olszewski and violinist Lev Nesterov to round out the panel. The three vocalists have sung together for decades, and it was an honour to witness how their friendship is heard throughout the music. Singer-songwriter Irene Poole opened the second act as a special guest. The music was not strictly what some in the Church would consider “sacred music”, a definition which currently seems to centre upon Renaissance polyphony, written for use in liturgy. However, the works chosen by the vocalists formed a dramatic arc than ran parallel to the life of Mary — from settings of the Magnificat to frame the Annunciation and the Visitation, to African-American spirituals and German lieder to highlight the Nativity of Christ, followed by both Baroque and Modern works on the sorrows of Mary, and settings of the Ave Maria which marked Mary’s Assumption and Coronation. Poetry selections rounded out the program, which helped to draw out the main theme of the programme — that of Mary’s humanity. If there is one particular gripe that I have with contemporary popular Mariology, it is that we tend to make Mary inaccessible, placing her high and away from the rest of us sinners on a pedestal. Yes, she is the Immaculate Conception, having no stain of original sin, and never entering into it in her lifetime. However, we often forget that Mary is fully human (the most fully human of us all!), and that she has experienced everything that we experience. The work on the program that exemplifies this best is Henry Purcell’s “The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation” from 1693. Purcell was the first to write opera in English, and so the work is a dramatic scene, depicting the anxieties, doubts and social pressures that Mary faces as she and St. Joseph search frantically for the child Jesus throughout Jerusalem. Throughout, Mary maintains her trust in God and in the divinity of her son, and yet is contending with human emotions that pull her in all directions, including intense worry for the very human Jesus. Well, I received no miraculous grace of the healing of my tremor this weekend. What I received instead is a far greater grace of knowing that my blessed Mother has also faced societal pressure and grave anxiety. It is a realization that Mary’s presence in our lives is not chiefly as an image of Christian perfection, although this is certainly a factor. Rather, she is crowned as heaven’s queen in service of humanity precisely because she has undergone all the trials of life, and is most intimately acquainted with its problems and foibles, and therefore is best suited to empathize with us and intercede for us because of the fullness of her humanity. She is near because she is one of us, one with us, and one for us. May we know her closeness in our daily lives, in whatever it is that we face.
Written by Solomon Ip for Faithfully. Photos courtesy of Peter Poole and Jan Myhre.
Walking in faith, singing in hope Mary, Mother of Hope: Jubilee Marian Week began on Friday, Aug 15, 2025 in Banff with the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, where Bishop McGrattan presided at Mass. On Monday, Aug 18, immediately after the morning prayer, nearly 40 young adults from the St. Francis Xavier Chaplaincy carried the Jubilee Cross on a 26 km pilgrimage from Banff to Canmore. They prayed, sang, and walked together until they reached the Shrine, where the cross was placed for the duration of the week. 
The week also included two evenings of sacred music. The Mary, Mystical Rose concert brought together professional singers who offered their gifts in praise of God (read Solomon's article), while Crowned with Stars, directed by Carlos Foggin, filled the Shrine with a stirring offering of choral works, live strings, and organ. The concert also premiered Foggin’s new Marian composition Regina Caeli, which was specially composed for the concert. 
The liturgy included the erection of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, carried out by Fr. Pilmaiken Lezano under the authority of the Dominican Prior Provincial. The confraternity, centuries old and present around the world, is a spiritual family where the faithful commit to praying the Rosary and share in the indulgences and graces of the Church. Afterward, another moving moment was the Coronation of Mary, when a crown was placed on the statue of Our Lady. As Bishop McGrattan said in his homily, “Our Blessed Mother reigns now in heaven. She is the seat of all wisdom. She extends to the Church and to the world the eternal wisdom of God.” At the end of the liturgy, Bishop McGrattan gave the Apostolic Blessing with plenary indulgence, a special grace granted through the Holy Father for this Jubilee. With heartfelt gratitude, we thank Fr. Pilmaiken Lezano, pastor of the Shrine Church, together with his dedicated team, Linda and Shelley, and the many volunteers whose generous service helped make the celebrations truly prayerful and welcoming. We are also grateful for Fr. Daniel Stevenot, Fr. Troy Nguyen, and his SFXC team, who guided the young adult pilgrimage that opened the week with such faith and joy. Our Marian Jubilee Week celebration ended in joy as the whole assembly sang the beloved hymn Immaculate Mary: Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing, You reign now in heaven with Jesus, our King. Ave, Ave, Ave Maria Ave, Ave, Ave Maria As the final notes filled the Shrine, many hoped that this was a glimpse of what Jubilee Marian Week will continue to offer in years to come: a living tradition of faith, music, and devotion to our Blessed Mother: Mary, Mother of Hope.  Photos by Bandi Szakony for the Diocese of Calgary.
At the heart of the evening will be the premiere of Foggin’s own Regina Caeli, written especially for this concert. Inspired by the Marian theme, the piece for choir and strings weaves together fragments of melodies from other works in the program with the timeless Gregorian chant for Regina Caeli. “Listeners will be able to hear how it all connects,” says Foggin, “almost like musical threads running through the evening.” In addition to his work as Music Director Laureate of the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra, Foggin is an award-winning conductor and composer whose recent Litany of St. Joseph, premiered at Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall in March 2025. For the upcoming Crowned in Heaven: A Concert for the Queen in Heaven, the professional choir, organized by Mark Dumbrique, will be joined by accomplished string players Theresa Dumbrique, Peter Li, Osmond Chiu, and Erin Beach, with Foggin at the organ and podium. This will be more than a concert. It is an invitation to pause, pray, and be lifted by music that gives glory to our Lord, and honours the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven.   Denis Grady was a beacon of hope, a musician of the soul, and a servant of compassion whose life was a testament to the transformative power of faith and love. Born in Peterborough, Ontario in 1952, his family moved to Oshawa in 1962. It was in Oshawa that Denis learned to play guitar, and began performing at high school dances. Denis's journey was marked by an encounter with God in his teenage years that would shape his life thereafter. He moved west to Edmonton and eventually Calgary in the 1970s. As a gifted musician and spiritual leader, Denis began to use his music as a bridge to connect hearts and heal wounds. With two gospel albums — "Running Too Long" and "Grace in the Strangest Places" — he shared messages of redemption and hope that resonated deeply with those who heard them. He and his guitar became instruments of unity, whether teaching simple songs to children in a remote area, or bringing comfort to those struggling in his community.
In 2002, Denis founded the Franciscan and Friends Mission, embodying the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi by dedicating his life to serving the most vulnerable. It was in these early years of his ministry that my husband and I met Denis. Largely through the experience of seeing how Denis touched the lives of so many people, we ourselves joined him in becoming members of the Order of Secular Franciscans. Denis loved to travel, bringing music and light to places in need—such as Haiti, Mexico, Guatemala, and beyond—always driven by a profound belief that love knows no boundaries. My husband Bill had the privilege of taking him on a mission trip to India in 2018, and will never forget how Denis opened his heart to people everywhere they went. Here in Alberta, Denis was a crucial force in Indigenous reconciliation, organizing art and music events that brought communities together and honored the rich cultural heritage of First Nations peoples. Denis's own journey of recovery from alcoholism became a powerful narrative of grace and transformation. Achieving 40 years of sobriety, he allowed God to use his own personal struggles to reach out to others, proving that no one is beyond the reach of compassion and healing. His home became a sanctuary for those in need, a living testament to his belief that true service means opening one's heart completely. Denis’ family was the cornerstone of his life, and he was a devoted grandfather who radiated joy and pride in his five grandsons. To know Denis was to understand that faith is about unconditional friendship. "Our job is to love, not judge," he would say, a philosophy that guided every aspect of his life and mission. Denis crossed over to be with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on January 24, 2025, but his legacy lives on through the lives he touched, the music he shared, and the love he spread. In the words of one of his own songs, he was indeed "counting the days"—not with sadness, but with hope, joy, and an unwavering belief in the promise of paradise.
Mary's Festival: A Celebration & Consecration of St. Mary's University to Our Blessed Mother5/12/2024
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 Do you know that the proper Sequence is obligatory on Easter and Pentecost Sunday? It is to be sung following the second reading. The Gospel Acclamation follows the Sequence as usual. The sequence can be sung by the cantor, by the choir, or by the entire assembly. The CCCB encourages the participation of the assembly. The Easter sequence may be sung on every day of the Easter Octave including especially the Second Sunday of Easter.
Handy links for Parish music ministers and cantors: Easter Sequence
Pentecost Sequence
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