Appointment of Bishops - In recent weeks, three new bishops have been appointed to the Eastern Ontario dioceses of Ottawa, Kingston and Pembroke. They are Archbishop Prendergast in Ottawa; Archbishoop O'Brien in Kingston; and Bishop Mulhall in Pembroke. 

It is interesting that Terrence Prendergast, the former archbishop of Halifax, has succeeded Archbishop Gervais in Ottawa. Archbishop Brendan O'Brien, who is a native of Ottawa and once served as an auxilary bishop here was appointed to the neighbouring archdiocese of Kingston. 

The Vatican broke with tradition and appointed an anglophone bishop in Ottawa for the first time. We might speculate as to why it was Prendergast and not O'Brien, who could have stepped into the position with a strong knowledge of the localilty and its parishes, not to mention many of the clergy and laity. Archbishop O'Brien, former head of the archdiocese of St. John's Nfld., might have brought a more consultative approach to Ottawa than former Archbishop Marcel Gervais, who was known to close parishes with little discussion or warning. 

One of the reasons could be the high profile that Prendergast took on as the Archbishop of Halifax, where he was not reluctant to take a public position on issues such as same-sex marriage and Sunday shopping. Archbishop Prendergast is also no stranger to controversy when it comes to closing parishes.  In Halifax, where he tried to close five parishes in the north end of the city. 

Saint Brigid's Parish - During the 150th anniversary of the diocese in 1997, the cathedral church, Notre Dame Basilica, was renovated at a cost of some $18 million. It was the parishes and individual Catholics across Ottawa who paid the bill.  Yet Saint Brigid's parish, a stone's throw away from the Basilica, was left unaided as it struggled to cope with the mounting costs of repairs.  Saint Brigid's, like Saint Patrick's, was an Irish Catholic parish with a history going back well over a century.  

No one argues that Notre Dame is the cathedral church and would requir assistance beyond the means of its own parishioners but somehow, the inconsistency of leaving a neighbouring church to fend for itself was not lost on many Catholics. 

Fittingly, the Irish community has rescued Saint Brigid's and purchased it from the Archdioces for a selling price of $450,000, a price that pales in comparison to the amount required to renovate the heritage buidling.  The individuals who have put up the cash for the purchase hope that they will be able to raise the money for the much-needed renovations by going directly to the public.

The Irish community in Ottawa has taken on a new life in recent years. We saw the construction of the Celtic Cross near the Rideau Canal, to commemorate the workers, mostly Irish, who lost their lives building this 19th century mega-project. Their lives were lost as a result of malaria, mudslides, explosions and other hazards as they struggled on the canal to eke out a living.  Without the workers, Colonel John By's vision would never have become a reality.  Another example of the Irish community's more proactive approach was the naming of the new pedestrian bridge over the canal. This bridge is called the Corktown Bridge, after the shantytown that once existed near the same location as the bridge. Corktown was home to Irish canal workers and their families, many of them hailed from Cork, Ireland.  The Irish Society lobbied for the name and it was accepted by City Council with little argument. The church will become a cultural centre. In fact, it is the only Irish Cultural Centre in Canada. We wish the new owners well in their efforts.