"Seventy-one years after the approval of the Society of Jesus by Pope Paul III in 1540 and 55 years after the death of its founder, Ignatius Loyola, the first Jesuits, the Frenchmen Pierre Biard and Ennemond Massé, set foot in what is now Canada, at Port Royal, May 22, 1611. "It is according to our divine calling," Loyola had written, "to travel to various places and to live in any part of the world where there is hope of God's greater service and the help of souls," and in Canada these "Blackrobes," as they soon came to be called, immediately began to reach out to the indigenous peoples in the vast new land. They went first to the Micmacs, next to the Montagnais, then to the Algonquins. They followed the wanderers. They made their way into the forests, along the waterways, across the portages and through the woods..........."
Fr. Robert Wong, S.J. attended our annual Spring Banquet recently and gave us a brief introduction of Jesuits in Canada. For more information, please visit the website www.jesuits.ca.