New Administrative Council for the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC)
Montreal, June 2, 2016 – From May 26-29, 2016, 300 women and men religious, leaders of 90 Catholic religious congregations from across Canada gathered at the Sheraton Montreal Airport Hotel for the 31st General Assembly of the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC).
At the conclusion of the four-day assembly, a new Administrative Council (AC) was elected. Michelle Payette a Missionary Sister of the Immaculate Conception, was elected president of the CRC. “I want”, she said, “to thank the outgoing president, Sister Rita Larivée, Father Timothy Scott, CRC’s Executive Director and the members of the outgoing Council for their trust. Like Sister Rita, I have never been a member of the CRC Administrative Council. It will thus be for me a baptism of fire…” Sister Payette has been a missionary for a number of years in different countries: Guatemala (2 years), Peru (10 years) and Hong Kong (1 year). On October 2, 2015, she was appointed provincial superior of her community.
Elected for a mandate of 2 years, sister Payette is committed whole heartedly “to take up the challenge of serving as President of the CRC’s Council. […] It is together, humbly, that we go forward so that at the heart of the challenges, we can discern hope.”
Brother Louis Cinq-Mars of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and Joan Cronin of the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception were respectively elected as Vice-President and as Secretary Treasurer of the CRC. The other members elected members are:
- Annette Noël, Sister of Providence, Quebec Region Representative;
- Gérard Blais, Marianist, Quebec Region Representative;
- Brendalee Boisvert, Sister of St. Martha, Atlantic Region Representative;
- Gloria Keylor, Sister of Providence – Western Region Representative;
- Sandra Shannon, Sister of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, Ontario Region Representative.
Stemming from their reflection on the theme of the Assembly (The Mission of Congregational Leaders: Discerning Hope amid the Challenges), the CRC members present at this event entrusted the new CRC Council with a number of recommendations to be implemented the next two years.
Daily summaries are available on the CRC website at: crc-canada.org and on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ConferenceReligieuseCanadienne.
About CRC
The Canadian Religious Conference is an network that brings together the leaders of over 200 Catholic congregations of women and men religious in Canada. The CRC’s mission is to encourage its members to live fully their vocation in following Christ and to support them in their prophetic witness to justice and peace within the society and the Church.
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For information and interview requests:
Jean-Michel Bigou, Communications Coordinator for the CRC
Telephone: 514-259-0856, extension 105 – Cell Phone: 514-659-0622
E-mail: communications@crc-canada.org
Louise Stafford, fsp, Assistant Communications Coordinator for the CRC
Telephone: 514-259-0856, extension 109 – Cell Phone: 514-506-9881
E-mail: communications@crc-canada.org