April 14, 2021

Winnipeg
-3° C, Overcast

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • The StarNEW
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Canstar Community News
    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • Sponsored
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Flyers
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photostore
  • More

©2021 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Flyers
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photostore
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Read Now Pay later
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
Winnipeg Free Press
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Staff Biographies
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Contact Us
Contact Us Manage Subscription
  • Sections
  • Local
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Diversions
    • Environment
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Health
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Soccer
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • E-Edition
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Real Estate
    • Rentals
    • Services
  • Sponsored
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print
    • Ripley's Aquariums
    • The Bay
    • Staples Canada
    • Altitude Sports
    • Nike
    • Tuango
    • Ebay Canada
    • Sport Chek
    • Roots
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe
Opinion Columnists

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

'We have a deep faith in God'

Filipinos help fill Catholic churches in Winnipeg

John Longhurst By: John Longhurst
Posted: 1:00 AM CST Saturday, Mar. 3, 2012

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later

If you want to get a sanctuary seat for mass at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, you better come early.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 2/3/2012 (3329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Alan Agpalza (left), a member of the parish pastoral council, with Msgr. Enrique Samson Jr., the church's pastor, at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Alan Agpalza (left), a member of the parish pastoral council, with Msgr. Enrique Samson Jr., the church's pastor, at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church.

If you want to get a sanctuary seat for mass at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, you better come early.

Twenty minutes before the start of last Saturday's evening mass, the church was half-full. By start time, the sanctuary and three overflow rooms were packed. And not just with older people -- there were lots of youth, children and entire families.

It's like that for four out of the five masses held each weekend at the northwest Winnipeg church on Keewatin Street; the only service that isn't completely full is Sunday mornings at 8:30.

Surprised?

Some might be. After all, everyone knows Canada is becoming more secular and attendance at worship services is declining in many denominations. Plus, the Roman Catholic Church has had a lot of bad press lately. But that hasn't affected attendance at St. Peter's.

The reason? Immigration. In the case of St. Peter's, it's immigrants from the Philippines. Today they make up about 85 per cent of the congregation.

One of those immigrants is Alan Agpalza, a member of the parish pastoral council. He came to Canada 30 years ago.

"We have a deep faith in God," Agpalza says, explaining why so many from the Filipino community are avid church-goers. "It's part of our tradition."

Paul Ullrich has been attending St. Peter's since 1988. During that time, he's seen the church change from about half-and-half Caucasian and Filipino to predominantly Filipino.

"In the early days, the two groups didn't mix as much," says Ullrich, one of the church's eucharistic ministers and a lector. But now "the walls have come down. We're a pretty homogenous congregation."

Both Ullrich and Agpalza are quick to credit Msgr. Enrique Samson Jr., the church's pastor, for St. Peter's success.

"His leadership and support for the congregation has been very important," Agpalza says. "He's made a big difference in the parish."

What's happening at St. Peter's is being replicated at other churches in the archdiocese of Winnipeg.

"Filipino immigration has been an enormous benefit to the archdiocese of Winnipeg," says Archbishop James Weisgerber. "We have received thousands of families over the last 40 years and more. They are a vital part of the church community."

For Weisgerber, the Catholic Church in Winnipeg "would be very different without our Filipino sisters and brothers. They bring many new and important cultural expressions of the faith. They share them with the rest of the community, and in turn receive different gifts and experiences from the larger community. Both groups are enriched."

St. Peter's isn't the only church impacted by immigration from the Philippines; there are Filipinos in almost all the parishes in Winnipeg -- in churches like St. Peter's, St. Patrick's, St. Edward the Confessor, St. Anthony's and St. Joseph's, along with a large group at St. Mary's Cathedral.

"Filipinos have become involved in a number of ethnic parishes, where together with the original ethnic group, they permit the survival and flourishing of the parish," Weisgerber says.

He notes St. Joseph's, originally German, is now German-Filipino, and St. Anthony's, originally Hungarian, is now Hungarian-Filipino. Meanwhile, Immaculate Conception, which once served the Portuguese community, and St. John Cantius, which was predominantly Polish, both now also have sizable numbers of Filipino members.

The impact of Filipino immigration and newcomers from other Asian countries isn't just being felt in Winnipeg; it is evident in Roman Catholic churches across Canada.

"The Catholic Church in Canada is growing through Asian people," says archdiocese of Toronto Bishop Vincent Nguyen, Canada's first bishop of Asian descent, in an interview last year.

His comment was echoed by Rev. Terence Fay, author of New Faces of Canadian Catholics: The Asians.

"The arrival of new Canadians is a future reality that is happening in our day," Fay says. "Catholics from all continents continue to arrive in Canada and enrich our church."

But these new arrivals aren't just filling pews; they're also providing the church with leaders.

"It is Asian seminarians, along with African and South American, that are making differences in Canadian seminaries," Fay says. "It is the Asians that are bolstering the number of clergy in the major Canadian cities."

The result is a diverse and outward-looking church, he says.

"Asian Catholics will help us shed our parochialism to become truly the international church we profess to be," he adds.

One person who has studied the effect of immigration on the Roman Catholic Church in Canada is University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald Bibby.

At a time when mainline Protestant denominations have seen declining numbers, immigration from Asia means the percentage of Canadians identifying with the Roman Catholic church has stayed "remarkably steady" at about 44 per cent, he says.

"Immigration is a wonderful pipeline" for the church, he says.

But what happens if immigration slows? Will the children of immigrants continue to go to church? After all, the forces of secularism are strong, as is the pressure on Canadian youth to abandon religion -- as other denominations have discovered. How can the church keep them coming?

It's a serious matter; Bibby's own surveys show while 75 per cent of Catholics born outside of Manitoba are regular attenders, only 29 per cent of Canadian-born Catholics in the province attend mass more than once a month. Nationally, that figure is 58 per cent versus 27 per cent.

For Bibby, the answer is for the church to help Catholics "find vitality" in church life.

Stay informed

The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

Subscribe to COVID-19 Briefing
Sign Up

"They can't depend on tradition and sentimentality," he says. "They need to offer ministries that are meaningful and worthwhile, especially for families, along with music that resonates and has meaning for people."

But maybe things will be fine for the Catholic Church in Winnipeg because of Filipinos; according to Weisgerber, people from that community attend and support Catholic schools more strongly than any other ethnic group, while each Filipino parish has a strong and well-attended catechetical program for youth.

That seems to be the case in Agpalza's family; each of his four children was baptized at St. Peter's, and all still attend church -- as do their children.

What's the secret?

"We have a deep faith as a family," he says. "And we make sure to teach our children that going to church is very important."

jdl562000@yahoo.com

John Longhurst

John Longhurst
Faith reporter

John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News.

   Read full biography

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top