Dear Catholic school Trustees, Directors of Education, and Principals:

We will soon be marking our fourth annual National Catholic Health Care Week from Sunday, October 2 to Saturday, October 8, 2022. We ask that you, as leaders in Catholic education, to participate in the Week by sharing the message of Catholic health care in your administration and in your schools.

Building Bridges
Love shatters the chains that keep us isolated and separate; in their place, love builds bridges… We, as people, should be passionate about meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges.

Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti

This year’s theme “Building Bridges” focuses on our commitment as Catholic health to reach out, create connections, care for all, address gaps and work collaboratively to improve the health and wellbeing of all Canadians. Inspired by the Gospel and grounded in shared beliefs and values, we work together with Catholic ministries to achieve a Canadian society that reaches out to every person who is suffering from illness, stigma, poverty or loneliness. We are committed to providing care to people who are most vulnerable in our society, to addressing gaps in health care and to developing innovative programs to meet those needs.

Read the full letter here by John Ruetz, President and CEO of the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada

 

 

Prayers & Reflection

Join us in prayer during National Catholic Health Care Week as we build bridges of hope and healing: giving back, reaching out, walking together and listening and learning.

Here are a set of five reflections and prayers for you to use each weekday during National Catholic Health Care Week, to engage with your school community for discussion or for individual reflection. They encourage prayerful reflection on aspects of our calling to build—and be—bridges of hope and healing: giving back, reaching out, walking together and listening and learning. These reflections and prayers drawn from Catholic social teaching help us explore our Catholic identity and tradition.

 

 

The Courageous Gift of Catholic Health Care

During National Catholic Health Care Week, we invite all to reflect on and share the story of the courageous gift of Catholic health care. As Catholic health organizations across Canada, we are united in a 400-year healing mission and are inspired by a calling to care for all with compassion and humanity—body, mind and spirit.

The Courageous Gift expresses the heart of our work, rooted in the Gospel and the legacy of our founding congregations.

Check out this one-pager: Courageous Gift of Catholic Health Care which you can share with your students.

 

 

Catholic Health Care Facts at a glance

Here is an infographic on the Catholic Health Care Facts at a glance outlining the footprint of Catholic health care in Canada which can be shared in your classrooms.

 

 

 

 

Social Media

 

Activity Ideas

Consider using the Week to celebrate and thank graduates who have found a calling in health care service or to encourage students considering this career. Celebrate and build school connections with Catholic health organizations in their communities through letter-writing and other activities.

 

Last year, Kenora Catholic celebrated National Catholic Health Care Week by recognizing graduates of St. Thomas Aquinas High School who have gone on to dedicate their lives to serve others by entering the health care profession.

 

 

 

Students from Bishop Savaryn Catholic Elementary School created wonderful cards that were shared among staff at the Misericordia and Grey Nuns hospitals.

 

 

 

 

A MINISTRY. A MISSION. A MOVEMENT.

At the heart of Catholic health care is a deep respect for the intrinsic value and dignity of every human being and an unwavering commitment to serving all people, from all backgrounds and faiths
– especially society’s most vulnerable.