St. Mary’s Parish Organizations

Diocesan Pastoral Council

The Diocesan Pastoral Council is the diocesan equivalent of the Parish Pastoral Council, and both have as their ideal the greater involvement of the laity in the life of the Christian community. The Diocese is divided into four deaneries, East, Central, West and North. The Cathedral Parish belongs to the Central Deanery. Each Deanery has a Commission, composed of representatives from all its parishes, which meets four times a year  under the Chairmanship of an elected member.

The Diocesan Pastoral Council is in effect the umbrella organization for these Commissions. The liaison between the Commissions and the Diocesan Council is the Advisory Board, which consists of two representatives of each Commission (usually the Chair and Vice-Chair), with certain ex officio members such as the Archbishop, the Chancellor of the Diocese, and representatives of the larger communities of Sisters. The Advisory Board also meets four times a year, and prepares the two occasions on which all the members of all the Commissions meet together – namely, the Annual General Meeting, at which the Archbishop makes his report, and the Annual Retreat.

The Parish’s representative on the Diocesan Council is appointed either from among the elected members of the Parish Councilor from among parishioners in general, in which latter case (s)he becomes an ex officio member of the Parish Council for as long as (s)he represents the Parish (normally for three years).

Parish Representative: Sergio Valconi, suvlcv@cogeco.ca