During March and April, the Department of Administrative Services for Fabriques (DSAF) offered a series of five training courses (three in French, one in English, and one bilingual) for churchwardens working in our parishes and missions. Nearly 300 participants benefited from these enriching face-to-face meetings, held in the five major deaneries. The churches of Saint-Pie X, Saint-Sixte, Notre-Dame-d'Anjou, Saint Thomas à Backet and Notre-Dame-de-l'Amour-Divin, which we warmly thank, welcomed the participants.

Entitled “Manage well to serve better,” the main objective of these training sessions was to raise awareness of the role and responsibilities of churchwardens in parish governance. The sessions provided a deeper understanding of the Loi sur les fabriques (Church Administration Act) and clarified several legal and administrative aspects of parish management. Practical tools were also presented to promote sound administrative and financial management in accordance with recognized best practices.

The enthusiastic welcome and interest shown by the participants demonstrate a genuine desire to fulfill their mandate and contribute actively to it. The DSAF would like to thank everyone who participated and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the fabriques in their mission. Other training opportunities will be offered in the near future to continue this important work of support and guidance, starting next fall.

Caroline Tanguay
Director
Department of Services to the Fabriques