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Catholicism in Canada
Catholicism is Canada's most popular religion with nearly one in two Canadians (45%) identifying themselves as Catholics. However Catholicism is very unevenly distributed in Canada, as almost half the Catholic population is French-Canadian and therefore mainly reside in the Province of Québec. The Catholic Population is the largest religious demographic in Québec (86% Catholic) and New Brunswick (53%), largely in part due to the Francophone and Acadian populations. However the East Coast has also large Catholic population and you tend to think of the typical Newfoundlander as a Catholic even though most Newfoundlanders are actually Protestant. Then Again Protestant is actually a group of Christian religions rather than one single religion, and in that way, Roman Catholicism is still predominant in all regions. Roman Catholicism was introduced by the French in Canada as their role in the Colonies was dual, that of setting up a fur trade and was missionary. Catholicism was implanted on the Shores of America with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the name of Catholic Spain. In Canada, Basque and Norman sailors had temporary homes in Newfoundland and they were most likely Catholics, considering most of France was at the time. In 1535, French Explorer and cartographer erected a cross at Gaspé in the name of the King of France in the grace of God and celebrated the first Canadian mass. Champlain, another explorer and founder of Quebec, wished to see the Catholic faith taught to the First Nations as he though of them as "pagan savages". Not exactly a honourable endeavour nowadays, yet at the time it seemed like a good idea to the French. The Ricollects and the Jesuits arrived in North America and set up missions to convert the Algonquins (mostly within Quebec) and the Wendat (Hurons; in Ontario). The Ricollects arrived in Canada in 1615 and the Jesuits ten years later. The Jesuits founded seminaries in Quebec and Montreal and missions. The most known missions are those of Huronia, which is believed to be one of the great reasons for the downfall of the Wendat Nation. With a wave of colonial settlements from France in the 1640s and the arrival of the Filles Du Roy, a growing catholic population began to crowd Canada and localities began to spring up around the St Lawrence river, and in those localities, at the centre of it all, was the Catholic church. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Catholicism in Canada in Canadian Culture is owned by David Newman. Permission to republish Catholicism in Canada in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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