February 15, 2012 - At the request of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, will lead the Canadian Delegation attending the ceremony for the elevation of Archbishop Thomas C. Collins to the cardinalate. The ceremony will be held at St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Holy See, on February 18, 2012. The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, and the Honourable Julian Fantino, Associate Minister of National Defence, will also be part of the delegation.
Cardinal-designate Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, will be made cardinal, along with 21 other top churchmen, by Pope Benedict XVI.
“On behalf of our Government, I offer my warmest congratulations to Cardinal-designate Collins as he begins this new phase of his ministry,” said Minister Flaherty. “His strong commitment to promoting human dignity, faith and charity has been recognized beyond just the Greater Toronto area and the wider Roman Catholic community.”
“It is a true joy to witness a leader of Canadian civil society be so honoured on the international stage,” said Minister Kenney. “Archbishop Collins has spent almost his entire adult life in service to God and to his fellow Canadians. He is most deserving of the rank and honour of cardinal.”
“The elevation of Archbishop Thomas C. Collins to the cardinalate is a tremendous honour, for which all Roman Catholics in the Archdiocese of Toronto and throughout Canada are extremely proud,” said Associate Minister Fantino. “This ceremony serves as recognition of Cardinal-designate Collins’ ongoing significant contributions to the Roman Catholic community.”
The Archdiocese of Toronto is Canada’s largest, with approximately two million Roman Catholic residents, who make up 40 percent of the area’s overall population. Archbishop Collins is the fourth archbishop of Toronto and the 16th Canadian bishop to be named cardinal.
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