Dear Teachers:
February 4-10, 2024 will mark the fifth annual National Catholic Health Care Week. This annual celebration of Catholic health recognizes the mission of Catholic health care organizations across Canada. We invite our Catholic community to learn more about the role, value and impact of Catholic health care in Canada and to be vocal, informed supporters of Catholic health care and the healing ministry of Jesus in Canada.
For your reference, please see below for information and resources for last year's theme for National Catholic Health Care Week:
2022 Theme: 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
The 2022 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.
Read the full letter here by John Ruetz, President and CEO of the Catholic Health Alliance of Canada
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.
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.
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.
Check out this social media guide with ready-to-use posts and captions for Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Please feel free to promote National Catholic Health Care Week on your social media platforms and use#catholichealthcareweek wherever possible during the Week.
We encourage you to follow and share social media posts from Catholic health providers in your province or district.
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.
