Jean Ko Din

Sixty years ago, 13-year-old Clara Creglia’s homeroom teacher, Sr. Elaine, instructed the new Grade 9 class to pair up and choose their locker partners. Creglia didn’t really know anyone at Toronto’s Loretto College School on Brunswick Ave. so she…

The students at St. Mother Teresa Catholic Academy in Toronto didn’t grow up on a reserve or have Indigenous roots, but after a semester learning Grade 11 Indigenous Studies English, they knew they could still be allies to their native brothers and…

Growing up, Rachel Wong had this image of what a Catholic woman looked like. A Catholic woman has a quiet and demure strength. She is sensitive, soft-spoken and wears a lace veil to church. Maybe she’s a homemaker, maybe she has her own career, but…

All her life, Rachel had carried guilt about being attracted to women. She hadn’t told her family or her friends, so opening up to strangers in a group setting made little sense. To say she was nervous about attending a Courage meeting is an…

In between sold out events for thousands of people, Mike Mangione looks forward to quiet moments when it’s just him, his guitar, his harmonica and sometimes a tambourine in front of about 20 faces in the crowd. “As a performer, you feed off the…

Genevieve Pinnington is on a mission to spread the good news of global citizenship. After six months working at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, the 22-year-old returned to Toronto with a passion to engage others in world issues —…

During the YSN team's visit to Toronto, they chose St. Michael's as a subject for a photo essay. They reflected on how this mother church represented a story of faith for the people of Toronto.

Even a parishioner listening closely during Mass would not know the meticulous care that Jeffrey Moellman brings to every note he plays on the organ at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. This 114-year-old pipe organ in Kingston, Ont.,…

Anna-Lisa Athaide is the definition of a supermom. This mother of three girls (ages 8-10) leads a Catholic moms network of about 100 mothers in Whitby, Ont. She is co-chair of her daughters’ school council where she’s been promoting the Office of…

Jason Rehel wanted his automotive technology classes to be a breath of fresh air from the busyness of school. When students are working in the shop, visitors would come and go, and music would sometimes be playing in the background. “It’s been a…

As principal of St. Sylvester Catholic School in Toronto, Roy Fernandes believes in setting an example of what it means to live a life full of passion and purpose. Every morning, he greets students as they get off the school bus. Every afternoon, he…

Christ films are a staple in many households during Easter weekend. SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER... and we'll send headlines to you. As adults fuss over the lamb roasting in the oven and children bicker about paint colours for their Easter eggs,…

When Vincent Cheng closed his eyes as he sang, the walls of the Church of All Nations faded away and he imagined Jesus on His knees praying fervently before the Father hours before His Passion. On the site of Jesus’ Agony in the Garden, the MOSAIC…

Megan Turland must have read the story of the resurrected little girl in Mark 5 more than a hundred times. It is her two-year-old daughter’s favourite story in her children’s picture Bible and almost every day she points to the picture of Jesus…

Palm leaves and fronds decorate churches everywhere Palm Sunday as Christians prepare for the most solemn time of the liturgical year. Just as Jesus received a royal welcome from the people of Jerusalem days before His passion, Palm Sunday involves…

Young Catholics are being challenged with tough questions about their faith. Vlad Mamaradlo, lecturing on the practical world of apologetics, recalled a story of a woman who found herself in the middle of an abortion debate at work because a…

Twelve-year-old Kisanet hardly remembers the time when she was not deaf. It has not been easy growing up without hearing the sounds of the world around her, but it’s what she’s known since she lost her hearing at age two. “I have no problems being…

Sixteen-year-old Mariam Khoshaba is determined to see a future of world religions united in purpose — even if it’s one name tag at a time. She and her Grade 11 world religions classmates at Madonna Catholic Secondary School took one step closer to…

The entrants in the annual Friars’ Student Writing Contest did not make it easy on judges from The Catholic Register. The contest drew many quality essays on the question referring to Deuteronomy 16:18-30: How can Catholics and Christians of all…