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Rev. John Adamky was born on April 17, 1940 in Edmonton to John and Emila. He was ordained on June 6, 1964 at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Edmonton for the Archdiocese of Edmonton and shortly after became an Assistant Pastor at Sacred heart Parish in Edmonton where he served until 1966. From January 1966 to August 1966 he served as the Assistant Pastor in Villeneuve before leaving for Lima, Peru where he worked as a missionary at Christ the Light of the World Mission from 1966 to 1973. Upon returning from Lima in 1973 Father Adamky enrolled at Newman Theological College to complete a Bachelor of Theology. While completing his studies Father Adamky also served as pastor at the parishes in Redwater and Gibbons. From 1975 to 1989 Father Adamky served as pastor at the following parishes Viking, Prague, Daysland, Heisler, Forestburg, Spring Lake, Bawlk, and Rosalind, Sherwood Park, Stony Plain, and Spruce Grove.

From 1989 to 1990 Father Adamky was on Sabbatical and then from 1990-1992 he was on sick leave. Following his return from sick leave Father Adamky was "loaned" to St. Paul Diocese where he was assigned Pastor of St. Isidore Parish in Plamondon and St. Anne Parish in Barrhead.

In 1976, Pastors and Pastoral Assistants of francophone parishes in Edmonton met to discuss pastoral needs of Catholic francophones in the greater Edmonton area. In May 1979, the first meetings of “agents de pastorale francophones” were held. The group decided to continue to meet to work on education of the faith and liturgy. This group is the only one of its kind in the Archdiocese.

No additional information available in Archives - see Chancery.

Father John Joseph Aherne was born on August 15, 1900 in Ireland. He studied theology in Switzerland and Edmonton before being ordained to the priesthood on December 21, 1927 at the Seminary Chapel in Edmonton by Archbishop O'Leary.

Father Aherne served as the assistant pastor in Galahad, Alliance, Wanda and Forestburg, Castor, Bulwark, Coronation, Foreman, Gadbsy and Halkrik in 1928 before being appointed Pastor of Big Valley in 1928. In 1956 Father Aherne was appointed pastor in Rimbey where he served until his death on December 9, 1959. He is buried in Rimbey.

From the ACSTA website http://www.acsta.ab.ca/about-us/history

Catholic schools are part of the dual system of public education in Alberta. They are publicly-funded, and operate under the same provincial legislation (the School Act) as non-denominational schools. They have been operating in Alberta since the 1840's, before Alberta became a province of Canada.

But what is unique about Catholic schools? The Declaration on Christian Education, published in 1965 following the Second Vatican Council, describes the purpose of a Catholic school as trying "to relate all of human culture to the good news of salvation, so that the light of faith will illumine everything that the students will gradually come to know about the world, about life, and about the human person." Parents, teachers, administrators, trustees, and the entire Catholic community are involved in this vital mission.

Parents are recognized as the primary educators of their children, and they choose how their children will be formally educated. Teachers play a crucial role in leading students to an understanding of the world which is illuminated by "the light of faith", and administrators create the environment in which this understanding takes place. The Catholic community is involved through local parishes, which work closely with schools in areas such as sacramental preparation; individually, through the allocation of property taxes; and through the Church, represented by the local Bishop, who is responsible for approving the religious education program taught in the school.

Catholic trustees have a significant role within this partnership. They oversee the operation of their local school district on behalf of the provincial government, and on behalf of the Catholic community who elect them. As such, they are both political and faith leaders in their communities. To support trustees in this unique role, and provide an opportunity to discuss and report on issues significant to Catholic education across the province, the ACSTA was formed in 1966.

As an incorporated society, the ACSTA operates under a set of objectives, and is guided by a mission statement which is developed and approved by the membership.

Today, the Alberta Catholic School Trustees' Association (ACSTA) represents all 23 Catholic anglophone and francophone school boards, and 153 trustees, who in turn serve more than 130,000 students in 407 schools. Our membership includes the Catholic districts of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, Yukon Territory and Lloydminster, which is designated as both an Alberta and Saskatchewan jurisdiction. The non-denominational St. Paul Education Regional Division is also a member of ACSTA.

The Alberta Vocation Directors’ Executive (AVDE) was founded in 1973 and consisted of a group of at least eight members who acted as a liaison between the Alberta Conference of Catholic Bishops (ACCB) and those groups actively involved in vocation ministry in Alberta.

The role of the AVDE was to provide a means of communication between the ACCB and all individuals and groups in vocation ministry in Alberta. AVDE produced resource materials and, after 1997, the Executive organized a successful one-day workshop for vocation directors.

No additional information available in Archives - see Chancery.

Between 1958 and 1987 Amerongen Spencer Barristers and Solicitors was the body responsible for many of the legal contracts, leases, and agreements between the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton and various other corporate bodies including Roman Catholic Separate School Districts across the province, Westburn Petroleum and Minerals Ltd, Ocre Petroleum Canada, etc.

No additional information available in Archives - see Chancery.

March 2, 1959 St. Francis Xavier Parish was canonical erected. On April 12, 1959 the first Mass was celebrated in the auditorium of St. Francis Xavier High School by Fr. Megannety, OMI. On August 15, 1959 the Oblate Fathers of St. Peter’s Province signed a contract with the Archdiocese to administer the Parish. In Sept. 1959, Fr. Myles Power, OMI, was appointed as first pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish. Masses were celebrated in the school auditorium. On June 15, 1962 a contract for church building was signed. Fr. James Carroll, OMI, was the pastor; the architect was George Jellinek of Edmonton. On May 12, 1963, the name of Annunciation Parish became official. It had been requested by father M. Power and granted by Archbishop A. Jordan, OMI. On May 19, 1963 the new church was blessed by Archbishop A. Jordan, OMI. On Oct 25, 1991 a rededication of the church after renovations was celebrated.

Responding to the changes called for by the Vatican II council, in 1967 Archbishop Jordan established the Office of Continuing Education as a separate unit from the Catholic Information Centre. The establishment of the Office of Continuing Education was in response to an acknowledgment that while the liturgies and organizations of the church were principally geared towards adults, catechesis and religious educations were principally geared towards children. Realizing that as an adult Church, knowledge of and commitment to faith needed to be taught to all members, children and adults alike, the Office of Continuing Education was formed to file the educational gap in the Archdiocese of Edmonton.

In 1968 the Senate of Priest recommended that the Archbishop engage Redemptorist Fathers for Adult Education in the diocese and Father John Spicer, C. Ss. R., was put in charge of the first program in Religious Education under the auspices of the Adult Education Centre. With this appointment, Archbishop Jordan changed name of the Office of Continuing Education to the Office of Continuing Religious Education.
In November 1985, the Office of Continuing Religious Education was renamed the Continuing Education Commission, and once again in 1989, coinciding with the move from 1123 Jasper Avenue to the Pastoral Centre at 8421-101 Avenue, the Continuing Education Commission officially changed its name to the Adult Learning Commission in September 1989.

The aim of the Commission (in its various incarnations) was “to promote adult religious learning and, in line with this, to provide resources and programs not within the scope of individuals, parishes, or other institutions.” Various activities and initiatives were undertaken including the development of Scripturefest and various bible study programs. The Commission also experimented in multi-media learning publishing various types of resource materials including books, videos and cassette tapes for group and personal use.

With the re-organization of the pastoral services offices, the Adult Learning commission was closed in 2003.

In the spring of 1969 the Archdiocesan Catechetical Team was established to implement the Canadian Catechetical Resources in areas outside the City of Edmonton. The Archdiocesan Catechetical Team provided in-service implementation and evaluation of the National Catechetical Resources used in the Archdiocese of Edmonton. At the time the committee was established, "The Born of the Sprit" (for children in kindergarten through grades 6) and "We are Strong Together" (for children in grades 7 through 12) series developed by the National Office of Religious Education and published by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops were the only approved catechetical resources for use in the Archdiocese of Edmonton. Each rural deanery was served by an Archdiocesan Deanery Catechetical Consultant who reported to the Director of Religious Education.

The Archdiocesan Catechetical Staff had membership on the Archdiocesan Youth Commission, Vocation Team and two sub-committees of the Liturgy Commission (the Lay Presider’s Committee and the Sacraments Committee). There was also close contact with the Archdiocesan Social Justice Commission as well as with Development and Peace.

In 1972 Msgr. Fitzgerald was appointed Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Edmonton by Archbishop Anthony Jordan. Wishing to deepen his knowledge of new media development Msgr. Fitzgerald took courses from the Alberta Technical Institute and at St. Paul’s University in Ottawa.

The Communications Centre opened in September 1973 and was dedicated to spreading the Gospel message through the use of electronic media. In particular the centre focused on using Television and Television programing to educate Catholics across Canada. Programs produced by the Communications centre include Open Window, Make it Happen, Scripture Series, Distance Education, Telesports.

Msgr. Fitzgerald was the first diocesan communications director to use satellite transmissions to bring his programs to viewers across Canada.

In addition to the television programing the Communication Centre also produced tape series of the cable transmission for small group or personal use, and in 1983 in conjunction with the Western Catholic Reporter created a series of tapes with summaries of the newspaper on tape for visual impaired readership.

A proposal for Archdiocesan Ministries Formation Program (AMFP) was presented in July 1986. Mrs. Patricia Lejeunesse was Director and Father Martin Carroll, Animator. AMFP was to be a two-year pilot project. Sister Yvette Hebert, S. A. S. V. also joined the team as Coordinator.

A Theology Program (100 units divided in 5 sections) and a Scripture Program (60 units divided in 6 sections) were prepared by Colleen Lynch and Nancy Vick. Colleen Lynch wrote the texts for the Theology Program and Nancy Vick wrote some if not all the texts for the Scripture Program. Sr. Barbara Rice and Father Martin Moser, O. M. I., edited some of the units.

In January 1989, Patricia Lajeunesse reported to the Council of Priests “that the first graduation class of the A. M. F. P has been accomplished.” She mentioned that an Evaluation Committee recommended “to the C. of P. that the program continues as a worthy tool in the preparation of lay persons in the Archdiocese for Ministry.”

At the September 18, 1989 meeting of the Council of Priests, “the Council of Priest suggests to the Archbishop that the AMFP be mandated for a further year.”

In January 1991, “in light of Archdiocesan expectations that a formation of this program for the laity should reach out to more people in the Archdiocese” it was decided to terminate the program on April 30, 1991.

In February 1969 the Canadian Bishops established the National Missions Council. Following this, the Archdiocese of Edmonton established the Edmonton Mission Council with Father Paul Kingston as its chairman. In 1988 the Mission council was dissolved and Father Michael Troy was appointed Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies for the Edmonton Archdiocese.

In 1996, Archbishop MacNeil called a meeting to discuss the feasibility of setting up a mission secretariat to be located in the pastoral centre with an executive secretary. A year following that meeting, in 1997, the Archdiocesan Mission Council was established with Father Michael Troy named as its director. Like its predecessors (the Edmonton Mission Council, and the Pontifical Mission Society for the Edmonton Archdiocese) the Mission Council's aims were to create greater mission awareness throughout the Archdiocese especially in parishes and Catholic schools, ensure ongoing education of clergy and laity in the theology of mission and knowledge of and support for the work of the Church in mission countries, and to cooperate with the National Office of the Pontifical Societies and other mission organizations, especially religious congregations of the Archdiocese that have personnel working in the missions.

The Pontifical Mission Societies supported by the Archdiocesan Mission Council included the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Holy Childhood Association, Society of St. Peter the Apostle, and the Missionary Union of Clergy and Religious.

As described in Article 16, (1), Motu Proprio of Pope Paul VI issued on August 6, 1966, "the purpose and objectives of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council are to investigate everything pertaining to pastoral activities, to weigh them carefully and to set forth practical conclusions concerning them so as to promote conformity of the life and actions of the people of god within the Gospel."

In 1968 when Archbishop Jordan called for the establishment of a Diocesan Pastoral Council its aims were to "provide a unified representation of all the People of God, in justice and charity, for the effective discharge of their particular responsibilities in the total mission of the Church; to provide a representative form for the full and free discussion of all matters of pastoral concern in the diocese; to assist the Bishop in his role as shepherd through consultation and cooperation as coworkers in the mission of making Christ presents in the world; to seek and propose ways and means for the effective implementation of solutions to the problem concerning the Christian community by consulting specially qualified persons whose competency in a particular area will provide insights which may contribute to the good of the diocese; and to arrive at a true consensus in through and in action among all the People of God by serving as a free and open channel of communication at all levels.

The Diocesan Council's primary function is to advise the Bishop, and have no legal status in the church. The Bishop (or Archbishop) remains the final authority and continues to have the power to make decisions by himself.

On January 25, 1969 Archbishop Jordan issued the following decree "In accordance with the directives of Vatican II, there shall be and there is hereby declared to be a Pastoral Council in the Archdiocese of Edmonton to be knows as the Pastoral Council for the Archdiocese of Edmonton, hereafter referred to as the Council." Initially members of the Steering Committee were appointed to the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council until a new council was appointed. In the early years the Council consisted of the Archbishop, the Executive Director (a priest), 3 priests (1 member of a religious order and 2 diocesan priests), 2 sisters, 1 brother, and 9 lay men and 9 lay women (3 men and 3 women over 18 and under 25, 3 men and 3 women over 25 and under 40, and 3 men and 3 women over 40). Meetings were held quarterly. Initially there were four committees: Constitutional Committee, Membership Committee, Agenda Committee, and a Publication Committee.

The Constitutional Committee's purpose was to recommend revisions to the constitution as necessary and was comprised of three members. The Membership Committee's purpose was to recommend the most democratic method of selecting the membership of the council and consisted of three members. The Agenda Committee's purpose was to report to the council all proposals received by it and to recommend the agenda for each meeting. The Publicity Committee's purpose was to recommend to the council the means whereby the council and its actions might be most effectively publicized.

In the 1980s Regional Pastoral Councils (RPCs) were established as an intermediary body between the Deaneries and the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC). The Regional Pastoral Councils were as follows, Edmonton Central, Edmonton South (eventually divided in Southeast and Southwest), Edmonton Northeast, Edmonton Northwest, Edmonton Ring, Red Deer, Vegreville, Battle River, Blackgold, Camrose, Drayton Valley/Evansburg/Maryerthorp, Foothills, Fort Saskatchewan, Killiam/Daysland/Heisler, Lakeland, Lloydminster/Vermilion, Most Holy Trinity (Spruce Grove/Stony Plain), Olds/Trochu, Our Lady of Victory, Provost/Wainwright, RDIL, St. Albert, Sturgeon, Yellowhead, and Francophone.

In the early 2000s the Regional Pastoral system was discontinued as priests and lay people found they were being called to server on too many committees (Parish Pastoral Councils, Regional Pastoral Councils, Archdiocesan Pastoral Councils, Deaneries, etc.).

By the 1990s the focus of the APC was to assist in developing a pastoral vision for the church in the archdiocese of Edmonton, to help ensure the future of the church, to hold biennial APC Assembly, and to develop a set of guidelines governing the APC. An official name change took place in the 1990s and the Diocesan Pastoral Council became officially known as the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council which more actually reflected the structure and organization of the Archdiocese of Edmonton.

The Social Justice Commission of the Archdiocese of Edmonton began in a small way in 1977. In keeping with the spirit of Vatican II, Archbishop Joseph N. MacNeil requested through the Senate of Priest that a Commission be established with lay people, priests and religious.

The Commission had two major goals: to bring the message of the gospel and church social teaching to public discussion on social issues and to promote the social justice ministry throughout the Archdiocese.

Inspired by Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching, members of the Commission worked together to identify needs for education and action in order to promote an active social justice ministry throughout the Archdiocese. Members were Catholic volunteers from the Archdiocese who seek involvement in the social justice mission of the Church. In consultation with Commission staff, they served for a three year term in carrying out the work of the Commission.

With the re-organization of the pastoral offices at the Archdiocese the Social Justice Commission ceased to exist in 2003 and all social justice related activities were transferred to the Social Justice Office which reports to the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis.

The Archdiocesan Youth Commission was formed in 1976 by Archbishop MacNeil. In 1979, a full-time Co-ordinator of Youth Ministry was appointed.
The Youth Commission ceased to exist in 2003 when the Archdiocese Commissions were re-organized.