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The Western Catholic Reporter (WCR) was founded in 1965 by Archbishop Anthony Jordan who wanted to replace the 40+ year old weekly Western Catholic with a newspaper that reflected the teaching and spirit of the Second Vatican Council. Archbishop Jordan named an editor, Douglas Roche, a Canadian journalist who at that time was serving on the staff of Sign magazine in New York and had reported on Vatican II.

Roche recruited other staff and the first issue of the new weekly newspaper was published in September 1965. The archbishop also appointed a board of advisors which later became a board of directors for the newspaper. It was established as a separate corporation from the archdiocese with the archbishop holding the vast majority of the shares.
Roche served until 1972 when he was elected to the House of Commons. In the meantime, he had hired Frank Dolphin, a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation-TV reporter as associated editor, and Stuart Lindop as business manager of the newspaper. With Roche’s departure, Victor Misutka became the editor and Elmar Abele the general manager. Misutka was editor until returning to The Edmonton Journal in 1979.

Abele researched and established a parish assessment program in 1973 which put the newspaper on sounder financial footing and made the WCR accessible to Catholics across the archdiocese. The assessment program continued until 2003 when it was cancelled and the newspaper was again distributed by paid circulation. The paper began publishing biweekly at the beginning of 2014 with a vastly reduced circulation. Abele retired as general manager in 1988 and was replaced by Hugh McCarthy who served until 1990.

John Rasmussen became editor after Misutka left and remained in the post until April 1981. Glen Argan became his successor, serving until 1985. Other editors over the next few years were Shirley Pfister (1985-87); Frank Dolphin (1987-88); Marjorie Bentley (1989). Because of internal strife at the WCR and the rapid turnover of editors, a consultant was hired after Bentley’s departure to examine the paper’s structure. The consultant’s key recommendation was to unite the positions of editor and general manager.

The first editor-general manager was Rod Stafford-Mayer who served only a few months before being replaced by Glen Argan in January 1991. Argan served as editor until the paper’s closure in September 2016, although he lost the position of general manager in 2013 when the corporation which ran the WCR – Great Western Press Inc. – was folded into the archdiocese, and the board of directors dissolved. The WCR then became part of the archdiocesan Department of Communications.

Staff were informed of the closure of the newspaper on September 12, 2016, and a public announcement was made later that day. The six staff at the paper were laid off, while two others remained on maternity leave. The final edition of the Western Catholic Reporter was dated September 26, 2016.

The Western Conference of Priests was in 1967 in an attempt to "unite priests, diocesan and religious, to pursue in any useful way their spiritual, intellectual, and social advancement." Membership was open to all priests, diocesan and religious of both the Latin and Eastern Rite who lived in Manitoba, Saskatechwan, Alberta, British Columbia, the North West Territories and the Yukon.

The board of directors consisted of elected representatives of each ecclesiastical entity who had at least 10 paid members. Entities with more than 50 members were entitled to 2 representatives on the board.

The Western Conference of Priests organized an annual assembly which provided an opportunity for priests to gather and discuss a variety of topics of interest.

It appears that the organization was short-lived and by the mid-1970s no longer existed.

In 1969, diocesan chairmen from across Canada met in Pittsburgh, PA in conjunction with the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. Prior to that time, there had been unofficial gatherings, with the Canadian network usually meeting one evening for their own needs. By 1969, London, Halifax, Sault Ste. Marie, Winnipeg, Montreal, Edmonton and Regina had excellent and active diocesan commissions.

After the establishment of the National Liturgical Office in 1969, it became clear that there were four natural divisions in the liturgical work: Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic area. The most suitable solution was to start three regional Anglophone sectors, and let local needs be the principal subject matter. Hence, the Western Liturgical Conference was formed in 1971. The purpose of the Conference was to promote and facilitate exchanges between its members, assume tasks requested by the Western Catholic Conference, be aware of the liturgical needs of the Church in Western Canada and communicate with other Liturgical offices. The group held bi-annual meetings until 1973, since then they have been held annually. The membership of the conference is three-fold: Diocesan Representatives, Members at Large, and Associate Members. The Diocesan Representatives are appointed by the Bishop and have voting power. Members at large are appointed based on their expertise for three years, but do not have voting rights. Associate Members are all other groups, persons, or businesses interested in liturgy, who are also not voting members.

Albert Lafreniere, OMI and Martin Brodner, OSB were the first leaders in the West, and Edmonton was the central meeting point, since it had ready access to the northern areas. There were several meetings held with the catechists and social action leaders, though the ideal of a common front never really caught fire.

The Atlantic region conducted liturgical study days every two years and drew crowds of heroic proportions. Since these “days” were held at different centers, the local or regional organizers had the experience of planning and conducting educational activities on a grand scale, and the result was positive in every way.

The Ontario region, led by London (Msgr. John O’Donnell) and Sault Ste. Marie (Fr. Jim Hutton) met annually in Toronto. Its several publications dealing with penance, death and funerals, and music, were of use to Canadians everywhere.

Three bishops oversaw the liturgy at this time: Michael C. O’Neill in the West, James Hayes in the Atlantic area, and Emmett Carter in Ontario. George Cardinal Flahiff in Winnipeg was a constant help, a person of vision and the soul of kindness.

All three areas eventually developed a strong scholastic arm: St. Paul’s University in Ottawa started a summer diploma program, followed shortly by Newman Theological College in Edmonton and the Atlantic School of Theology.

The Summer School in Liturgical Studies at Newman Theological College commenced in July 1971. The courses were based in theology and catechetics and had two routes: a thematic approach with each discipline responsible for one week out of the four, and a Graduate stream which offered two academic courses from the Newman Theology program. The Summer School offered courses until 2008. Due to decreased enrollment it was cancelled and did not continue in the summer of 2009.

The regional conference came up against the hard facts of Canadian ecclesiastical life: the problems of distance, language, clergy resignation, episcopal laissez-faire, and Roman mysteries. But the work kept going, never in a sensational way, but it kept going, nonetheless. Liturgy is hard work, and over the twenty-five years since their inception, the regions have contributed to the refinement of Vatican II ideals for the local church.

On March 26, 1992 Rosaleen Zdunich, Chair of the Commission for Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations at the Archdiocese of Edmonton, and Rev. Bernard de Margerie, Chair of the Saskatoon Diocesan Commission for Ecumenism wrote to the Most Rev. Antoine Hacault, Archbishop of St. Boniface requesting the permission to establish a regional ecumenical conference or association in Western Canada. Similar organizations had previously been established in Ontario and Quebec.

The purpose of the association was to lend support and encouragement to the ecumenical movement in the Church and its leadership, especially to diocesan ecumenical officers. Conferences are organized annually to provide a time for individuals working in Ecumenical and Interfaith rolls in Dioceses and Eparchies in Western Canada to gather and share resources and knowledge.

There appears to have been a break in activities between 1999 and 2004. When the organization re-formed in 2004 they created a formal set of guidelines in which the aims, membership, dues, voting, and responsibilities are explained in detail.

John Wetherhill was born on September 18, 1932 in Birmingham England. He served as pipe organist at St. Joseph's Basilica for 38 years. In addition to his passion for music Wetherhill was an avid photographer who diligently photographed all the parishes and mission in the Catholic Archdiocese.

Joseph Lawrence Wilhelm was born 6 Nov. 1909 in Walkerton. He was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Hamilton on June 9, 1934 where he served until he was appointed Auxiliary bishop of Calgary on June 25, 1963. Three years later he was appointed Archbishop of Kingston where he served until his retirement in 1982.

In order to facilitate communication and management of the many parishes within its boundaries, The Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton has used various models to group the geographical area of the Archdiocese into smaller regions.
In the late 1990s regional councils were established to function as an intermediary organization in the Archdiocese and were involved, on a regional basis, in decision making, coordination of services and activities, and to facilitate communication among parishes and between parishes and the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council. Each regional council was encouraged to establish its own procedures; however it was strongly encouraged that they meet at least four times a year. Members of the Yellowhead Regional Pastoral Council included Lac La Nonne, Mayerthorpe, Onoway, Spruce Grove, Evansburg, and Drayton Valley.