Archbishop presides at St. Joseph’s Parish Mass with 300 young Catholics present

Over 300 young adults filled the pews of St. Joseph’s Church at 174 Wilbrod Street in Sandy Hill for Laetare Sunday, March 15, with Archbishop Marcel Damphousse presiding at the 7:00 PM Mass. The Archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall had been invited as part of the commemorative year marking the 200th anniversary of the formation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate by St. Eugene de Mazenod. The Oblates have been in ministry at St. Joseph’s Parish since the church’s founding 170 years ago, in 1856, and played a formative role in the development of the Archdiocese. The first Bishop of the Diocese of Bytown, Joseph-Eugène-Bruno Guigues, was an Oblate.

Laetare Sunday is one of only two days in the liturgical calendar when the liturgical colour changes to rose. (The other such occasion is Gaudete Sunday, in Advent.) Laetare (“Rejoice”) Sunday is an invitation for Catholics to retrace their baptismal rebirth through the Gospel account of the man born blind, recorded in Luke 9. The Archbishop was joined by the Director of Vocations of the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall, Fr. Connor O’Hara, and by the Pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish, Fr. Robert Laroche, OMI.

Archbishop Marcel Damphousse and Fr. Connor O’Hara at St. Joseph’s Church. Photo: Ottawa Churches Chronicle

Prior to the Mass, a group of young adults took the initiative to say Vespers in the church’s side chapel. Over a dozen gathered for this solemn evening prayer service a half-hour before the liturgy. That sense of grassroots initiative within the robust young adult community manifests in other ways as well. Each Tuesday, for instance, young adults gather in the church at midday to say the Rosary together. They also gathered for Vespers on the Feast of St. Joseph. These devotions form part of a revival of ritual and tradition evident among a younger generation of Catholics.

Young adults say Vespers in the side chapel prior to the evening Mass on March 15. Photo: Ottawa Churches Chronicle

Twelve choristers accompanied by St. Joseph’s Parish Director of Music and Liturgy Jamie Loback, on the Casavant pipe organ, elevated the liturgy with the quality hymnody for which this Oblate parish has become known. Marty Haugen’s hymn “Let Us Return to the Lord” served as the entrance chant, sung during the procession. Other pieces included “Christ Be Our Light” by Bernadette Farrell, “Merciful God,” “Ave Verum Corpus” by William Byrd and the French contemplative piece “Le Seigneur est ma lumière.” A member of the St. Joseph’s Music Ministry, Matthew Menard, frequently offers the Parish his original compositions and several of these were included in the evening liturgy.

The Archbishop invited the Parish’s catechumens to come forward for intercessions, praying that “these elect whom God has called remain faithful to Him and boldly give witness to the words of eternal life.”

Young Adult Mass at St. Joseph’s Parish on March 15, 2026 with Archbishop Marcel Damphousse and Fr. Connor O’Hara. Photo: Ottawa Churches Chronicle.

In his homily, Archbishop Damphousse shared: “In Christ we find the light that draws us closer to God and away from the world of darkness. The Gospel reading today helps us understand the gift we receive in baptism.” He spoke of Jesus encountering the man who was blind from birth. “Usually in the Gospels, the people who are sick, the people who have special needs, they are the ones that cry out for help. They come to Jesus asking to be healed and to be delivered. In this story, Jesus just so happens to come across this man. Nobody asks Jesus to heal the blind man. But Jesus sees and Jesus knows, and Jesus will give him his sight,” Archbishop Damphousse added. Jesus takes dirt and mixes it with his saliva, places it over the blind man’s eyes and tells the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. The blind man emerges from the water and can see.

“This pool of water makes us think of the baptism through which we receive new life. He is sent to a pool, which bears a name that means ‘sent.’ This relates very much to the mission we receive in Christ when we are baptized. We have something to do in this world. Baptism is mission-oriented. But first, we need to receive the light,” Archbishop Damphousse shared.

“Tonight we pray in a special way for those who are asking to be baptized. We pray for light and healing in their lives, and that the Lord God brings healing to all of our lives. Even when we don’t ask Him to, He knows exactly what we need. And for most of us who don’t know that we are blind and that we don’t see God’s ways, let’s let Christ reveal Himself to us, and let’s walk in the light of life that He brings to our lives,” Archbishop Damphousse said, as he concluded his homily.

Altar servers at the young adults Mass celebrated at St. Joseph’s Parish on March 15. Photo: Ottawa Churches Chronicle.

Following Mass, the St. Joseph’s Young Adult Group, in partnership with Young Catholics of Ottawa (YCO), hosted a reception and a Games Night in the Parish Hall. Archbishop Damphousse, Fr. Connor, and Fr. Robert all took the time to visit with the hundreds of young adults from both St. Joseph’s and further afield in the Archdiocese who attended the evening Mass, and the gathering that followed.

In addition to Masses on Saturday at 5:00 PM and on Sunday at 10:30 AM, St. Joseph’s Parish offers a Sunday 7:00 PM University Mass geared to students and young adults during the academic year, notably from September through April. The St. Joseph’s Young Adult Group has grown considerably over the past three years. Students now have access to a lounge in the rectory called the St. Joseph’s Study and they run their own Instagram page, featuring creative and often cheeky reels that have attracted thousands of views.

By Christopher Adam

Published on The Ottawa Churches Chronicle website