Our Ontario website offers a tab called "Need Help?" We encourage folks in need or with questions to email us and let us know how we might be able to help them. We expect requests mainly from our Ontario website visitors.

Bernie Hartlin in Ottawa fields all these emails, locates the nearest council and conference, and contacts them with the request information. He also lets the sender know what has been done and where their request was sent.

But he was not expecting a call for help all the way from London England.

Here is an excerpt from the request -
"I am contacting you on behalf of my sister who lives in a retirement home outside of Toronto. She is a Catholic and would love to take communion and have some St Vincent de Paul friends visit her. She is unable to go out on her own and is quite incapacitated. She is very lonely and needs spiritual help. I am her sister but I live in London England. I am 81 years old and finding it more difficult to visit her. Please can you send some lovely person to pay her a visit and arrange for her to have Holy Communion and blessings. Thank you so very much."

Bernie got busy with his lists of contacts and located the Particular Council active in the area and found that the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish and conference in Scarborough was the nearest one to the retirement home. Bernie corresponded with their president and after explaining the situation, two Vincentians from the Immaculate Heart of Mary responded to this request for help and arranged a visit shortly after.

Bernie also kept up a correspondence with the sister in England to let her know what was happening and that her Canadian sister would be getting a visit from them.

After the visit, they sent a message to the lady in England and told her about their visit with her sister. An excerpt from their message follows -
"We visited your sister at the retirement home today. She was at the dining hall when we got there shortly after noon time. The retirement home is just few blocks away from the church and we went to see her after the mass. She looks great and happy. She said they have mass in the chapel right in the home once a month. We will arrange with a Eucharistic Minister in the church to visit her regularly to give communion."

Bernie later heard back from the sister in England to tell him how happy she was with the outcome of her request. Again we share her word with you -
"Thank you for your email. My sister and I are happy to share our story about my contacting you on behalf of my dear sister in Canada. One of the Vincentians who visited her has written to me advising me that my sister will be getting a visit from her this coming Sunday. She and her colleague are arranging for my sister to receive Holy Communion regularly. I know my father and mother were very happy when they had visits from their friends in St Vincent de Paul."

Bernie closes this episode with this email to the Council and conference folks who were involved in the intervention in this way -

"I want to thank you so much for your follow up in relation to helping these two sisters. I must tell you that when I read your response to her sister in England and saw the attached pictures they brought tears to my eyes, I am sure it will also do the same to her.

All I can say is thank you so much for the great comfort and love you have given to both sisters. This also shows how much our Vincentian outreach can accomplish in doing Christ’s work here on earth. Many blessings and prayers to all of you. Bernie"

And may this story bring many blessings and spiritual renewal to all who read this article and see the attached photos.

Mary Grad, Communications Chair