There are major renovations happening lately at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Toronto, a parish staffed by the Friars.
Work is being done on the brickwork both on the belltower and the church building. This bell dates to 1891 and was dedicated by Pope Leo XIII for a church in Ottawa, but was repurposed for the new St. Joan of Arc Church built in 1967. Pictured here is Fr. Dan Callahan, SA, the pastor of St. Joan of Arc, who climbed the tower in his steel towed hiking boots repurposed from his days of becoming an Adirondack 46er in 2003. Fr. Dan climbed all 46 of the High Peaks of the Adirondack mountains when he was assigned to the ministry of pastoral counselor for the Rehabilitation of Alcoholic and Drug addicted men and women in the programs sponsored by the Friars. Fr. Dan has served as a Mission Effectiveness executive with a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Seton Hall University concentrating on this Catholic Mission Values. He is serving his second term as a member of the General Council of the Friars.
Fr. Dan was inspecting the work that is being done on the tower with members of the parish building committee and considering the scope of work that will need to be done to secure the tower for future generations. Fr. Dan will run the Ironman 70.3 in Lake Placid this year as a fundraiser for the project. Fr. Dan, known as the Ironfriar, has run 23 full ironman races in the past 22 years to raise funds for each of the ministries to which he has been assigned to support the missions of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.
We hope this years efforts will indeed become a real bell ringer!