On Monday December 15, 2025, we gathered together to celebrate the founding of the Serra Club of Hamilton and join in the Christmas spirit. Below was spoken by Past President Margaret Carreiro. 

 

St. Junipero Serra was ready to set out on a mission. To go forward and never turn back.

In the early 1960s, there was a young priest in the Diocese of Hamilton who caught wind of Serra International. Father Paul Reding learned about the objectives of Serra:

• To foster and promote vocations to the ministerial priesthood in the Catholic Church as a particular vocation to service, and to support priests in their sacred ministry;

• To encourage and affirm vocations to the Religious Life, the Consecrated Life, and the Permanent Diaconate in the Catholic Church;

• To assist its members to recognize and respond in their own lives to God’s call to holiness in Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

 

Fr. Paul, along with a few men he felt ready for this particular call, attended International Conferences offered in the United States and abroad, and Conferences held with the fledgling Serra Club of Toronto before the Serra Club of Hamilton was Chartered on May 15, 1965. Two of these gentlemen are present with us tonight: Gerry O’Reilly and Russ Reilly. They were instrumental in starting the Serra Club of Hamilton and encouraging others to pray and work for vocations. Vocations is everybody’s business! Gerry, Russ, you and others started the Serra Club of Hamilton and maintained it for over 50 years. In the spirit of fostering and promoting vocations, we offer you blessings with these gifts of a Mass Card and an evergreen.

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​We just heard from Tony how the State of Serra continues to fluctuate and move forward around the world. What has happened with the Serra Club of Hamilton over these 60 years? As far as I can tell, the Serra Club of Kitchener-Waterloo was born with the assistance of the men who founded Hamilton’s Club. Together, they worked on several events like the Altar Servers Awards and the Celebration of Priesthood and Religious Life Dinner. This year, we celebrated the 42nd Annual Altar Servers Award Event, an event that has produced and continues to produce vocations. The Celebration of Priesthood and Religious Life Dinner is going into its 26th year with a shortened name Vocations Recognition Dinner. It was in 2013, I believe, the Serra Club of Hamilton was very instrumental in starting the Serra Club of Halton. In fact, half our membership, mostly those who already lived in the Burlington area, transferred as founding members. We can count our blessings that Serra Club of Hamilton has been able to form two other clubs. Now we help each other out while maintaining our own unique programs.

 

Programs that have endured:

• Annual Seminary visits to meet seminarians studying for the Diocese of Hamilton;

• Attending the ordination of candidates for priesthood and permanent diaconate;

• Attending the ceremony of candidates for final vows;

• Attending the ceremony of candidates for consecration of virginity;

• Presenting a portrait of the newly ordained to the Catholic High School attended;

• Collaborating with the Diocesan Vocation Office.

 

New initiatives that have occurred in the last five years:

• Sending out a daily email with subject line:  “Let us pray”  so Serrans of our Club can remember to pray for the priest or congregation or group of the day (taken directly from the Diocese of Hamilton Vocations Prayer Calendar), the seminarian or candidate for the day (rotation basis from the two cards that come from the Vocation Office), the Serran for the day again on a rotation basis alphabetically, and the priest who died on that day with the year they died (taken from the Nephrology of Hamilton Diocese Priests);

• Same email, when necessary, gives updates or reminders;

• Created a website for the Serra Club of Hamilton that went online September of this year;

 

Currently, we have approximately 240 priests in the Diocese of Hamilton. Twelve of whom were ordained prior to 1965. There are 53 Permanent Deacons. All of whom have been ordained after 1965. Out of 12 or so Religious Congregations of Sisters, two are cloistered, one is homegrown and growing and the others have one to eight members each. After 20 years of having only one Consecrated Virgin in the Diocese, we doubled the number in 2017, then doubled it again in 2025. God willing, there will be one more profession in 2026 and, so far, 4 more before 2030. Our prayers are being heard.

 

As a Club, we have helped foster and promote many vocations, including our own. Each priest, Brother, Sister, Consecrated Woman living in the World, and Permanent Deacon, especially those directly affected by a Serran, cannot say enough good they have received by the Serra Club. We, in turn, are gracious for the opportunity to be the person God wants us to be through the calling of being a Serran. Thanks be to God for Bishop Paul F. Reding who was inspired and inspired others to Charter the Serra Club of Hamilton 60 years ago.

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