St. Josaphat’s Ukrainian Cathedral in Edmonton is the seat of the Ukrainian Eparch, Bishop David Motiuk. Bishop Motiuk is a busy man, but he made time to talk to us about St. Josaphat’s and St. George the Martyr, the two Eastern Catholic Churches we were going to. St. Josaphat, believe it or not, was designed by a Roman Catholic priest, and its colours are mainly pastel. Wally loved the iconography and was busy filming it.
St. George the Martyr had dark colours and a very traditional look. The pastor Fr. Anton Tarasenko talked a while about how true iconographers use only natural materials. He also pointed out a few of his favourite icons in the church, including the one based on Revelation and the image of Christ the Pantokrator on the dome. I learned about how the red that Christ is covered in represents his royalty, and how the blue on top of that represents his humanity.
The last stop of the day was at the Chancery office where we were going to meet the very outgoing Fr. Michael Mireau, a.k.a. Fr. Catfish. Check out
www.fathercatfish.com and you’ll find out more about him. He is trying to reach young people on the fringes via internet. He even has a Facebook page! Fr. Catfish has a voice that you can hear a mile away, and I’m not exaggerating (well, just a little bit). He has a ponytail that reminds me of Pedro Guevara Mann’s in his good ol’ unshaven days. We interviewed Fr. Catfish for my Catholic Focus on Superheroes and the Faith – especially since he frequently uses Star Wars, Superman, and Batman in his homilies. Stay tuned!
Before Wally and I left the Chancery, Natalie Rose took me around the office and introduced me to some people who were looking forward to hearing me speak on Thursday with Archbishop Chaput. GULP! Tomorrow is going to be spent praying and listening to the Spirit at work in me. All the filming’s done, and I can focus on the
main objective of my trip to Edmonton!