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Rededication of St. Joseph Statue at Mount Mary Retreat Centre

On September 26, 2011, Mr. Michael Kuzyk and Mr. Patrick Kuzyk, came to Mount Mary Retreat Centre in Ancaster for the renewing of a commemorative plaque on the statue of St. Joseph which greets all guests to the office of Mount Mary and the home of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate who live here.

The monument was a gift of their parents, Bill and Mary Kuzyk, of Manitoba, who had the statue mounted here in 1958, in gratitude “for favours received.”

As their marriage began, they struggled to start a family; Mary had suffered two miscarriages. About this same time, Mary’s sister, Mildred entered the novitiate at Mount Mary. She was well aware of the young couple’s desire to have children. One day, the superior, Sr. Julianna, asked the novices to share an intention that they could all pray for. Mildred, now Sr. Daria, asked them to pray for this intention. After this, Sr. Julianna called Sr. Daria to her office and told her that this intention was very important to her, and that they would pray a novena to St. Joseph for them. Shortly after this, in 1954, they had a son, Michael, then in 1958 another son, Patrick, and in 1959, a daughter, Marian.

Bill and Mary wanted to show their appreciation to the Sisters for their prayers, and asked if they could make a contribution to their community. Sr. Julianna said she always wanted a statue of St. Joseph holding baby Jesus, in front of their residence. She held St. Joseph responsible for the protection and the flourishing of Mount Mary. So in 1958, Bill and Mary bought the statue which stands in front of the gates of the Sisters’ residence.

Fifty three years later, in May, 2011, Michael and his wife, Sharon, visited Ancaster for the first time, to see the statue his parents had provided, and since the plaque had been weathered, promised to have a new one made, to replace it.

A special blessing of the statue was celebrated by Fr. Andrii Lopatniuk, of Hamilton, with Michael and Patrick present, along with the Sisters currently living at Mount Mary. (See the YouTube clip and photos, below.)