Representing the vision of 58 dioceses from across Canada, Development and Peace’s 50th anniversary quilt is a moving tribute to the organization’s mission and the Christian values of equality, justice and peace that inspire its work.
The quilt was started on Ash Wednesday 2015, when it began a bi-coastal pilgrimage in St. John’s, NL and Victoria, BC. At each diocesan stop, a new quilt patch handcrafted by Development and Peace members was added to the collection and a special mass was held to recognize Development and Peace’s five decades of working in solidarity with the people of the Global South.
Youth groups and Development and Peace partner organizations from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean also contributed to the project. By the time the pilgrimage ended on Solidarity Sunday (the 5th Sunday of Lent) 2017, masses had been celebrated in nearly every cathedral in Canada and 78 patches had been collected. Each patch is a thoughtful reflection on the essential Christian virtue of solidarity.
“The idea of doing a pilgrimage came from Martin Blanchet, chair of the 50th anniversary committee,” says Danny Gills, one of the coordinators of Development and Peace’s 50th anniversary celebrations. “The committee talked about ways of making a pilgrimage meaningful, such as having a mass at every cathedral, and having members and partners contribute creatively to a common project. One of our staff, Jean-Paul St. Germain, suggested the possibility of making a quilt during the pilgrimage. This idea gave the project a strong focus and also allowed for many people to use their artistic creativity. It was so exciting to see everyone embrace the project and begin to prepare for the pilgrimage to come to their diocese.”
Sets of 12 beautiful quilt patches are now available to be borrowed for display at local and regional events as a way to help celebrate Development and Peace’s 50th anniversary! If you are interested in hosting a part of Development and Peace’s history in your community please contact Suzanne Slobodian, Jubilee Campaign Coordinating Officer at our Montreal office at (sslobodian@devp.org)
To view the patches created by Development and Peace members, please click here.
A special thanks is extended to the Barra McNeils and Lauchie Stubbert for permission to use their music.