The fonds contains documents created for the organization of the visit of Pope John Paul II to Canada in 1984 and Fort Simpson in 1987. It is divided into 25 series created by the francophone and anglophone secretariats. The language of the documents is both French and English. The documentation consists of correspondence, preparatory documents relating to itineraries and papal speeches, official programmes, financial papers and many others. The records are arranged according to the CCCB classification system.
The fonds contains also maps, plans, posters and audiovisual documents. Finding aid MSS1998 gives a list of these documents at the end of the repertory. Refer to the sections responsible for these media for their consultation.
Catholic Church. Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops : The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) was established in 1943 and was officially recognized by Rome in 1948. Its mandate is to allow cardinals, archbishops and bishops to express their collegial responsibility through collective action, to assure the progress of the Church and the coordination of Catholic activities in Canada. The CCCB General Secretariat plays a key role in accomplishing this mandate because it coordinates the activities and information on the Conference.
The General Secretariat has responsibility for maintaining regular contact with the Holy See and serves as a channel of communication between the bishops and other national religious organizations and civil authorities. It facilitates relationships between the Canadian bishops and the Catholic Church, other conferences of bishops, denominations and faiths, and collaborates with the four Canadian Regional Conference of Bishops (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario and Western Canada). The General Secretariat organized Pope John Paul II's visits to Canada in 1984 and in 1987 (Fort Simpson).
The principal objectives of the Papal Visit were the evangelization of the Roman Catholics and other Christians as well as discussions on particular subjects of interest to the Canadian Church: the evolution of the Canadian Church after Vatican II, the family, social justice questions such as native rights, peace and disarmament, unemployment, human rights among other issues. To achieve this, a francophone secretariat and an anglophone secretariat worked together to plan all the details of the event. All the provinces as well as the North West Territories were involved in this process. Autonomous desks were established for pastoral planning, liturgy, media and public relations, logistics and travel, finance and many other fields.
