We Remember: First Nations and veterans honoured in November

Stones and poppies left on headstones. The ringing of bells. Candlelit Rosaries. Throughout the month of November, the faithful – young and old – gathered at cemeteries around B.C. to honour and pray for the souls of past generations.

On Nov. 2, All Souls Day, choir students of Our Lady of the Assumption School visited the Port Coquitlam Cemetery and took part in No Stone Left Alone, an initiative to honour the sacrifice and service of Canada’s military by educating students and placing poppies on the headstones of veterans. A short prayer service included the singing of In Flanders Fields.

On Nov. 5, with the clouds parting to make way for the sun over Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver, more than 100 students from St. Mary’s and St. Helen’s elementary schools gathered to celebrate No Stone Left Alone in the military section of the cemetery. They were joined by members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

On Remembrance Day about 200 people gathered Gardens of Gethsemani Cemetery’s Veterans Plaza for a Remembrance Day Mass and commemoration service for two First Nations veterans buried at the cemetery. Just three days after Indigenous Veterans Day, Catholic Cemeteries director Peter Nobes said it was “fitting to remember and give thanks” to Cree First Nations veterans Clara and William Brass for their service.

Clara Brass served as a member of the Canadian Women’s Army Corp during the Second World War while her husband, a Royal Canadian Artillery gunner, served in Europe following D-day. The couple had 10 children and lived in Surrey, Delta, and Chilliwack.

In Powell River, Knights of Columbus Council 5417 organized a prayer visit to the local cemetery on Nov. 13 to pray for deceased Knights and family members. More than two dozen parishioners gathered inside the mausoleum to pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet for the souls in purgatory.

On Nov. 20, a date chosen for its proximity to the Nov. 24 feast of the Vietnamese martyrs St. Andrew Dung Lac and Companions, the bell at the Evangelist chapel rang to signal Mass for about 200 members of the Vietnamese Catholic community.

With Kamloops Bishop Joseph Nguyen celebrating, Father Tien Tran, pastor of St. Matthew’s in Surrey, reminded the faithful that remembering and praying for loved ones has a long tradition in the Vietnamese culture.

In his homily, Bishop Nguyen described the saints as “sinners who kept on trying” and spoke of the importance of prayers for the dead as well as obtaining indulgences for them.

Mass was followed by a candlelit procession to Our Lady of La Vang Garden for the Rosary.