Madonna House Apostolate

Madonna House Apostolate, founded in 1947 by Catherine de Hueck Doherty, is a community of laymen, women, and priests with headquarters in Combermere, Ontario. At present, there are over 200 members with mission houses spread throughout the North American continent, England, Belgium, Russia and West Indies. In addition, we have more than 100 Associate deacons, priests and bishops around the world. The invitation of G. Emmett Cardinal Carter to open a house in 1982 in the Toronto Archdiocese meant coming "full circle" for Catherine. It was here she began her vocation in 1930 with the founding of Friendship House in Toronto's inner city, answering God's call to identify with the poor. Our life of Nazareth, modeled after that of the Holy Family, is an expression and witness of Christ's command to love one another through our blend of prayer and work; in Catherine's words, "a place where people come in contact with God and the things of God. The very essence of our vocation, so hidden, so humble, so glorious, is to love God passionately by loving others."