Quebec City, Canada, Mar 6, 2006 / 22:00 pm
One of Canada's cardinals has launched a foundation to assist immigrants and refugees. Cardinal Marc Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec, began the foundation with a $20,000 personal donation and a matching donation from his archdiocese.
The Cardinal Marc Ouellet Foundation is the first in the province to provide funds exclusively to groups that work with immigrants and refugees. The foundation wants to help facilitate integration of immigrants and refugees into Quebec society.
In the last decade, most of the new arrivals have come from Colombia, Afghanistan and different African countries.
Many of the Colombian families and other immigrants from South America are practicing Catholics, infusing some local parishes with new life.