On January 26^th, 2012, the cultural communities of Montreal met for the first time with the diocesan offices and services, at the San Pietro reception room, in St. Leonard.

Representatives from the various communities, African, Haitian, Latin American, Polish, Portuguese and even Korean and Native American met with some members of the diocese to establish better ways of communicating and sharing their experiences in the future.

Under the initiative of the Office for Faith Education and Father Pierangelo Paternieri, Episcopal Vicar for the diocesan cultural communities, a meeting was proposed to share the different reflections of those communities and to present the services available to them to help them in their mission.

"Being a multicultural city, it's important for us to listen and develop connections with our communities since they reflect the actual state of our Church", remarked Father Denis Dion, Director of the Office for Faith Education.

"All together, with the newcomers and their communities, we will have to build the Church that represents our diversity", he added.

During the meeting, representatives of the Montreal cultural communities discussed mainly their upcoming challenges and how they plan to collaborate with the Montreal diocese. The discussion was very constructive.

"We didn't know what to expect since it's the first time we were all involved in such a meeting. Overall, I think it's a step in the right direction, although there is a lot of work ahead!" says Achilles Lumanji, secretary for the African community of Montreal.

For her part, Maria Teresa Zambrano, from the Office for Faith Education, was quite satisfied: "For us, it was a great fulfilling experience! We were pleased with their welcome, and we are very happy about our meeting".

When asked if it will lead to another meeting, she promptly answered that they are already working on it, but first of all, there is a follow up to do on the communities' needs and concerns.