Pastor
Fr. Wilson Andrade, CSC is a Religious Priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He was born and brought up in a religious family of nine children, in the southern part of India. He joined Holy Cross at the age of 15 years, completed his initial formation in India, along with the missionary work in the North East of India. He was asked to come to Canada and completed his theological studies at Regis College under Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto.
In December, 2010, he was ordained and began his ministry at St. Ann, St. Joseph and Native Mission in Toronto. In 2014, he became the Pastor of St. Ann parish and Administrator of St. Joseph Parish and Native Peoples’ Mission. Along with the pastoral duties, he served as the Vocation Promoter for the Region of English Canada from 2012 to 2018. From 2015 to 2018, he served as the Zone Chair for the Downtown Central Region of the Archdiocese of Toronto. In 2018, he became the first National Director of the Holy Cross Family Ministries – Canada that helps to promote Family Rosary and the family ministry. He serves as the chair of Archdiocese of Toronto Vocation Directors Association and Board member of National Vocation and Formation Directors Association.
He enjoys his ministry of visiting the sick in the downtown hospitals and working in the food distribution at St. Ann Food Bank for the last 15 years. He has coordinated many youth activities including 2 international Youth Mission work of building houses in Jamaica and has helped to resettle in Canada 2 families from Syria. He has preached many retreats, and enjoys writing sermons that are published in the Faith Alive Series of the Archdiocese of Toronto.
He has an extensive collection of Stamps based on Bible and Nature. He is passionate about pastoral and liturgical work and has written 12 plays on the life of Saints and Bible, and 3 Novena prayer booklets. He has led 4 International Pilgrimages as he visited 21 countries.
The Canadian Government has honored him with a Community Service Award for his leadership, care and compassionate service to the poor in his community. He is also honored by the Native Elders in Toronto with the Feather, Shell and Shaker to continue the Healing ministry among the Indigenous people of Canada.
Father Wilson began his role as Pastor of St. Raphael Parish, Burlington, on August 1, 2022.
