In June 2024, at the beginning of the summer vacation, we undertook an expedition to the Yukon with some of our older youth. We went to see the beauty of that corner of Canada, to walk in the mountains, but we also wanted to see the marks of the long-standing presence and ministry of the Oblate Missionaries. The entire Yukon area was served by the Oblates among the indigenous people but also among the people who searched for gold and took jobs in the mines. Although the Oblates have since left the Yukon Territory, there are missions and churches that were founded by our Congregation still standing in every village where we visited (Whitehorse, Dawson City, Haines Junction, Carmacks, Faro). And in one of the towns, people even asked if a missionary would return to us again permanently...? (The Diocese of Yukon has only a few priests who travel to remote areas to celebrate Mass). I celebrated Mass in some of these churches, thinking of the pioneer oblates who formed the beginnings of the Church here....
In the end, the trip was successful, we saw the tremendous beauty of nature and the greatness of the Oblate heritage in this sparsely populated territory. It was not without numerous adventures during our hiking and camping expedtions, but about that it would be necessary to write a separate diary...

(Fr. Paweł Pilarczyk OMI; TJ/DJ; photos: Fr. Paweł Pilarczyk OMI)