Pastoral letter on the occasion of the death of Queen Elizabeth II

Dear friends,

Anglicans across Quebec have been joining millions of other people around the world mourning the death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and giving thanks for a long and remarkable life characterized by duty and service.

We can also take inspiration from the Queen’s own lifelong witness as an Anglican disciple of Jesus Christ, whose teachings she has publicly described as “my inner light” and “the bedrock of my faith.” That faith guided and informed her entire life—as a daughter, wife, mother, and monarch.

Queen Elizabeth visited the Diocese of Quebec on a number of occasions, stopping and praying at St. Paul’s Church in Gaspé in 1959 and at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Quebec City in 1964 and again in 1987. There exists therefore a particular bond between the late Queen and our diocesan church.

It is therefore fitting that a special commemoration service marking the death of Her Late Majesty will be held at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on Saturday, September 24 at 5:00 p.m., at which I will preside and Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Quebec, will preach. All are welcome.

A national Anglican memorial service for the Queen will take place on Tuesday, September 20 at 3:00 p.m. at St. James’ Cathedral in Toronto. It will be livestreamed at anglican.ca.

In the meantime, your prayers are invited for the late Queen, for the Royal Family in their mourning, and for the new King as he begins his reign.