‘Directions not available’
My Canadian adventure to celebrate Easter Mass at a church that hadn’t seen a priest in months, and why I am even more grateful today to be a priest

By FATHER DOMINIC VAHLING 
Special to Catholic Times

During the winter of 2025, I said a sentence that most priests will never say in their lifetime: “I have no plans for Easter.” I was a student at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, and while I was focusing on my studies full-time, I occasionally filled in at parishes on Sundays but did not have a consistent parish assignment. In 2025, Holy Week and the Easter Triduum happened to fall during our spring break, so the wheels started turning in my mind to figure out where I could help with Easter celebrations. 

While studying, I was blessed to live with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Ottawa. You might know the order from the shrine in Belleville dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows. The Oblates are a missionary order and were the founding priests and bishops of most of the dioceses in Canada. With this in mind, I asked one of the Oblates at dinner one evening if he knew of a parish that would need a priest to celebrate Easter Masses this year. Soon, I was in touch with St. Joseph Parish in a town called La Tabatière in the diocese of Baie-Comeau in northeast Canada. Curious to see how far it would be to drive there, my phone told me, “Directions not available.” I didn’t know it at the time, but the town is not accessible by car. 

Once my Easter plans were in place, I began to research to learn what the area was like. Historically, La Tabatière was a major hub of seal fishing. If you look at a map, you will have a good idea of why this is. Each year, thousands of seals travel south through the gulf of St. Lawrence, and the little area that is now La Tabatière juts out slightly into this gulf, meaning that the seals pass right along the coast. Google maps showed me that this was an incredibly beautiful coastal town. My parish contact estimated that 20 to 30 people would attend the Easter celebrations. 

I had been warned by my parish contact that travelling to and from La Tabatière might be the most adventurous part of my trip, and she was correct! Travel to La Tabatière happens on a charter airline service rather than commercial airlines, and service is sporadic in bad weather. I departed from Ottawa on Tuesday of Holy Week by taking a train to Montreal. As I was leaving that day, I prayed that God would protect me in my travels and help me to travel there and back safely. I wanted to have the heart of a missionary who would be open to anything along the way. 

I had my first big chance to trust in God around 5 a.m. on Wednesday. I had booked an Uber the night before to take me to the airport in Montreal. When I arrived in the Uber at the airport, I knew that I was in the wrong spot — everything was dark and there was clearly not an entrance. I had not realized that because the airline was a charter service, there is no “terminal” or main entrance. The airline operates out of a private section of the airport which I was unaware of. I apologized to my Uber driver and explained that we were on the wrong side of the airport. I am sure my driver could see my frustration and reassured me, “Don’t worry, Father. We’ll find it.” He wasn’t Catholic, but he felt privileged to be driving a priest and helped me find the correct building. Turns out, I was the first passenger to arrive! 

I flew in a small 16-passenger airplane and arrived at my third stop: a small coastal town called Sept-Iles (Seven Islands in French). It was now midday, and we experienced weather delays due to fog. I was disappointed when it was announced that all flights had been cancelled. What was I to do in a small French-speaking town? My parish contact at St. Joseph called the local Catholic parish for me and asked if there would be a room for me to stay the night. Within an hour, I was in the rectory of the local pastor, eating lunch with him! 

Father Innocent is from Nigeria and welcomed me as a special guest. He even invited me to celebrate his parish Mass that evening, for which I was very grateful (my first time presiding at Mass in French!). The next morning, he gave me a ride back to the airport, and I was so grateful for his hospitality. I continued on my way with a flight to Chevry, where I waited for my final flight to La Tabatière — on a helicopter! I noticed that the parking lot in Chevry is not for parking cars but snowmobiles! 

I waited for quite a while in Chevry and struck up conversations with some locals. One woman was at the airport to send her daughter some fresh eggs on the helicopter. Some students were flying home from high school for the long Easter weekend. I got the sense that the coastal community of small towns is much like our small towns in central Illinois, with the small difference that they travel primarily by helicopter and snowmobile. The helicopter flight to La Tabatière took about 20 minutes. It was surreal to look down and see the incredible landscape of snow-covered fir trees crisscrossed by flowing rivers on the background of the Atlantic Ocean. I landed in La Tabatière just in time to stop by the grocery store and prepare for the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper. That Mass was the first Mass in town since Christmas day! 

The Triduum at St. Joseph Parish was beautiful. On average, around 20 people attended the liturgies each day. Our largest crowd was 35 people for the Easter Vigil celebration. We even had a small choir, directed by a teacher from the local school. A few of the people in the choir were not Catholic, but they wanted to be present for the special occasion of Easter. The church was beautifully decorated with hand-made lilies and decorations. In addition to the Triduum celebrations, I offered the sacraments of confession and anointing of the sick, aware that the parish would probably not see a priest until Christmas. 

The parishioners of St. Joseph were incredibly generous with me. They shared local food such as seal, lobster, and crab. One parishioner gave me a driving tour of the area and gave me a history lesson along the way. Nearly all of the residents of La Tabatière grew up there and feel deeply connected to the area. I joined another parishioner for lunch at her house on two occasions.

St. Joseph Parish in La Tabatière is an aging parish, like the town itself. Young people who grow up in La Tabatière are choosing to attend college in places like Montreal where education and work are more widely available. The industries which once made La Tabatière a thriving town are no longer present. However, God never abandons his people, and even though the parish is small, St. Joseph Parish continues to provide spiritual nourishment for local parishioners. Jesus remains present in the tabernacle, fulfilling His promise that He will be with us always, until the end of the age! When it is time for a funeral, the parishioners try to find an English-speaking priest who can travel for the funeral. Most priests in Quebec speak French primarily, so this can be challenging. 

Travelling home after the Triduum was also an unforgettable experience. I woke up on Easter Monday to the news that Pope Francis had passed away. I again wore my clerical attire as I travelled back to Montreal. It seemed like everyone who saw me made a comment about Pope Francis and what he meant to them. Some people were deeply touched by Pope Francis’ 2022 visit to the indigenous peoples of Canada, who had historically had negative and abusive experiences with Catholic schools and other institutions. As Americans, our cultural context is very different, and I was not aware of how much Pope Francis’ visit meant to Canadians until that day.  

In reflecting on my experience, I am more grateful than ever for my vocation to the priesthood and the opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist each day. How would my appreciation for the Eucharist change if I could only attend Mass a couple times per year? How would my practice of confession change if I knew that I wouldn’t see a priest again for eight months? It is a blessing that the sacraments are available to us here in our diocese on a daily basis. However, such generous availability can allow us to forget how powerful these gifts of God truly are. Many Catholics in the world have to wait for months to see a priest. Are we as grateful as we should be for our faith? 

My brief experience as a missionary priest in La Tabatière gave me a new appreciation for the many missionaries who continue to give their lives to Christ around the world. Many people are spiritually hungry for the Good News of Jesus Christ. How will they come to know God unless someone like you or me is sent to them? 

Father Dominic Vahling, J.C.L, is master of ceremonies and priest secretary for Bishop Thomas John Paprocki.

Photos courtesy of Father Dominic Vahling, J.C.L.