By John Moore, Columnist
On Friday Nov 22nd Veritas Catholic Books and Gifts celebrated its 30th anniversary. This momentous event took place at the Italian Centre on Agricola Street. It was billed as a gala and by all accounts it certainly was. Special guests in attendance were His Grace Archbishop of Halifax Yarmouth Brian Dunn, Father Craig Cameron Pastor of St Mary’s Basilica and Chaplain of St Mary’s University, and Father James Mallon Pastor of Our Lady of Guadalope in Dartmouth. Father James is also the founder of Divine Renovation Ministries which is worldwide in its reach having inspired thousands of Priests and lay persons. Also in attendance were a number of Franciscans, including Brother Grant Maclean who managed Veritas for a number of years. The current store manager and Board Chair Debbie Richard were also in attendance along with husband Wayne. The music was provided by Pearse Sweeney who had people dancing to his beautiful Irish sounds. Yours truly was the MC for the evening.
Veritas is an important apostolate of the Lady. It has served our community well during the past 30 years giving spiritual guidance and hope to many faithful. There are many reports of conversions and it’s a place where miracles large and small are continuously happening. Once a volunteer was asked who owns Veritas. The volunteer simply replied, “God does” It is interesting to note more than 50% of Veritas business is done with non-Catholics. It is also doing an ever-increasing online business right across Canada. It is basically the only religious store in Nova Scotia and is located in Farnham Gate Mall off Dunbrack Street. It’s important to note Veritas is completely volunteer based and is a nonprofit registered charity.
Early on store manager Lucien Biancinni would often wonder where the next rent payment would come from to keep the store open or for that matter any payment. He would pray. The next day there would be an envelope on his desk with the amount he had been praying for. This happened frequently. A customer told one of the volunteers he had a statue of St. Joseph buried under the front steps of his house. One day, his house was in the path of a raging forest fire. At the last minute a wind came out of nowhere and changed the direction of the fire saving his house.
During Covid many small businesses were shut down. Veritas was one of them and the store almost closed its doors. Thank fully our MLA went to the Premiers office and requested Veritas be designated an essential business. The Premier’s office agreed and saved Veritas from closing. During this time of Covid, many didn’t have access to Holy Water. Fortunately, Veritas had an abundant supply and so people would come where they could get this Holy Water for free. Speaking of Holy Water, one of the volunteers was frustrated as her computer wasn’t working. She put her hand in the Holy Water jar and sprinkled some on the computer. Presto, it sprang back to life.
Well known and highly regarded spiritual leader Father James Mallon was the guest speaker. He spoke about Veritas in its early days as he, in a sense, was one of the early founders who encouraged others to get involved with this important mission. Veritas is about spreading faith, healing and hope. Veritas has helped thousands of people in our province gain a strong spiritual footing over the years. There is no greater calling than this but there is much more work to be done. Thank you, Father James.
In closing I would encourage you to drop in to Veritas, especially now where the Christmas season is fast approaching. There is no better time to do this as Veritas is well stocked with all kinds of beautiful gifts. The spiritual help and advice you may receive will be an added bonus to make your Christmas one to really remember. God Bless and Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all.
