Formerly homeless Montreal priest living in a tent to help those who were like him
A priest in Montreal has returned to live on the streets to give the homeless in the city a new voice.
Though he has an apartment, Father Claude Paradis, 68, chooses to live in a tent nestled in the heart of downtown in the backyard of the Mary Queen of the World Cathedral.
"I spend my days in the tent, and spend my evenings on the street helping others," he said, as his gear dried in a small room he uses to assist people inside the Montreal Archdiocese.
Before he became a priest, Paradis was an addict living on the streets.
It was a chance meeting with the late Father Emmett "Pops" Johns that led to him turning his life around.
Johns founded a charity called Bon Dieu Dans la Rue with a mission to help people like Paradis.
"He taught me everything," he said.
Paradis decided to follow in Johns' footsteps, signing up for the Major Seminary of Montreal to become a priest.
"On my first day, seminarians were there in black ties and bow ties, and there I was with long hair, leather jacket, and cowboy boots," he said.
Paradis graduated and was ordained by the late Montreal Archbishop Jean-Claude Turcotte.
Paradis then started his mission, working with those on the streets and preventing the city from displacing the homeless.
"The only thing chasing them does is push them into other neighbourhoods," he said.
Paradis wants to continue helping, feeding and housing the poorest, even if it means joining them on the street.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Slovakia's populist prime minister shot in assassination attempt, shocking Europe before elections
Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday after a political event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe.
Transport Canada's UFO 'lead' planned to meet with U.S. intel officials, called info requests a 'wild goose chase'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
BREAKING Ontario's 'Crypto King' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed 'crypto king' from Whitby, Ont., has been arrested in Durham Region after allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a smaller and separate island that is home to a university, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Latest updates on the biggest wildfires burning in Canada
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
OPINION If you think you can’t focus for long, you’re right: Sandee LaMotte
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.