Aquinas Hope International Society – "Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."

On July 25, 2019, the Feast of St. James the Apostle, Aquinas Institute Corporation registered the Aquinas Hope International Society, a non-profit organization, with the BC Government.

The Spiritual Director of the Society is Msgr. Pedro Lopez-Gallo, P.A. The Managing Director is Teresita Nixon. The third corporate director is Barry Charles Nixon.

The Aquinas Hope International Society has the mission of providing Catholic spiritual formation of its members through the new Aquinas Religious Lay Order and their commitment to good deeds not only in Canada but also in the poor countries of the world.

NATURE AND PURPOSES OF THE SOCIETY

The Society is a combined spiritual, philanthropic, charitable and educational organization with allegiance to the one, holy catholic and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ.
To make God known to people; bring God’s love and mercy to people; and bring people closer to the Most Blessed Trinity.
To focus on the Holy Eucharist and encourage people to attend Mass daily; participate frequently in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; and attend Eucharistic Congresses.
To encourage Catholics to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a month.
To help people receive the graces from the Sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ.
To honor and love the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God; to propagate the recitation of the rosary with the Fatima prayers; and to seek Her intercession for the success of all the Society’s works.
To seek the protection of St. Joseph and St. Michael the Archangel for all the Society’s works from Satan and from all evils.
To educate people on the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas, the writings of St. James the Apostle and the charity of St. Teresa of Calcutta.
To give hope, love, joy, care, support, protection and advocacy for the unborn; children, students, single mothers, seniors, the poor, the homeless and abused victims.
To give scholarship grants to needy university students.
To assist the unemployed, those on welfare assistance, native Indians and visible minorities in job search and/or with job creation.
To help the spiritually challenged, the mentally challenged, the physically challenged, the lonely and those in despair through encouragement, counselling and joyful love.
To visit and give hope, love and joy to the sick, elderly priests and prisoners.
To console and financially support victims of calamities, disasters and earthquakes.
To give donations to humanitarian causes for the glory of God.
To propagate the vocations to the priesthood and the religious life as well as support seminarians prayerfully, morally and financially.
To sponsor seminars, conferences and/or workshops on the lives of saints, self-development, family values, social issues and other relevant topics that will help in creating responsible individuals, a strong community, a responsive society and a better nation.
Subject to financing availability, to operate a center that is open to people without discrimination in religion, race and culture.
The works of the Society will extend to Canada and to poor countries around the world.
In the end, the Society hopes to bring people closer to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the One and Only Savior of Mankind, and to Our Blessed Mother Mary, the one and only Queen of Heaven and Earth.

AQUINAS CATHOLIC MEDITATIONS WEBSITE

We invite the clergy , religious nuns, seminarians, members of the laity and children of the Catholic community to submit religious writings, homilies, essays, testimonials, and poems for inclusion in the Catholic Meditations website. Please email your article to info@aquinashopeinternational.org. All submitted articles will be reviewed and approved by Msgr. Pedro Lopez-Gallo, P.A.

SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Msgr. Pedro Lopez-Gallo, P.A.

Msgr. Pedro Lopez-Gallo, P.A. is the president and spiritual director of the Aquinas Hope International Society.

He belongs to a big Mexican family with good, loving, practicing Catholic parents who showed their nine children their deep love for Jesus and His successors here on earth. The spiritual life of his parents was influenced by the doctrines of Pope Pius X and Pope Pius XI and resulted in the creation of the ontological identity of Msgr. Gallo.

He remembered his mother’s joy as the latter recounted the story of her First Holy Communion. In 1905, Pope Pius X decreed that children should receive Holy Communion as soon as they reached the age of reason, and her pastor carried out the order to prepare children of 7 years and older for this great event.

It was a difficult time at the Vatican. The Pope’s coat of arms bore his motto “Instaurare Omnia in Cristo” (“to restore all in Christ”) and he set out to reform everything – sacred music, the laws of the Church with a Code of Canon Law, the Roman Curia, the Breviary and the Pontifical Orders of Malta and the Holy Sepulcher.

What disturbed bishops and cardinals the most was Pope Pius X’s recommendation of frequent reception of the Eucharist and to give young children their first Communion as soon as they reached the use of reason. The Pope was bitterly criticized and considered crazy to admit such young children to the sacrament as they would surely profane the Most Holy Body of Christ.

Pope Pius XI also had an immense impact on Msgr. Gallo’s family during the religious persecution in Mexico. The government wanted to vanquish the Catholic Church. Churches, seminaries and convents were shut; bishops were exiled; and the Papal Nuncio was expelled as a persona non grata. Hundreds of priests were murdered and the faithful, called Cristeros, took up arms with the battle cry “Viva Cristo Rey!”

Pope Pius XI issued a decree giving Msgr. Gallo’s mother the faculty to take Communion to the sick in hospitals and in battlefields. His Dad told the children to pray the Rosary together for their mother to be safe when taking Communion to the sick. In a way, it was the “ante litteram” of what later came to be Eucharistic ministers.

Pope Pius XII called Msgr. Gallo to study Vatican diplomacy and work for the Holy See. Before the death of Pius XII in 1958, Msgr. Gallo had contact on several occasions with his successor, Pope John XXIII. When he was the Patriarch of Venice, Msgr. Gallo accompanied him to Lourdes to bless the new underground basilica dedicated to St. Pius X. Three months before the conclave in which Pope John XXIII was proclaimed Pope, Msgr. Gallo was shocked to find the humble John being his altar server when the former was celebrating Mass in the papal private chapel one morning.

In those days, the Pope was obliged to stay within the walls of the Vatican; but Pope John XXIII’s successor, Pope Paul VI, who was elected in 1963 started to travel abroad. Msgr. Gallo was the secretary of Cardinal Tisserant at that time and he was part of the Pope’s entourage when he visited India, Columbia and the Holy Land.

Msgr. Gallo also worked at the Tribunal for the Roman Rota during Paul VI’s term. At the end of his Pontificate, Msgr. Gallo decided to leave Rome and look for another ministry.

1978 was the year in which three popes lived at the Vatican in quick succession. Pope Paul VI died on August 7; Pope John Paul I died on September 28, only 33 days after he was elected pope; but his successor, Pope John Paul II, went on to reign from 1978 until April 2, 2005.

On April 19, 2005, Joseph Ratzinger was named pontiff and he chose the name Benedict XVI. Msgr. Gallo and Pope Benedict XVI had known each other for a long time. Interestingly, they were both born in 1927, ordained priests in 1951, and they also participated at the Ecumenical Council Vatican II. Joseph Ratzinger was the expert theologian of Cardinal Frings of Cologne, Germany while Msgr. Gallo was the secretary of Cardinal Tisserant, President of the Central Commission.

For 25 years, Pope Benedict XVI and Msgr. Gallo were in Rome together. In 1981, Cardinal Ratzinger was called to be the Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and Msgr. Gallo was appointed Judicial Vicar here in Vancouver. The Vancouver Matrimonial Tribunal also handled Privilege of the Faith cases and this gave them reason to correspond frequently. Msgr. Gallo was fortunate to be received in audience twice a year, until Pope Benedict XVI surprised the world with his resignation from his pontifical duties and decided to dedicate his life to prayer and meditation.

Barry Charles Nixon, B. Arch.

Barry Charles Nixon, B. Arch. is one of the three founding directors of the Aquinas Hope International Society. He was a licensed architect in British Columbia and in California. He is now a retired architect. He is currently a council member of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites in Vancouver, B.C.

Teresita Nixon, M.A., C.Crt.I.

Teresita Nixon, M.A., C.Crt.I. is the director of the Aquinas Hope International Society.

Her mission is to help people for the glory of God. She uses her talents, time, efforts and earnings to achieve this goal. She is a strong advocate for the family and pro-life – no abortion and no euthanasia. She believes that life is a precious gift from God.

The love for God and Our Blessed Mother was inculcated in the mind of Teresita when she was still young. She was surrounded by prayerful parents who respected each other and went to church regularly on Sundays; every Wednesday to honor Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran; and during the Holy Week. She prayed the rosary with her parents when she was young. In fact, her father instructed her to lead in praying the rosary. Together, both father and daughter still prayed the rosary daily even though they were both quite busy and dead tired from their respective daily school activities and the time was almost midnight. After many years, her father divulged that he asked her to lead in praying the rosary so that she would become a “leader”.

Teresita was also greatly influenced by the members of the family of her father. She prayed the Angelus and the rosary with her paternal grandparents whenever she went on vacation to their home in the province. She accompanied her paternal aunt in attending Masses, religious events, processions and celebrations of feasts of saints. She saw her grandfather praying the rosary daily while sitting in front of the altar at home. Her uncle went to Mass daily. Her paternal relatives were quite religious and faithful to the Catholic Church and her teachings. On the side of her mother’s family, her grandfather went to Mass daily and treated his workers very well. Teresita was blessed to have had very good practicing Catholic relatives who gave her good examples to follow.

Born in Manila, Philippines, Teresita belongs to a big family of ten achievers. Her father, Francisco G. Reyes, was dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Santo Tomas and her mother was an elementary school teacher. Her seven siblings excelled in their respective professional careers. She received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (Magna Cum Laude Honor) from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila; a Bachelor, Major in Spanish (actual title) from the Instituto de Cultura Hispanica (defunct) in Madrid; and a Master of Arts degree in Political Science, Major in International Relations and Public Administration from the University of Santa Barbara in California, USA. She was a consistent honor student, scholar and student leader during her student life. Moreover, she received many awards for academic excellence, scholarship, service, leadership and the Presidential Humanitarian Award – Third Order.

Teresita lived in the cities of Vancouver, Toronto, Yellowknife, Santa Barbara and Manila. She worked for three governments – United States, Canada and Ontario. She also worked as a loans officer for the Royal Bank and the Toronto Dominion Bank. In addition, she was a contractor college instructor for eight years in public and private post-secondary educational institutions – British Columbia Institute of Technology, City University, Kwantlen College, Sprott-Shaw College, Tourism Training Institute, Vancouver Community College and Vancouver School Board Continuing Education. She currently works as a Certified Court Interpreter for the B.C. Courts. She is also the director of the Aquinas Institute Corporation and the Aquinas Legal Interpreters Corporation. She is happily married for 40 years to Barry Charles Nixon and they have two sons.

1997 – Registered Aquinas Institute as a sole proprietorship.
2005 – Established Aquinas Institute Corporation.
2006 – Started the Aquinas Court-Judicial-Legal Interpreter Training Program.
2010 – Began her acting career as Tisha Nixon. See imdb.com; castingworkbook.com; actorsaccess.com.
2016 – Aquinas Institute Corporation became a licensed travel agency.
2016 – Established Aquinas Legal Interpreters Corporation.
2016 – Instrumental in organizing the “Table of Hope Banquet “for over 1,000 poor children in Cebu, Philippines.
2016 – Registered DBA Aquinas Institute.
2016 – Received the Papal Honor Award – Benemerenti Medal from Pope Francis through Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB at the Holy Rosary Cathedral in Vancouver. See https://www.wikipedia.org/.
2017 – Registered dba Aquinas Holy Land Tours.
2017 – Designated as Certified Court Interpreter by the Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia.
2017 – Designated as Level 1 Court Interpreter by the BC Courts.
2019 – Registered dba Aquinas Travel.
2019 – Hosted Buyer of the Government of India Ministry of Tourism, trip to India and attended the India Trade Mart 2019.
2019 – Founded Aquinas Hope International Society with Msgr. Pedro Lopez-Gallo and Barry Charles Nixon.

Under the spiritual direction of Msgr. Pedro Lopez-Gallo, Aquinas Hope International Society carries out its apostolic mission of bringing people closer to God the Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit. May Our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. James the Apostle and St. Teresa of Calcutta help us accomplish our mission for the glory of God.

CONTACT US TODAY!

AQUINAS HOPE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY

205 – 938 HOWE STREET

VANCOUVER, B.C. V6Z 1N9 CANADA

TEL: (604) 868-2354

TEL: (604) 940-7006

EMAIL: INFO@AQUINASHOPEINTERNATIONAL.ORG