QUINCY -- Bishop Hector Felipe Vila, of the Diocese of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, jokes that his ecclesial territory has more moose and bears than Catholics.

The 449,000-square-mile diocese, which is about four times the size of Italy, has only 9,000 Catholics, four diocesan priests, nine religious priests, and 18 men and women religious. Its territory consists of some of the most remote parts of northwestern Canada, bordering Alaska and the Arctic Circle. The land receives 18 hours of daylight during summer and 18 hours of darkness in winter. Living in such an environment has taught Bishop Vila the meaning of the word "hope."

"The Yukon is beautiful," he said. "Vast, silence, light, the Aurora Borealis, if you are familiar with the term. But the beauty does not remove fragility. The land can feel like paradise; the human heart can feel like winter."

Bishop Vila said that his diocese faces "deep wounds" of addiction and isolation. He has met great-grandparents raising their great-grandchildren because the generations between them are absent. Like the stars above him on the long nights, Bishop Vila has learned to measure hope in little lights.

"A grandmother who perseveres," he said. "A catechist who continues. A young person who returns. These small lights are the pillars of the Church."

He said that Christ works through the smallest and weakest among us. To form him as a priest, God made him small to set him free. When he was a boy in Peru, his mother died before his first birthday. As a young man, he wanted freedom. Eventually, he began wanting obedience to God. He was formed at the Neocatechumenal Way's Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Rome, established by Pope St. John Paul II in 1987. It was that saintly pope who ordained Bishop Vila a priest in the Diocese of Rome.

"In the seminary, I learned that faith is not an idea," he said. "It is a life lived with others. Humility and truth."

There are now over 120 Redemptoris Mater Seminaries worldwide, including the Redemptoris Mater of Boston, located in Chestnut Hill. Bishop Vila was the honoree at Redemptoris Mater Boston's 14th Annual Gala Dinner, held at the Boston Marriott Quincy on April 26.

"This is why formation matters," Bishop Vila said in his remarks, "because the real task is this: Rebuilding the living temple where God wants to dwell."

The gala was also a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Redemptoris Mater Seminary's founding in 2006 by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley. Cardinal O'Malley was in attendance at the gala, as was Archbishop Richard G. Henning.

In his invocation, the archbishop thanked God for the priests in the room and their calling, as well as their formation in the seminary.

The seminary's rector, Father Antonio Medeiros, said that the night was indeed a time to thank God for calling men to the priesthood, as well as the donors who have supported the seminary.

"Twenty years of grace, 20 years of vocations, 20 years of the Lord's fidelity," he said.

Along with Bishop Vila, Leo and Joanne Vercollone received the seminary's annual Evangelization Award. Father Medeiros said that this year's honorees "remind us that a seminary exists only because God's people give generously."

"They remind us, too, that the relationship between service at the altar and generosity within the Christian family is essential, not only for fostering vocations, but also for offering the world an authentic witness of the Gospel," he said.

Archbishop Henning presented the Evangelization Award to the Vercollones.

"Leo and Joanne have demonstrated a profound personal commitment to our seminary, supporting the formation of priests with remarkable generosity," Father Medeiros said.

Upon accepting the award, Leo Vercollone said that he and his wife were grateful to have met the seminarians and see the work they do to help those in need. His father Eugene taught him that "to help and support others is what we're on this Earth to do."

"Thank you for honoring us tonight," Joanne Vercallone said. "We appreciate it."

Father Medeiros also gave an update on the ongoing expansion of the Chestnut Hill seminary, the centerpiece of which will be a new chapel. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the project has been able to move forward as planned.

"What rises from the ground is not just stone and steel," he said. "It is a monument to God's providence and a sign of hope in the future of the Church."

Following Father Medeiros's remarks, gala attendees watched a video that portrayed the new chapel as a continuation of St. Francis's call from God to "rebuild my Church." The video also included two interviews with pastors -- Father Przemyslaw Kasprzak of St. Patrick Parish in Brockton and Father Pablo Gomis of St. Joseph Parish in Lynn -- who were formed in the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.

Both pastors, who now serve in working-class cities with diverse immigrant communities, recounted a feeling of emptiness in their lives as young men. That feeling dissipated when they discovered the Neocatechumenal Way and felt called by God to serve as priests. The video gave an overview of the seminary's history, from its founding in Rome to when it was opened in Boston in 2006 in the wake of the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

In his remarks, Bishop Vila recounted his own Redemptoris Mater formation. He said that while the needs in dioceses like his are great, God continues to call priests. The Church is strong in places where priests remain to bear witness for a community and ensure that they are not alone.

"So tonight, I ask you, support formation," he said. "Believe that hope is present because Christ is near, and hear again the call, 'Go and rebuild my Church.'"

As is tradition, the gala ended with the seminarians performing a medley of popular songs in English and Spanish, including, at Archbishop Henning's request, Don McLean's "American Pie."