National collections are those collections which the Bishops have agreed in principle be taken up, generally on the same day, in the parishes of each diocese/eparchy across the country. In April 1971, the Bishops of Canada in Plenary Assembly established three national collections: The Pope’s Pastoral Works, Needs of the Church in Canada, and World Mission Sunday.

Diocesan Bishops also collaborate on two other collections, which are not specifically “national collections,” but which generally take place in most dioceses/eparchies across the country: one to assist in the needs of the poor in the Global South and to educate Canadians about those needs, usually taken up during Lent for the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace – Caritas Canada; and another, inspired by the Apostolic Exhortation Nobis in animo, for the needs of the Church in the Holy Land, usually held on Good Friday (or on another day designated by the Diocesan Bishop), with the proceeds assisting both the Custody for the Holy Land, a mission in the Holy Land of the Friars Minor (Franciscans), and the Congregation for Oriental Churches, a department of the Roman Curia.