Saturday, November 30, 2013

New Deacons in the Ottawa Area


Diaconal Ordinations—Divine Infant Church, Orleans, ON:
Matthew Chojna (Archdiocese of Ottawa),
Bryan Kipling Cooper and Douglas Hayman
(Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter)
Feast of St. Andrew–November 30, 2013
DEACONS: MINISTERS OF GOSPEL JOY
[Texts: Numbers 3.5-9 (Psalm 19); Romans 10.9-18; Matthew 4.18-22]



Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Andrew, the Apostle and Saint we honour today is known by the Greek Church as “protokletos”, the “first-called” disciple of Jesus. This alludes to the text in the first chapter of John’s gospel where Andrew, after his meeting with Jesus, goes and tells his brother Simon about finding the Messiah and brings him to Christ, thus also becoming the first evangelist (John 1.35-42).

This contemplative depiction of the call of Andrew (and his brother called "Peter" by Jesus) contrasts with the dramatic change in direction that is described in Matthew’s gospel that we have just heard proclaimed. There Jesus gazes on the two brothers, calls them, promises to transform them into fishers of people; dramatically, they leave their occupations and possessions to throw in their lot with Jesus. James and John do the same, leaving behind also their father, Zebedee.

These contrasting biblical images remind us that oftentimes there are several dimensions to each person’s vocation as a follower of Jesus, as all three of today’s ordinands can attest.

St. Paul in the selection from Romans speaks of the interior dimension of coming to faith in Christ when one is confronted with his resurrection. The story of Christ is told in one’s hearing, leading one’s heart to be moved to believe the truth of the gospel. Then one is lead by the Spirit to make of an act of faith with one’s lips, proclaiming that “Jesus is Lord”, that is, that he is a sharer in God’s nature; and so, thereby one is saved (which is celebrated in sacramental signs: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist).

Soon, one cannot help but realize that one is called to go forth to others with this good news, with the joy of the gospel, so as to share the saving message with others who either have not yet heard it (a “first” evangelization) or, having heard of it, have turned away from it and need to be challenged again (an evangelization that is “new” in its ardour, methods and expression).

Increasingly today Christians are being challenged by the Church herself to grow into a personal relationship with Christ, thereby becoming disciples who are simultaneously missionaries to family, friends, neighbours and fellow citizens!


This week, in an apostolic exhortation, Pope Francis pointed out the importance of a personal relationship with Our Lord for all servants of the gospel.

The joy of the Gospel, he writes, “fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness” (Evangelii Gaudium, #1). The Holy Father goes on, “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord” (Paul VI, Gaudete in Domino). The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms” (EG, #3).



Beloved brothers and sisters: these men Matthew Chojna, Bryan Kipling Cooper and Douglas Hayman, our sons who are your relatives and friends, are now to be advanced to the Order of Deacons.

In the Book of Numbers read at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word, we learned that Moses appointed Levites to assist in the devotional life of God’s holy people. The role of Levites, as is the case with deacons, was to assist the priests and to perform duties for Aaron the high priest and for the whole assembly. They were, in effect, to help the people have access to God’s sanctuary. But they were also to set boundaries between the sanctuary and the camp, and to teach distinctions between virtue and sin to keep God’s people out of harm’s way. There is an order and harmony in the design of God’s creation.

If proper teaching and practice are not instilled, then life and goodness suffer. Chaos and death ensue. But we must recall that such precepts flow from the encounter with Christ [not before it], just as it did for the people of Israel following their encounter with the living God.

Strengthened by the gift of the Holy Spirit, these men will help the Bishop and his priests in the ministry of the word, of the altar, and of charity. They will be servants to all. As ministers of the altar, they will proclaim the Gospel and its message of compassion and hope, prepare the sacrifice, and distribute the Lord’s Body and Blood to the faithful.

In addition, it will be their duty, at the Ordinary’s direction, to exhort believers and unbelievers alike. They will instruct them in holy doctrine. They will preside over public prayer, administer Baptism, assist at and bless Marriages, bring Viaticum to the dying, and conduct funeral rites.


Consecrated by the laying on of hands that comes down to us from the Apostles, they will perform works of charity in the name of the Bishop or the pastor. With the help of God, their labours will give public testimony of being disciples of the Lord who came not to be served, but to serve.

As Deacons, my sons, do the will of God from your heart. Serve the people in love and joy as you would the Lord. Because no one can serve two masters, look upon all defilement and avarice as serving false gods.

Like those chosen by the Apostles for the ministry of charity, you should be men of good reputation, filled with wisdom and the Holy Spirit. See your ministry of caring for the poor and needy as an extension of God’s compassionate mercy.

Pope St. Leo the Great described this marvellously, “there is nothing more worthy of man than that he become an imitator of his Creator and...the executor of the divine plan. For when the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed and the sick are strengthened–is this not the divine assistance that the hand of the minister accomplishes, and is not the goodness of the servant the hand of the Lord at work? For when God finds a helper to realize his merciful touch, he so limits his omnipotence, that he alleviates the sufferings of man through the actions of men.”

As Pope Francis does so often, having proclaimed his desire that the Church be “of the poor” and “for the poor,” I urge you to be daring and invite other disciples to enter into this outreach to the poor with you.

Firmly rooted and grounded in faith, you are to show yourselves chaste and beyond reproach before God and man, as is proper for stewards of God’s mysteries.


Never allow opposition to turn you away from the hope offered by the Gospel. Now you are not only hearers of this Gospel but also its ministers. Express by your actions the word of God that your lips proclaim, so that the Christian people, brought to life by the Spirit, may be a pure offering accepted by God.

Then on the last day, when you meet the Lord face to face, he will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.”


Monday, November 25, 2013

Our Oldest Jesuit Dies - 50e Anniversaire Paroisse St-Remi


McNally Building, Saint Mary's University, which included the Jesuit Residence 1940-81
 A few days ago, the oldest Jesuit in English-speaking Canada passed away a few months short of his hundredth birthday. He was stationed in Halifax for more than fifty years so I got to know him during my time teaching at Atlantic School of Theology (1975-81) and later when I returned as archbishop there (1998-2007). During part of the first period he was my next door neighbour on the corridor of the residence at Saint Mary’s University and during the latter period his gentility and deference to church authority ensured that he would be effusive in his welcome and most gracious to me at all times.

A chemist by training, he studied fog (not a bad subject in Halifax!) and often said when going out for a walk that he was going to conduct research. May the Lord God whom he served all these years as a scientist-priest (a most challenging ministry) lift the fog of our human condition and cause him to enter into the bright light of the splendour of Christ, King of the Created Universe and all its Peoples.

R.I.P.  Here are the details of his short obituary.


Father James W. Murphy, S.J. died peacefully on Friday, November 22, 2013 at Rene Goupil House, Pickering, ON in his 100th year, 80th year of religious life and 66th of priestly ordination.

Born on March 30th, 1914 in Saint John, New Brunswick, James Wallace Murphy entered the Society of Jesus in 1934 and was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1947 in Colombia.

After a year of special studies in Chemistry in Toronto he began his major life's work at Saint Mary's University in Halifax as Lecturer and then Professor in Chemistry, ending his work there (1954-2006) as Professor Emeritus.

A man of faith and a scientist, he moved in 2006 to La Storta in Pickering, Ontario where he devoted to a ministry of pastoral prayer for the Church and his Jesuit Order.

A wake service will be held this evening 7-9 p.m. at St. Ignatius Chapel, Manresa Spiritual Renewal Centre, Liverpool Road North, Pickering, ON; with Mass of the Resurrection there on Tuesday, November 26th at 11 a.m., with interment to follow at the Jesuit Cemetery, Guelph at 2:30 p.m.


* * * * * *

LA PAROISSE SAINT-REMI FETE SES 50 ANS

50e Anniversaire de la Paroisse St-Remi—le 24 novembre 2013
Solennité du Christ-Roi (Année « C ») —Clôture de l’Année de la Foi

APPELÉS À VIVRE DANS LE ROYAUME
[Textes: 2 Samuel 5, 1-3; [Psaume 121 (122)]; Colossiens 1, 12-20; Luc 23, 35-43]


Je suis heureux de venir vous rencontrer aujourd'hui et de prendre part au 50e anniversaire de votre paroisse.

Depuis cinquante ans, cette église est témoin de la vitalité de la foi chrétienne des catholiques francophones de l’Ouest d’Ottawa. C’est une vitalité que j'admire et qui m’amène à vous dire, en m'inspirant d'une lettre de l'apôtre saint Paul :

« Je rends grâce à Dieu à cause de vous tous. Je rends grâce à cause de votre foi qui a été et demeure active. Je rends grâce à cause de votre charité qui s'est beaucoup donné de peine et s'en donne encore. Je rends grâce pour l'espérance qui est en vous et qui tient bon malgré les difficultés et les vents contraires » (Inspirés de 1 Thessaloniciens 1, 3).

En célébrant aujourd'hui les 50 ans de votre communauté chrétienne, vous rendez grâce au Seigneur pour ces pasteurs, ces chrétiennes et ces chrétiens qui ont donné le meilleur d'eux-mêmes pour que la paroisse Saint-Remi devienne et demeure une communauté vivante, heureuse de croire en ce Dieu fait homme Jésus, le Christ, le Roi de l'Univers.

Réjouissons-nous et rendons grâce à Dieu. Il ne faut pas abandonner. Il ne faut pas ralentir le pas. Il ne faut pas que nous nous reposions sur nos lauriers.

Il faut, au contraire, que nous poursuivions notre route avec l'entrain qui nous caractérise, avec la foi qui nous anime. L'avenir, Dieu seul le connaît. Pas nous. Il y a cependant une chose que je sais et que vous savez tous: c'est que Dieu compte sur nous... compte sur moi et sur vous, pour que le nom de son Fils Jésus, pour que son message d’amour et de solidarité, soient annoncés à Ottawa: dans les familles, dans les lieux de travail et de loisirs... partout!

Au début de la vie de l'Église, Jésus n'a pas travaillé seul. Il a regroupé autour de lui des personnes en qui il a mis sa confiance, à qui il a donné des responsabilités. Jésus continue à œuvrer par l'intermédiaire de celles et de ceux qui croient en lui et qui l'aiment.

Dans la lettre aux Colossiens que nous venons d’entendre, Paul, commence par une prière de reconnaissance et d’action de grâce pour le rayonnement de la foi de ces chrétiens qu’il n’a jamais rencontré puisqu’il n’est jamais allé à Colosses; il a seulement entendu parler d’eux. (1,3)

C’est à cela que la liturgie de ce jour nous invite : terminer cette année liturgique, cette Année de la foi, en rendant grâce parce que dans le Christ Roi de l’Univers, nous sommes des pécheurs pardonnés. « Il nous a rendu capables ». Nous étions incapables d’aller à Dieu et c’est la venue du Fils qui rend possible l’accès plénier à Dieu, « D’avoir part à l’héritage des saints ».

Jésus est le premier dans le monde nouveau des ressuscités. Voilà à quoi nous sommes appelés, destinés. Jesus nous a arraché des ténèbres et nous a fait entrer dans son Royaume. Dieu nous introduit dans sa sphère divine. Alors que se termine l’Année de la foi, réalisons plus que jamais que ce n'est pas en vain que nous mettons toute notre foi dans le Seigneur, Lui qui a vaincu la mort et des ténèbres.

Depuis déjà plusieurs années, vous cherchez ici, à Saint-Remi, à vivre de la spiritualité de l’intendance chrétienne. Cette manière de vivre en communauté est bien enracinée dans l’enseignement de la Bible, et en particulier dans la vie de Jésus. Son dynamisme profond c’est la gratitude. C’est une spiritualité vraiment eucharistique. Elle répond au besoin que nous portons dans notre for intérieur de remercier Dieu pour les grâces abondantes que nous recevons de Lui.

Elle reconnaît que tout ce que nous avons, et tout ce que nous sommes vient de Dieu. Nous sommes des administrateurs, des intendants et non des propriétaires, d’une multitude de biens qui nous sont confiés.

Ces dons sont souvent identifiés comme notre temps, nos talents, notre trésor. Nous avons à les accueillir dans la gratitude, à veiller sur eux et les cultiver de façon responsable, à les partager dans la justice et l’amour, et à les faire fructifier devant Dieu pour que vienne son règne.

Aujourd’hui, en fêtant le Christ Roi, nous voyons bien que la royauté de Dieu n’a rien à voir avec les images habituelles que nous avons des rois. En effet, à nos oreilles, le titre de roi a des relents de triomphe, de puissance, de richesse, de privilèges, d’honneurs.

Or Jésus lui-même s’est expliqué tout à fait clairement sur sa conception à Lui d’être roi la veille de sa mort, au cours de son dernier repas : « Les rois des nations leur commandent et ceux qui exercent l’autorité se font appeler bienfaiteurs. Pour vous, qu’il n’en soit pas ainsi. Au contraire! Que le plus grand parmi vous se comporte comme le plus petit, et celui qui gouverne, comme celui qui sert… Moi, je suis au milieu de vous comme le serviteur. » (Luc 22,26)

La seule royauté de Jésus, c’est celle d’être « serviteur de Dieu ». C’est pour l’amour, c’est pour le service… qu’Il est le premier. C’est de l’amour qu’Il est vraiment roi. Telle est la royauté de notre Dieu. Oui, notre Dieu est un Dieu dont le règne est fait de douceur. Jésus règne sur les cœurs qui se laissent aimer. Le bon larron est notre modèle.

Seigneur, nous te remercions pour cette Année de la foi, pour ce temps de grâce. Nous croyons, Seigneur, mais nous te demandons d’augmenter notre foi. Que cette foi dispose nos cœurs à se purifier de tout ce qui nous éloigne de toi, afin que nous puissions proclamer avec saint Paul qu’il n’y a qu’un seul Seigneur, une seule foi, un seul baptême, un seul Dieu et Père de tous, qui règne au-dessus de tous, par tous, et en tous (Éphésiens 4,5-6).

Alors que les célébrations de la confirmation commenceront bientôt dans votre paroisse, il est bon de se rappeler que depuis le jour de la première Pentecôte, il nous est demandé de croire à la force de l'Esprit Saint qui habite en nous. Il nous est demandé de travailler ensemble. Il nous est demandé de nous faire mutuellement confiance et de mettre en œuvre des projets qui peuvent paraître parfois modestes mais qui apporteront, dans notre milieu, un peu d'espoir et de réconfort.

Il nous est demandé d'aimer assez le Christ et son Évangile pour proposer à ceux et celles qui ne les connaissent pas, ou les connaissent peu, ou les connaissent mal de s’approcher de Lui. Il nous est demandé de faire voir, autour de nous, que la vie selon l'Évangile, que l'amour vécu à la manière de Jésus, n'est pas un rêve mais un idéal à poursuivre patiemment et qui rend heureux.

Que l’Esprit Saint qu'il fasse de vous, paroissiennes et paroissiens de Saint-Remi, des disciples heureux de croire et heureux de faire retentir autour d'eux un Évangile qui, depuis deux mille ans, est porteur de lumière et d'espérance. Soyez toujours de bons intendants! C'est votre mission; que ce soit aussi votre fierté.

Que le Christ Roi vous bénisse. Qu'il vous aide à être de bons et de joyeux témoins de l'Évangile. Qu'il bénisse ceux et celles que vous aimez. Qu'il bénisse tous les membres de votre paroisse. À lui tout honneur et toute gloire, pour les siècles des siècles. Amen.



[Photos: Ronald Brisson]

Friday, November 15, 2013

Mass for Christian Community Day—Ottawa Catholic School Board




Ottawa Congress Centre—Friday, November 8, 2013
TO KNOW CHRIST JESUS AND HIS CALL
[Texts: Romans 15.1–7, 13–16 (Psalm 98); Luke 16.1–8]

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I recently returned from Rome where Pope Francis has everyone buzzing. He has been drawing crowds of close to a hundred thousand at his Wednesday audiences and Sunday Angelus addresses.

People are fascinated by him and how he relates to common folk, as well as by his comments on life in the Church. He has stirred up expectations. Many are hoping that our fresh pope will reform or renew the Church.

A key question is, are you and I open to an encounter with Christ? Any change must come from that encounter. This is what Pope Francis is all about.

He said as much when he asked bishops to tone down talk about certain moral issues. These topics are creating so much static that people cannot hear the most important message, the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Pope Francis wants to move the church away from ideological fixations of a moralizing sort and toward proclaiming the gospel. The order of church life must be inviting people to know God in Christ first. Then comes the moral order, as a response to coming to know God’s mercy, forgiveness, and joy.

Often, the order gets reversed and that’s where trouble occurs. This is where the issues of abortion, contraception, active homosexuality, and other life issues come in. Virtuous behaviour in these areas is a response to God’s grace. It is not a pre-condition to belonging to the community of God’s Kingdom and the Church.

Most people need a close walk with the Lord to understand why the Church says no to certain behaviour. Without Jesus deeply in one’s life, it is hard to understand these prohibitions. But how do people get to know Jesus? It is by God’s people—you and me—evangelizing and telling them about our Lord and Saviour.


You must share with your family, students, and associates, how Jesus has saved you, loved you, and healed you. It has to be done sensitively and respectfully, delicately and finely. Then you must let the Holy Spirit take over as you pray for that person.

Let me illustrate what I am getting at. Today’s gospel reading touches on the wise use of money. One understanding of the parable would place you in the key role: the manager or steward. As a steward, you are responsible for things—material things, your family, your time, and your soul.

But you don’t actually own them. They belong to the rich man—God. In this story, you have squandered the riches you were told to manage. The rich man is about to terminate you. What to do? You don’t want to beg for mercy or dig ditches for eternity.

You decide on radical giving to your debtors—poor people. You give away 50% of the oil that was owed to you and 20% of the wheat. Now, your boss commends you. But by calling you a child of light, Jesus reminds you that you are called not only to radical charity, but also to a close relationship with Christ.

Being good and doing good are just not enough. We can imitate Jean Vanier in doing good for the disabled and marginalized. But he, Mother Teresa, and the other great champions of Catholic social justice show us the extra step we need to be taking. We must spend an hour in prayer before serving.

Merely doing good without first seeking holiness will lead our students to conclude that they don’t need God or the Church. Many Catholic students and their families believe that they don’t need to be nourished by the Mass anymore. Sadly, by cutting themselves off from the vine, they cause the fruit of their lives to wither.



The trend toward strife, personal isolation, and burnout is increasingly evident. Sterile forms of doing good and even some forms of religion can become ideology. Pope Francis said, “Ideology does not beckon people. In ideologies there is not Jesus, in his tenderness, his love, his meekness.” The attitude becomes “rigid, moralistic, ethical but without kindness.”

The Pope, when asked how a Christian can become like this, answered, “Just one thing: this Christian does not pray.” You can reverse this in your circle of influence by your words and your example. You can help restore to God his inheritance: the children of light.

Christ tells us that we are called by the Heavenly Father to be not just good, but more than that. We are called to be holy. We are to become, as Matthew Kelly puts it, the best version of ourselves as Catholic Christians.

That’s what I hope our schools will help all who are part of the Catholic Community to claim as their vision: strong, holy men and women who are both good citizens of Canada and of God’s Kingdom of holiness, justice, love and truth.


The conclusion of today’s gospel “Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes” is just part of Jesus’ interest in money.

Money is the second most popular topic in the Gospels after the Kingdom of God. Jesus noted that money can become a tyrannical master, a veritable rival to God. Jesus concluded, “You cannot serve God and money.”

Returning to today’s parable, the way to avoid idolizing money is to recognize that everything we have is on loan to us. We are but stewards. Hoarding is not an option.

The way is not easy. You have a mortgage to pay, children to raise, elderly parents to look after. There are things you need and things you want. There are countless worthy causes. You have precious little time to think, let alone pray. How does a Christian get out of this bind and find peace?

First off, Jesus urged his followers not to be anxious, for “each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6.34). His followers are to “set your hearts on God’s Kingdom, and these other things [food, clothing, relationships] will be given you as well” (Luke 12.31).

Christians should recognize, too, that different people praying for inspiration about what to do will come to quite different conclusions. We should not be surprised at this today, for this was the experience of the early church.

Jesus told the rich young man to sell all he had and to give it to the poor (Luke 18.18–23). By contrast, Zacchaeus reformed his life, making restitution for fraud and giving generously to God’s poor (Luke 19.1–10). The women who followed Jesus helped sustain his ministry with their resources (Luke 8.1–3).

However, all are called to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6.3) and to share the Good News that Jesus has come to save us (Mark 16.15).

Your encounter with Christ will help you realize that your time and treasure are not your own. There is freedom in trusting in his Providence through radical giving.

Whatever the choices the Lord Jesus calls you to embrace, let us pray that we may know the path we are called to follow and embark on it to God’s praise and glory.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

To Remember a Long-lived Jesuit

This is to acknowledge the passing of my Novice Master (1961-63) on Sunday. Our paths crossed only a few times after the noviceship but he was invariably kind. When I was Archbishop of Halifax, he went out of his way to welcome me warmly to the parish in Shad Bay for Confirmations in his three-point charge. Afterwards he insisted on reporting to me on his views on various church matters, sort of a reversal of my reporting to him forty years before as a novice.  He was very humble about it all and I was touched by his simplicity.  Here is a version of the obituary sent to his Jesuit brethren. R.I.P.


Father Leonard John Fischer died on Sunday, November 10th 2013 at Pickering, Ontario in his 97th year of life, his 78th year of religious life and 67th of priesthood.


The son of George and Magdalen (Dietrich) Fischer and brother of Father Clair Fischer, S.J. (died: May 2010), Leonard was born in Preston, Ontario on February 26, 1917. He entered the Society of Jesus on August 14, 1935 in Guelph, and remained there until the summer of 1939. After being ssigned to study Philosophy at the Jesuit Seminary, Toronto for three years, he was sent in the fall of 1942 to Regiopolis College, Kingston, Ontario to teach, after which he went to West Baden College, in Indiana, for four years of theological studies. Ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1947, by Bishop Paul Schulte of Indianapolis, he went, following his fourth year of theology to Tertianship (a final year of Jesuit spiritual formation) beginning in 1948 at Mont-Laurier, Quebec, under Fr. A. Papillon's direction.

For the next 16 years, Father Fischer would reside at Ignatius College, Guelph, first as Assistant to the Master of Novices (for 7 years) and then as Master of Novices (beginning in 1956 for 9 years). It is estimated that 40% of the English-speaking Canadian Jesuit Province met him in one capacity or the other during those years.

Following this tenure, he had a year of studies in Paris where he was given some original writing of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin by members of Teilhard’s family. He used this material as a basis for theological studies at St. Paul’s University, Ottawa and while there was for four years assistant secretary of the Canadian Religious Conference.

Father Fischer’s next assignment was to St. John’s, Newfoundland, where he was parish priest at St. Pius X Parish for 12 years and built the new church. Beginning in 1982, at the age of 65, he began a new ministry among the Native Peoples of Ontario, committing himself to learning the local, native language. He worked as a parish priest in Sturgeon Falls and Garden Village, West Bay, Espanola, Sagamok and Massey, Ontario. This continued until 1996 when he moved to the Halifax Jesuit Community and served as pastor at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Shad Bay, N.S., and then at St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Halifax. In 2003, he became an Associate Pastor at Holy Rosary Parish, Guelph, Ontario. He joined the Pickering community in 2012.

Father Len worked at all these tasks with stolid Germanic determination. Faithful to the Church and the Society of Jesus, he read theology throughout his life. He underwent several changes during his lifetime and came to see himself and the world differently, becoming more compassionate as the years went on.

Father Len was musical, played the mouth organ and had perfect pitch; he delighted parishioners by singing during his homilies. He was personable and open to learning and taking on new ministries. From a large family, he is survived by many nephews and nieces; grand-nephews and grand nieces and even some thirty-five grand, grand nephews and grand, grand nieces.

Fittingly for one who was novice master in Guelph for many years, his funeral will be celebrated tomorrow morning, November 13, which in the Jesuit ordo is the feast of St. Stanislaus Kostka, who died as a novice in Rome and is the patron of Jesuit novices. It will take place in the city where he served as assistant to and novice master, in the Church of Holy Rosary Parish, where, from 2003-2012 he served as associate pastor when he was in his late 80’s and early 90s. Burial will be in the Jesuit Cemetery in the afternoon.