Albert Lacombe, OMI 1827 – 1916
Volume 8, Number 15…………………...May 06, 2011
ST. ALBERT PARISH
In this issue...
St. Albert Parish: Fr. Lacombe launches 150th jubilee January 24, 2011 By Ramon Gonzalez
ST. ALBERT PARISH………………...…..1 MISSION TOURISM - CUBA……….…4
This first appeared in the WESTERN CATHOLIC REPORTER. Reprinted with permission. www.wcr.ab.ca/
REMEMBERING PIUS LEIBEL OMI…...7
UPCOMING DISCERNMENT WEEKENDS……………………………….8
Announcement…………………………...9
NEXT ISSUE OF INFO LACOMBE WILL BE MAY 13, 2011.
Saskatoon Office- Communications TEL:
306 244 1556
ST. ALBERT — Father Albert Lacombe, the dynamic Oblate priest who devoted his life to helping the Metis and First Nations through smallpox, war, starvation and the arrival of European civilization, made a personal appearance Jan. 16 at St. Albert Church.
Volume 8, Number 15
May 06, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
"I wanted to be a priest but I wanted to have a life full of adventure," Lacombe said in response to a question. "The West is where I could best serve God; this is where I wanted to be a priest."
Dressed in a typical black robe, the whitehaired Lacombe answered questions from a female reporter with aplomb and eloquence before a packed St. Albert Church, which he founded 150 years ago.
At the time of Lacombe's arrival, there were few permanent mission stations in the North West, and little progress had been made in the evangelization of its aboriginal peoples. With no church buildings to celebrate Mass, he preached from a small tent on the wide-open prairies and debated with politicians in the big cities.
He spoke widely about his travels and told about the time he had to spend the night in a coffin. "I didn't sleep much that night," he said. One time he rescued a teenage girl from a man who was about to have his way with her.
Lacombe founded the St. Albert Mission in 1861, atop what is now St. Albert's Mission Hill, the current location of St. Albert Church. Alberta's first chapel still sits there today as the province's oldest building.
"I called him a coward." He ended up giving the man money to get his own wife and returned the girl to her joyful family.
Asked why he chose the hill to set up the mission, Lacombe said he fell in love with its beauty and fertility during his travels to Lac Ste. Anne.
Actor Paul Punyi played Lacombe in this educational 45-minute play called Interview with Father Albert Lacombe. The interviewer was Punyi's wife Maureen Rooney. The couple is founder of Rooney and Punyi Educational Theatre Productions, a St. Albert company that uses the performing arts to educate and entertain. St. Albert Parish commissioned the interview with Lacombe to kick off its 150th anniversary. Rooney and Punyi have been doing plays in schools for 15 years and Lacombe is the 11th character they bring to the stage. Other characters they have portrayed include Louis Riel, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Russian revolutionary Vladimir Illich Lenin.
HOLY HILL So on a bright January day in 1861, Lacombe led Bishop Alexandre Taché of St. Boniface to the spot on the hill. Planting his walking stick in the snow, Taché proclaimed that here was where the chapel would be built. He called the site St. Albert to honour Lacombe's name saint. And by April, huge spruce logs had been felled and whipsawed square to begin the new church. "Tears come to my eyes when I see such a fine church in this place," Lacombe said. Lacombe was probably the most influential man in the early development of the Canadian West. It is said that during his lengthy career,
Page 2 of 9
Volume 8, Number 15
May 06, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
this charismatic priest had a finger in every pie. PEACE TREATIES The Cree called him Man with the Good Soul and the Blackfoot Man with Good Heart. He helped establish peace treaties between warring tribes on the Prairies, helped to negotiate the right of passage for the CPR through southern Alberta, was an essential member of most of the numbered treaty commissions between the Government of Canada and the First Nations west of the Great Lakes, and helped develop the industrial school concept for Indian children. Lacombe was also chaplain for the railway crews on the CPR line, worked to help landless Métis adjust to a more sedentary lifestyle, recruited French-Canadian settlers for the Canadian West, clergy for Ukrainian immigrants, and contributed largely to the establishment of Catholic schools in Western Canada, as well as several parishes. HOME IN MIDNAPORE He established a home for orphans and the homeless at Midnapore, hobnobbed with the rich and famous, and counted crowned heads of Europe as patrons for his many charities. He has been the subject of several biographies. Lacombe was born Feb. 28, 1827, into a peasant family from St-Sulpice, Que., on a small farm north of Montreal, and is said to have had some distant aboriginal ancestry.
Métis from Red River. He was to spend two years at Pembina with Belcourt before returning to Quebec in 1851.
A spiritual boy, he opted for the priesthood, and was still a student in 1848 when he heard Georges Belcourt speaking in Montreal about the need for missionaries to minister to the
Two years later, he went back to St. Boniface where he worked for Bishop Alexandre Taché. He soon asked to be admitted into the Oblate order, where he took his permanent vows in 1856.
Page 3 of 9
Volume 8, Number 15
May 06, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
Taché sent Lacombe to Fort Edmonton in 1852. He spent most of the following winter with the Cree and Métis of Lac la Biche, returning to Fort Edmonton and then going to Lac Ste. Anne. MÉTIS, CREE, BLACKFOOT He began accompanying Métis, Cree and Blackfoot hunters out on the prairie on their expeditions, just as missionaries around the Red River had been doing for many years. He often wintered with them and in this way learning their languages. He founded St. Albert in 1859, where he established the first flourmill west of the Red River, and where he built a bridge across the Sturgeon River. Lacombe was extremely fluent in Cree. His French-Cree dictionary was published in 1876. In 1884, he established Dunbow Industrial School at High River, a residential school for Indian children, and in 1893, a second one on the Blood Reserve, plus a hospital staffed by the Grey Nuns. In 1883, he became Calgary's first parish priest. Ten years later he returned to Edmonton and served at St. Joachim Parish. He established Midnapore Home in Calgary in 1906, and lived there until his death on Dec. 12, 1916.
Neysa Fennie and Paul Feeley, OMI in Cuba experience. Unfortunately, Neysa’s father took sick and she returned early. Since there will be several articles about the trip, I’ll try and give a little background to understand our mission there. The mission was begun in 1997 under the auspices and direction of Haiti and Mexico; Haiti has since withdrawn. After the visit of Pope John Paul, the door was opened a bit (the first time since 1959) for missionaries and we got in. Shortly after, the door was closed again. I visited Cuba in 1980 on my way back from Peru. Since I was a lone tourist, the immigration designated the hotel where I would stay and not move from. I could walk around the streets but not talk to anyone nor buy anything. The Cubans were not allowed to talk to foreign tourists nor enter the hotel. This trip in 2011 was entirely different and reflects the tremendous transition occurring in Cuba.
MISSION TOURISM CUBA Neysa organized a “mission tourism – cuba” Feb. 5-14. Including Neysa, we were tourists from Prince George, Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Major (SK) and Toronto. It was, according to all accounts, a fabulous
First of all, this was a group visiting OMI missions. An OMMI, secretary of the Nuncio, heard we were coming. She applied to the government for permission under the new law allowing a special visa for missionary visits. This meant we could live where we wanted
Page 4 of 9
Volume 8, Number 15
May 06, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
and move around freely … an entirely different atmosphere from 1980!
acknowledged that the socialist program had run it’s course.
No dollars are allowed. You have to exchange for Cuban Tourist Money … $ 1.00 CTM = $1.12 Canadian. The money that the Cubans use is different: $1.00 CTM = 25 Cuban National Money. It’s when you go to do something that you understand. In Canadian money for a bus ride, the Cubans pay about $0.05 whereas the tourist pays $3.00.
We should also look at the governmentchurch relationship. Fidel was educated by the Jesuits. Several years ago, Fray Beto (a Brazilian Dominican) interviewed Fidel and wrote the result as a book entitled “Fidel and Religion”. So it’s a complicated reality.
Austerity is the picture … and I stress the word austerity as opposed to misery that you see in so many other Latin American countries. The people seem to be healthy and there is no begging on the streets. Salaries are very low; professionals perceive $20.00; others $15 or $10. Almost everything is owned by the government … even the taxis! … so almost everyone is a government employee. The government eliminated 500,000 jobs last year. Each person receives a ration of food a month which you have to supplement buying but at prices like the bus ride. Even so, I asked a mother how much she really needs for a month (herself, her husband and 12 yr old daughter): $100.00 Canadian. “Necessity is the mother of invention” is perhaps the best way of understanding how the Cuban survives. I mentioned earlier the tremendous transition going on in the Cuban reality. One sign in the socio-economic sphere was the loss of 500,000 government jobs last year. And from the grape vine, there is a meeting coming up in April that will be another BIG sign. Apparently, an international reporter interviewed Fidel shortly before he stepped down. According to the reporter, Fidel
The root of the revolt in Cuba was simply to get rid of Bautista, the ruler dictator supported by the Church. Even into the early ‘50s, there was no animosity against the church. Only towards the end of the uprising, did Fidel gain control of the revolt and success was his in 1959. It’s difficult to say exactly what happened in the following 3 years, but in 1962 Fidel declared Cuba a socialist Marxist atheist society. With that, things changed radically. All (100% ?) foreign church workers were expelled … and that’s how we got teachers for our High School in Comas, Peru. Many churches were turned into concert halls and museums. Schools run by religious were turned into schools run by the government or turned into government offices. One of the Cuban priests talked about his life. His parents did not take him to church because they would not have a job if they were recognized as church goers. So his grandmother took him. Then he entered school and you were taught: 1) there is no God; 2) the church is a powerful and evil organization (supported Bautista); and 3) going to church is anti-Cuban. Even baptisms seem to be held more or less in private at night. To go to university, for example, you have to sign a public document that you are an atheist. So now they’ve had two generations of this formation resulting in a vacuum of spirituality.
Page 5 of 9
Volume 8, Number 15
May 06, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
Very few people go to church today … which isn’t really too surprising! But a Cuban OMMI said that going to church every Sunday was never really a part of Cuban life. In spite of that, about 10 years ago the church began a national program behind closed doors in all the parishes. The program began with a simple question: What do you fear? The result is a small number of Catholics quite committed and known simply as “believers”. They carry on the evangelization and celebration of the faith in Cuba … even in the universities! The BIG sign of transition in the governmentchurch area begins later this year. Until now, no religious activity could be held outside the church building. Next year, Cubans celebrate the 400th anniversary of the finding of the statue and patron of Cuba: Our Lady of Charity of Copper Hill. There will be a national pilgrimage of the statue from one end of the island to the other. The expectation of a major event and result is palpable. I mentioned AUSTERITY as a characteristic of the Cuban reality. True, we usually consider this as a voluntary life style and in this case it is forced on the Cuban. One little example of this really caught the imagination of all of us. The best gift you can give an 8-10 year old is a package of soda crackers!! How many 10 year olds among us would be smiling gleefully and thankful for a package of soda crackers!!! Is that a lesson for us or what!! All the ecologists and most of the economists are telling the first world that our life style is simply not sustainable. But so far we’re not really listening. For the moment, the UN has stated that Cuba has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world. Of course the big
question is: will the Cubans keep austerity as a characteristic when it is not forced on them? The OMI have 3 pre-novices; last week 4 young men joined them in a discernment session. Let me introduce the pre-novices: Mario: about 28 yrs old. He is a professional government social worker. Part of his job was to snuff out what the churches were doing, push them aside and form a government agency. Yosvany: about 32 yrs old. He is a professional pharmacist. Alberto: about 28 yrs old. He is a professional nurse. He had a fairly high position in the health system. One of his unofficial (but expected jobs) was to call certain people when medicines came in so they could “steal” them!! Now let’s put some meat on these bones! Mario’s father is a “coronel” in the army …. so, obviously, with no relation to the church. Actually, when Mario visits his father in the “barracks”, it is announced on the PA system that a believer is coming. All these guys had to present a letter renouncing their work. Because it was to relate with the church, they’ll never be have a job again. Now for the OMI. I left this for the end so you can feel a bit of the atmosphere. As I mentioned, we got in because the door was opened a bit after John Paul’s visit. We attend three main centres with several outlying smaller centres. I was asked to accompany the group to Cuba because the OMI there do not speak English. We have 5 OMI presently and 1 is about to leave for health reasons.
Page 6 of 9
Volume 8, Number 15
May 06, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
According to the agreement with the government, we have permission for 8. The hurricanes of a few years ago destroyed one of the churches. The reconstruction plans have to be approved by the local committee that wants things to look as they were … so it becomes a bit more expensive. The government obviously doesn’t help. The people help with what they can. So the Bishop gets help mainly from Germany. In the beginning, the OMI needed a car. The process: you put your request in to the government … but you don’t have a choice of make, model, colour, etc. Five years later, the government informs you that you can pick up the assigned car (second hand). And you have to sell it back to the same institution. From what I could gather, the people feel truly accompanied by the OMI … a real, healthy feeling.
April 26, 1918-March 30, 2011
REMEMBERING PIUS LEIBEL OMI
People he enjoyed, but not crowds. From time to time he could become upset with what was happening around him.
As people reflect on the life of our Father Pius they all begin with ‘this was always a man who stood in the background. He was plain and very ordinary. He liked his time of being solitary but also very much liked a oneto- one friendship where he could talk and tell stories. In these situations he was very animated and talkative. He was blest with a very good memory that spiced the conversation. His conversations were very often flowing with teasing and humorous remarks. He enjoyed his fellow Oblates and often would pepper them with questions about what is going on.
When you walked into his small house in Wilkie, Saskatchewan, where he lived from 1994 until he had to come to Mazenod in Saskatoon because of his need for extra care (May, 2005), you were struck with the simplicity. He was not a man who acquired things for himself. He could remark from time to time that “poverty was great for me.” There was a very strong streak of independence in this man. He did not like people doing things for him that he felt he should be doing for himself. In 2005, it was only when he could no longer cope on his own, that he consented to move from the
Page 7 of 9
Volume 8, Number 15
May 06, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
hospital into the care that the Mazenod Community could provide. His entire ministry of fifty years was spent in small Saskatchewan rural parishes. Several times he was reassigned to parishes he had once served which was always a sign that he was accepted and well liked. Rural parish ministry was where he fitted best and where he ministered by choice. He began his priestly ministry in 1944. He was very gifted in visiting the sick and ministering to the dying. He reflected that “his priesthood meant a lot to him.” He had paid a high price to be a priest and he “would never surrender it.”
Pius was the youngest of a family of seven and the last surviving member of his siblings and their spouses. Many of his nieces and nephews are now of a significant age. He was predeceased by an older brother, Peter, also an Oblate, who died of cancer in 1944. The last six years of Pius’ life were difficult. He suffered dementia and needed complete care. The Oblate Community and his long time friend, Annette Gutting, are so appreciative of the care the nursing staff at Mazenod gave him for almost six years. His death was very quiet and was received as a true blessing. Pius was relieved of his long years of suffering.
Pius was formed in religious life and prepared for priesthood with a different sense of Church from that which emerged after the Second Vatican Council (1965). He proved to be a man very open to the changes and challenges that were thrown his way. He liked Vatican II and was often heard to say that he “liked it. It was high time!” He also shared a strong ecumenical outlook and respected the other churches.
We celebrated his funeral in Saskatoon, April 04, 2011, surrounded by many nieces and nephews, his Oblate confreres and friends of the Oblates. We were especially grateful for the long friendship and assistance that Annette Gutting gave to Father Pius throughout the years. Burial was in our Oblate Cemetery in Battleford, in the same cemetery that his older brother Peter was buried sixty seven years ago.
His prayer life was a strong feature of his life. In fact, the first thing that you would observe when you dropped into his small house in Wilkie was the huge brown rosary that hung over the legs of his metal walker. There was a very strong devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, to Mary and to the Little Flower. In his later years it was more apparent just how much time and energy he had given to the ministry of preaching. As soon as one Sunday was finished he would begin preparing for the next Sunday. He was not a man to ever be satisfied with himself. He always knew that he could do better the following Sunday.
UPCOMING DISCERNMENT WEEKENDS Here are two vocation discernment opportunities for the coming months. Please take a moment and consider who you might invite to be part of one of the weekends, and give them a call. If you have any questions regarding these retreats or vocations ministry please get in touch with me. Ken Thorson OMI May 20-23… Retreat in the Rockies The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate will host a discernment retreat in Canmore, AB for young men (18 - 35 years) who are
Page 8 of 9
Volume 8, Number 15
May 06, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
interested in learning about discernment, and something about religious life. We’ll be hiking, praying, and of course talking about our journey with God, with Canmore and the Rockies as our backdrop. Join with others like yourself who are seeking to know God’s will for their lives. The weekend will begin on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and finish on Monday with lunch. Accommodation and food are provided. There is no charge for this retreat. [Read More] For more information or to register contact: Fr Ken Thorson OMI at 613 884 4144 or Fr Mike Dechant OMI at 780 460 4269 vocations@omilacombe.ca June 2-5… Seeking God’s Will in Northern Saskatchewan The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the Sisters of the Presentation will host a retreat weekend for young women and men (18-35 years) who are interested in discerning God’s path in their lives. We’ll be camping at St John Bosco Camp, three hourse north east of Saskatoon. Bosco is a northern camp set and will provide us the opportunity to listen for God’s voice in the beauty of nature, as well as in our prayer and conversation throughout the weekend. In addition to some good food and some good fun, this retreat weekend will offer you some principles of discernment and prayer, and will give you the opportunity to spend some time talking with priests and sisters. Please get in touch with Fr Ken or Sister Mary Jane for more details about the weekend.
Sr Mary Jane Beavis (306) 244 0726 maryjane.beavis@gmail.com Fr Ken Thorson OMI (613) 884 4144 vocations@omilacombe.ca
ANNOUNCEMENT: Oblate Mission Travel- Peru Mission Trip, July 2011. Experience life with the Oblates in Peru on this 2-3 week mission trip. For more than 50 years, the Peru/Canada Oblate relationship has flourished. This mission will take us from the busy, inner city parishes in Lima along the coast to Chincha, Alta, heavily damaged by the 2007 earthquake. We will travel to the high Andes and the missions of Orcotuna and Aucayacu. Finally, we will travel by boat to Sta. Clotilde deep in the jungle along the Napo River where Father Moe Shroder’s hospital was founded almost 30 years ago. It will be the experience of a lifetime. For more information, contact Neysa or Teresa at 604 736 3972 or nmfinnie@yahoo.com or teresa@nfinnie.com. There is also a mission trip to Kenya September 14-October 04 led by Fr. Ken Thorson, OMI.
[Read More] For more information or to register contact: Page 9 of 9