Thursday, October 6, 2016

Vatican II's Youngest Bishop at Age 92

In 1962 he was consecrated bishop at age 38.  When he entered the aula in the Vatican Basilica he was the youngest bishop at the Council.

He was ordained both priest and bishop in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite.  Meeting him is a bit like meeting a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Today he is 92 and one of the last living Council Fathers.  A farm boy from Canada, he was ordained priest in 1950.  He studied at the Angelicum in Rome for two years from '50 - '52.  After being ordained bishop in 1962, he was installed as the Bishop of Victoria, British Columbia.  When he retired in 1999, he left a local church in serious financial and spiritual ruin.     

I was very disappointed to see him in a business suit.  The talk, too, he gave was disappointing.  Since his retirement he lives in a private apartment in Nanaimo.  He sometimes gives his talk with his friend since 1953, a lady named Pearl Gervais.  Her website describes her as a coach of "enneagram" (http://www.pearlgervais.com/about/).

An example of their speech can be heard here: https://vimeo.com/64918980.

Pray for the healing and conversion of this man, a bishop almost 55 years.  

1 comment:

  1. Oh dear... I thought exactly what you later said when I saw the suit, and that he is a bishop! What a world we are living in.....very depressing.
    But I really liked the entry above it! I'm surprised you could find a toy gun! My brothers played with them too. But back then girls played with dolls. That's discouraged now also.

    ReplyDelete