2006April


2006April

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Nouvelles Salésiennes
Salesian News
Avril 2006 April No.80
Rev. James Jeffcoat, SDB, (1932-2006)
After just a few weeks of his fighting a very
aggressive form of cancer, Fr. Jim returned to Our
Father’s Home, in the early hours of Monday,
March 20th. Since that day was the transferred feast
of St. Joseph, the 19th being a Lenten Sunday, it is
fitting to believe that it was Jesus’ foster father to
receive him into eternal life: Joseph, the meek and
just man, the patron of the Church, of Canada, of
our Salesian Province and of a happy death. On
March 14th, surrounded by his Salesian confreres
and a few faithful friends, he had received the
Anointing of the Sick, fully conscious of his
proximity to death. Two days later, he was
transferred from his residence of Villa St. Joseph to
the Fr. Lacombe Home, where he would receive
special care, given his very weak condition. He was
still receiving visitors Sunday afternoon. Toward
the end of that afternoon, Fr. Provincial celebrated
Mass at the foot of his bed. But I believe no one
thought he would leave this world so soon.
I do not mean to write here a mortuary letter.
Just a few impressions, a few notes about what Fr.
Jim has meant to so many people in the course of
his many apostolic commitments. He leaves behind
scores of past pupils, families, friends, parishioners.
He was 74 years of age and would have celebrated
45 years as a priest, the day following the funeral
Mass, on March 25th
He was born in Tampa, Florida, of partly
Cherokee parents. He was always proud of his
Native American heritage, valuing its deep
spirituality, its closeness to nature and its keen
sense of the larger family. Unfortunately he was
orphaned at a very early age, he and his brother.
They were both accepted and educated by the
Salesian Sisters at Villa Madonna and then by the
Salesians of Mary Help of Christians School. As
Jim, at high school age, showed an interest for
Salesian religious life, he went north, completing his
studies in Newton, N.J., then entering the novitiate
there in 1950. That is where we met for the first time,
he, a novice, myself beginning high school as an
aspirant. He followed the usual course of Salesian
studies and apostolate: Philosophy in Newton,
tirocinium in different houses as a teacher and
assistant, Theology in Aptos, CA, and Bollengo,
Italy. After his ordination in 1961, we find him in
Sherbrooke, Canada, as vice-principal. He then
served in different schools in the States: Tampa, FL,
and Marrero, LA. His longest contribution was to
Ramsey, NJ, where he served at different times as
teacher, catechist and principal.
In 1983 he was invited to come to Toronto
and he did so very willingly. He spent a dozen years
at Don Bosco Secondary School. These past years he
worked in parishes, first in Montreal, then in
Edmonton. A year ago, he was named pastor of the
Chinese parish of Mary Help of Christians, endearing
himself to the youth, especially that of College and
University levels. Although he considered himself
not too well prepared for parish work, his innate
sense of family and relations made him esteemed and
loved. The teacher always remained a great part of
himself. In spite of his many commitments, he had
managed in the course of years to obtain a Master’s
degree in Physics, in Chemistry and in Biology. It
was enough to ask him a question in those fields and
as one of the young men told me in Edmonton, “he
would go on and on, telling you much more than you
wanted to know or that you could take in!” He was
very much interested also in the study of Holy
Scriptures, animating a Bible group at the Chinese
parish, just as he had done previously at St. Dominic
Savio parish.
To show how the young adults held him in
respect and loved him, shortly after he passed away
in the middle of the night (3:30 a.m.), a dozen or so

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of them went to the Lacombe Home, kneeling
around his bed, praying, singing, weeping, or just
keeping a respectful silence, until the funeral home
came to take the body away at about 9:00a.m.
During the wake, on Thursday and Friday until the
funeral Mass, two of them, alternating every hour,
served as the guard of honour at the head of the
open coffin, as numerous faithful filed by the mortal
remains of Fr. Jim, resting in priestly vestments.
The wake on Thursday afternoon was centered on
the Virgin Mary and that of the evening on
St.Joseph. The testimonies of young people -
spoken in Chinese and in English - at the evening
celebration were very moving.
The funeral took place at 1:00 p.m., Fr. Luc
Lantagne, the Salesian Provincial, presiding.
Archbishop Collins was represented by his
chancellor; the day before, the archbishop emeritus
of Edmonton, Joseph McNeil, had come to pray and
offer his condolences to the parish community and
the confreres. The presence of the Knights of
Columbus and the 36 concelebrating priests showed
the esteem and respect in which Fr. Jeffcoat was
held. In his meaningful homily, Fr. Luc spoke of the
man that Fr. Jim was, of the Catholic (in his youth
he left the Baptist Church to become a Catholic)
and of the good Salesian priest he always strove to
be.
His mortal remains were taken to the
Catholic Ukrainian Cemetery to be interred in the
Salesian plot, awaiting the final resurrection in
Christ. As everyone was leaving - the funeral home
had put three busses at the disposition of the
parishioners - a group of about twenty young adults
encircled the tomb, alternating between vocal
prayer and silence. I was told that some came back
the next day to lay flowers at the foot of the
monument.
I firmly believe that Fr. Jim had taken to
heart the words of the prophet: “You have been
told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord
requires of you: only to do the right and to love
goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Mi
6, 8).
R.T.
*****************
SURREY, BC. Bro. James Zettel, SDB, joined us
for the week of March 5th through the 12th and
certainly made a hit with his magic and speaking
engagements throughout the week with OLGC
school children, our CCD youth, both on Tuesday
and Thursday evenings, plus an all day event at Holy
Cross High School. The principal there gave James
complete charge of the senior religion class where
their questions were very open and sincere. He had
an excellent report and was a great hit with everyone.
His gratitude was expressed at all the Masses.
Fr. John Basso and Bro. Jerry flew to
Edmonton on two separate days during the week of
March 6th to visit with Fr. James Jeffcoat, SDB, at St.
Joseph Villa. Jim thanked every one for their concern
and requested our prayers. He was very appreciative
of our visits, and expressed many thanks for the
many acts of kindness offered on his behalf, and also
displayed by the parishioners of his Chinese
Community of Mary Help of Christians. Since that
time, Fr. Jim has returned to his Maker, and four
Salesians from our Surrey Community attended his
wake, funeral and final farewell. May he rest in
peace!
Spring break began in full swing here the
week of March 13th with numerous parish volunteers
cleaning the property, removing broken fences, tree
stumps, old furniture, etc. OLGC School received a
brand new roof.
On the 15th we welcomed back Most Rev.
Raymond O. Roussin, S.M. to the diocese of
Vancouver at a clergy noon prayer and luncheon
meeting. He humbly shared his five month journey
with us at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Coquitlam.
He spent that soul searching and healing time in
Larchmont, N.Y. under the spiritual guidance of Fr.
Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R. The Archbishop has
certainly lost a lot of weight in the ordeal, but openly
shared his priorities for his flock. One goal is to
spend a couple days just informally staying at each
parish getting to know his priests and people.
Our Parish Lenten Mission got underway for
three evenings beginning at 7 pm March 20th thru the
22nd. The mission director, Fr. Archie Gonsalves,

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OCD, a Carmelite priest, teaches moral theology in
a seminary in India. He has given many parish
missions in Florida and New York, and is in high
demand as a church speaker. The topics he chose
for our parish Lenten Retreat included: Prayer that
changes lives * Being sure about what God wants
in a situation *Faithfully using head and heart
together * Helping our “kids” make good moral
decisions. The 3-day event was well attended and
included the Sacrament of Reconciliation on the
Tuesday after his conference. His talks were given
nightly after Holy Mass was celebrated. Certainly
Fr. Archie’s presence and experience led to the
success of this Lenten journey together.
Saturday, March 25th was a fun day event for
all our youth. The Salesian Cooperators sponsored a
3 on 3 Basketball Tournament with face painting,
games, coloring, treats and door prizes for the
younger set. Over thirty-one teams, consisting of
five members each, participated. The Don Bosco
Youth Center was a bee-hive of activity with
qualified, young adults refereeing the continuous
games, while the OLGC School Auditorium hosted
the younger set with clowns, wheel of fortune, etc.,
and their favourite ice cream cones. Our Knights of
Columbus along with the CWL supervised the
property, and hosted the adults with coffee, tea and
sandwiches. The numerous parishioners who
volunteered in so many areas all helped to make the
medal and award presentations, done by Mr.
Herbert Fleming, coordinator of the Salesian
Cooperators, and Bro. Jerry so worthwhile. A
bouquet of gratitude goes to all, especially Mr. Paul
Dumas, who generously spent many night hours in
organizing, preparing, and planning this successful,
family orientated sport event.
Very Rev. Tadeusz Rozmus, SDB,, the
Polish Provincial from the Krakow province,
arrived on March 28th to preach the Lenten Retreat
to our Polish parishioners. He along with Fr.
Tadeusz Goryezka, SDB joined the Jochlin family
for a two day visit to Victoria. Last year he
preached on “The Holy Spirit’s Gifts in Our Life,”
which has been since printed in Polish and made
into a pocket size booklet. Fr. Tadeusz brought
copies with him to be distributed throughout this
retreat. His theme this year will be on the Holy
Father’s recent encyclical on Love.
**********
SHERBROOKE QC. Le printemps est bien arrivé
chez nous, au sud-est de Montréal; les pelouses
commencent même à laisser percer un peu de vert.
Un grand soulagement pour les gens qui ne goûtent
pas particulièrement la saison des neiges! (Désolé!
Comme j’écris ceci, je regarde par la fenêtre et
constate qu’il commence à neiger!).
Aux ides de mars- de bon augure, cette fois-
eut lieu au Salésien une conférence de presse,
annonçant la saison du théâtre. Merci à La Voie
Salésienne de mars dont je cite un extrait : « Sous la
présidence d’honneur d’Ariane Bisson McLernon,
finissante au Salésien en 2000, le festival des
« Coups de Cœur » du théâtre dévoile sa
programmation printanière…La 1ère pièce mise en
scène, Maboule, présentée le 17 mars, est sous la
direction de l’expérimenté metteur en scène Pierre
Lafontaine, secondé par Manon Michel pour la
technique et de Marie Ellen Janidlo pour la création
des costumes. Le 31 mars, place aux élèves de 3e
secondaire avec la pièce Les Héros de mon Enfance,
de Michel Tremblay. Les comédiens de 4e et 5e
secondaire seront sur scène les 21 et 22 avril avec
deux représentations de Un château de Cartes. Ces
deux pièces sont sous l’habile direction du metteur en
scène Nicolas Duquette.»
Le 22 mars, 5 de nos jeunes se produisirent au
Séminaire de Sherbrooke dans le cadre d’un
spectacle de musique classique sous la direction de
notre maestro Jean Paré. Il s’agissait de Julie Ann
Mckeow Carbonneau et Pierre-Marc Jauron au piano,
Karianne Chouinard au chant ainsi que David
Echenberg et Marc-Olivier Béliveau à la guitare. Le
traditionnel Talent Show aura lieu le 7 avril à la Salle
Père-Décarie. Puis au Vieux Clocher de Sherbrooke,
quelques élèves représenteront le Salésien au
spectacle de la chanson française (dit en passant, les
chansons du Talent Show sont généralement en
anglais!). La présence de notre troupe Starmania est
aussi assurée.
Je prends la liberté de piger encore de La
Voie Salésienne (Merci, M. Lepage!) : « Route
Maya : 18 élèves de 3e secondaire du S.S. ont
participé, avec une dizaine d’élèves de l’école
Richmond High School, à un voyage culturel et

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linguistique au Mexique durant la semaine de
relâche. L’objectif du voyage était de connaître la
civilisation Maya tout en profitant des attraits
touristiques et des doux rayons de soleil de ce
merveilleux pays. Patricia Picker et Luc Lachapelle,
en collaboration avec Éric Lambert, travaillent
présentement au montage d’un cédérom aux parents
des élèves ayant participé au voyage. Patricia est
déjà à l’oeuvre pour la préparation du prochain
voyage au Mexique en mars 2007!»
Du 18 au 20 mars se tenait à l’Université
Bishop la finale régionale de l’Expo-sciences Bell.
Les jeunes du Salésien se sont illustrés d’une façon
extraordinaire, remportant 22000$ en prix (sur une
subvention globale de 67000$). La 1ère position fut
décrochée par 2 élèves de 5e secondaire, Yasmina
Lahlou et Léa Charpentier (4000$ chacune).
Côté communauté, nous avons tenu 2
assemblées des confrères afin de planifier la
présence des salésiens à l’école en septembre
prochain. Il s’agit de discerner comment poursuivre
la mission et conserver le charisme salésien à
l’école, tenant compte d’un moins grand nombre de
religieux et du vieillissement de ceux qui s’y
trouvent (qui ne vieillit pas?) : i.e. comment faire
appel aux talents et à la capacité des 6 salésiens en
place, chacun dans le domaine où il peut contribuer.
Le 20 mars, en la fête transférée de saint
Joseph, nous étions très attristés par la nouvelle
venant d’Edmonton, nous annonçant le décès du
directeur de cette communauté salésienne, le P.
James Jeffcoat, quelques semaines à peine suivant
un diagnostic de cancer. Le P. Trottier a représenté
la communauté de Sherbrooke aux funérailles à la
paroisse chinoise de Mary Help of Christians au
centre-ville d’Edmonton. Du ciel il veille sur
l’œuvre de Don Bosco au Canada, cette œuvre à
laquelle il s’est donné jusqu’à la fin de sa vie.
Il y a quelques jours, nous avons appris
aussi le décès à Ottawa de la sœur religieuse du
Frère Andy LaCombe. Sr. Rita, de la communauté
des Sœurs de la Charité d’Ottawa, est décédée le 29
mars de cancer à l’âge de 72 ans. Pendant plusieurs
années, étant douée d’un grand talent artistique, elle
avait été conservatrice du musée historique de la
communauté à la maison générale à Ottawa. Au Fr.
Andy, originaire de Verner, ON, et architecte de la
Province de New Rochelle, nos plus vives
condoléances.
À chacun/e de nos lecteurs, je souhaite une
Semaine Sainte intense et de Joyeuses Pâques. Que le
Christ ressuscité soit votre paix et votre lumière!
************************
NEWS IN BRIEF – EN BREF
Le 3 avril était le 4e anniversaire de l’élection de
don Pascual Chavez comme neuvième successeur
de Don Bosco. Il déclarait récemment; « Après
quatre ans, j’ai visité la plupart des provinces. Plus je
connais la Congrégation et plus je l’aime ». Ne nous
donne-t-il pas ainsi un moyen (parmi d’autres, bien
sûr) d’aimer davantage la Congrégation? Mieux la
connaître! Merci, Don Pascual! Merci ANS!
Sainte Marie-Domenica Mazzarello est morte le 14
mai 1881. Ce sera donc le 125e anniversaire de sa
mort. Une occasion de mieux connaître sa vie et
d’apprécier son héritage.
The
SDB
Canadian
website
(www.donboscocanada.org) is being renovated. It
should have its new look by May 1st (Yes! 2006!)
Sherbrooke: Les travaux de « rallongement de la
cuisine » à la RDB, rue du Québec, sont en cours. Le
tout devrait être terminé d’ici une couple de
semaines.
Rome. Among the new 15 cardinals named by Pope
Benedict XVI, a Salesian : Joseph Zen, bishop of
Hong Kong. P.T.L.!
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&7
CHRIST HAS DIED
CHRIST IS RISEN
CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN

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