The document provides details about three Oblate priests - Wayne Jarvo, Jean-Paul Vantroys, and John Brieux. It summarizes Wayne Jarvo's 50 years as an Oblate brother, working in various missions and homes. It describes Jean-Paul Vantroys' 60 years as a priest in northern Alberta missions among Cree and other Indigenous communities. It outlines John Brieux's time ministering in various parishes in British Columbia, including helping communities overcome alcoholism and establish Indigenous leadership.

1. Albert Lacombe, OMI
1827 – 1916
Volume 8, Number 17 May 20, 2011
WAYNE JARVO OMI
In this issue...
WAYNE JARVO OMI……...….……....…..1
JEAN-PAUL VANTROYS, OMI…….....…3
JOHN BRIEUX, OMI…………...……..…..4
UPCOMING DISCERNMENT
WEEKENDS………………………………..7
ANNOUNCEMENT………………..……...8
NEXT ISSUE OF INFO LACOMBE WILL BE
MAY 27, 2011.
50 Years as an Oblate
On Friday, March 18, members of
Springhurst Community and guests gathered
at Springhurst to celebrate with Bro. Wayne
Saskatoon Office- Communications
Jarvo, 50 years of Religious life. A special
TEL: 306 244 1556 guest for the social and supper was a friend of
FAX: 306 242 8916
Wayne’s, Senator Allan Mac Eachern.
CELL: 306 370 7581

2. Volume 8, Number 17
May 20, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
Wayne began his Novitiate, along with 11
others, in 1959 at the Gloucester Farm You came to the Oblates from Cornwall it
outside Ottawa. After several months a few seems
of the novices were moved to Arnprior to
To be lay brother filled all of your dreams
assist with the farm work. At Gloucester, St.
Anthony’s Novitiate, his Novice Director was And so to the farm, where you learned how to
Fr. Patrick Sheehan. At Arnprior it was Fr. cook
Maurice Peake who continued the challenge ‘Twould be your life’s work now, by hook or
of forming Wayne. Of the 11 who began by crook.
Novitiate with Wayne, the one remaining
Oblate is Fr. Terry Mc Namara, presently
You went to the West, one year there you
ministering as Pastor at St. Augustine’s
stayed
Parish, Vancouver.
Then back to the city, where you made the
Wayne summarized his years as an Oblate in grade,
these words: “I had many enjoyable times in In formation houses, all over the place,
my Religious Life. I was happy to minister
They kept movin’ you around, twas a holy
to all kinds of people including those in
disgrace.
Formation, missions in Labrador (Happy
Valley) and British Columbia (Kuper Island),
served at the Provincial House (Daley Ave., Twice in your lifetime you went to the North
Ottawa) where I had the distinction of living It was in Happy Goose Bay that you sallied
with three former Provincials; from 1970-72 I forth,
ministered at Villa Madonna Nursing Home,
Ottawa. Wherever I was assigned I tried to The school and the parish for some 20 years
meet the many needs of people from cooking In all your assignments, you looked after the
meals to bringing joy to their lives”. dears.
A person who has known Wayne for several
years has this to say: He is a good cook, a It was cooking and shopping that filled all
better dancer, but most of all, a fine Brother. your time
(As a dancer in Happy Valley, Wayne has his When you worked up at Gillies, you acted
dancing shoes hanging over the bar at the just fine.
Knights of Columbus). You did all this work and were happy to know
Fr. Carl Kelly, a resident of Springhurst, told All the gossip and news bits and rumors to
the story of Wayne’s life in song. show.
Fifty years an Oblate You came here to Springhurst and that’s
where you are
Hey, Wayne, It’s been good to know you 3X
On trips to the airport you use your own car.
It’s a long time since you’ve been home
You fill in all places where folks are away,
Now, you gotta be driftin’ along.
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3. Volume 8, Number 17
May 20, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
With laundry and cooking, what more can I Jean-Paul leaves no doubt about his
say. French language and culture even though
he has a Flemish name. He comes from
Roulnix (Department du Nord) in France.
Its now fifty years as an Oblate you’ve been He made his novitiate in 1945 and was
Its been quite a journey, to now from back ordained a priest February 18, 1951. This
then year marks his sixtieth anniversary.
You’ve been a great friend tho through many He arrived in Jousard, Alberta, Canada
a year November of 1951. There was a gravel
And may God be with you, from all of us road which was routed along Lesser
Slave Lake. This road could be closed by
here.
snow in the winter months. He was sent
to learn the Cree language with Nicolas
JEAN-PAUL VANTROYS, Roué, OMI, until May of 1953. He
chuckles when he remembers that his
OMI Cree always has a ‘French accent.’
By Nestor Gregoire,OMI. A very frightful moment happened, April
15, 1952, when he was travelled with Fr.
Vandersteen, OMI, eighteen kilometers
south of Fort Vermillon. The snow had
already melted on the land. The only way
to travel with a dog team was on the ice
of the Peace River. Fr. Vandersteen, OMI,
was on the back of the sled when all of a
sudden the ice flipped up and he fell into
the water, fortunately holding on the two
wires from the sled. The dogs and the
sled remained on the upper part of the
large piece of ice. Slowly he “told me to
go to the front of the sled and he
managed to crawl out of the cold water.”
This all happened at lighting speed.
Fortunately, Fr. Vandersteen had grabbed
on to the wires as he slipped into the cold
waters.
After crawling out of the cold water he
revived very quickly. It was April and the
sun was very warm. Jean-Paul
commented about this rescue, “He was a
tough guy! He didn’t care what had
happened to him.” Looking back on that
trip across the ice he admits that it was
foolish. They did not lose any dogs. In
fact, the dogs sat down and waited for
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4. Volume 8, Number 17
May 20, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
what was about to happen! When it was EASTER
time to move off the ice and travel over
the land the dogs rushed up the river
bank. “They were scared!” Cosmic gloom
The God-man lies within the tomb
Remembering Fr. Vandersteen in light of While the universe groans
this fall through the ice, Jean-Paul added:
all of humanity moans
“He was really a missionary and so very
strong willed!”
Questions abound--when,what, and why?
Jean-Paul was an Oblate who was sent to It is a time to live or a time to die?
be missionary in Northern Alberta but he
strongly states that he never enjoyed Then, with explosive suddenness
fishing and hunting. Only once did he earth opens up to heaven
help shot a bear and he confesses that ‘he and mortality stretches out to eternity
would never do that again!’
Why look for the living among the dead?
Jean-Paul divides his Oblate life into four He has risen as he said.
phases. His first assignment was to Fox
Valley and Little Red River (Alberta), a Brian Jayawardhana OMI. Edmonton. March 11,2011
Cree Community, from 1953-1966. The
Sisters of Ste. Chretienne joined the
mission in 1957 (departing in 2011) and
were a very significant part of the life and
mission of these churches. These sisters
also began three schools in these
communities: Fox Lake, Garden River
and Jean d’Or Prairie. Jean-Paul worked
with closely with these sisters and
sorrows over their departure from these national team with Jim and Adele
First Nation Communities. Longstaff (Saskatoon). He has given the
weekend in both English and French and
Then he moved to Wabasca, 1966-77. worked on the national training weekends
There was a sabbatical year in Gonzaga for team couples. This also involved
University (Sponkane, Wash.) with a side travel to Zambia, New Jersey, Uruguay
trip to the Holy Land and Rome. and Hungry. He enjoyed this ministry
very much. “People were responding and
He returned to Spirit River (an I liked the interaction.” Through
Anglophone community), 1978-1991. Marriage Encounter he has made many
Then to St. Isadore ( a Francophone friends.
community) and Napa and Marie Reine
for the next sixteen years. The past two years Jean-Paul has become
involved with Retroville which seeks to
Throughout this time Jean-Paul’s bring healing to troubled marriages. One
involvement with Marriage Encounter of the rewards of this ministry is the
was very rewarding. For over thirty years people who return to tell “me how the
(1978-2008) he worked with the Marriage weekend put them back together again.”
Encounter teams and served on the This is ecumenical but also involves
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5. Volume 8, Number 17
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175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
JOHN BRIEUX, OMI
By Nestor Gregoire OMI
John is friendly, talkative, colorful and full of
stories. He wears his Oblate identity with a
sense of pride and fills the room with his
warm smile. His conversation is equally
expressive in his facial expressions as in his
spirited words.
Beginning in Peterborough, Ontario (born in
1942), he has spent his life as an ordained
priest (1974) in the West. His first assignment
was to St. Mary’s Parish in Prince George,
followed by ten years in the Caribou (near
Williams Lake) among the Shuswap people.
After a sabbatical year he was transferred to
the Western side of the Fraser river to
minister with the Chilcotin peoples. In 1995,
after a letter that explained why he should not
be assigned to St. Augustine’s Parish in
Vancouver, and succeeded Joe Rossiter, OMI,
as pastor (which extended to fifteen years).
St. Albert Parish, St. Albert, Alberta There is a strong connection with art in the
life of John (and his brother). They started out
in high school at St. Pat’s in Ottawa (first
couples from inter-faith backgrounds. It
Oblate connection) but were transferred to
challenges the values and experiences
Fisher Park High School which concentrated
that are shared from a Christian
perspective. in the arts. Without hesitation John adds
(including his brother): “We did well there!”
Jean-Paul has a lot of energy and is very After high school there was a brief period of
appreciative to work with people. His working with Crowley Films in Ottawa who
small apartment boasts of many books. “I were in the process of working on an
like the activity. I cannot help from doing animation film, ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ He also
nothing.” He has good health and a worked for a brief time at the National
strong history of longevity in his family.
Museum in Ottawa and can point to several
Most of his eight siblings are alive today.
projects that he helped to construct. This was
Now, looking forward to his sixtieth a very healthy exposure to animation leading
anniversary he chuckles, “I thank my to attendance at the College of Art in the hope
God!” of becoming an illustrator.
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6. Volume 8, Number 17
May 20, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
Then in 1966 he experienced a profound call miraculous the recovery that happened and
to religious life that “took me right out of now thirty five years later they are still sober.
school. It was my Mother who pointed me to There may be the occasional slip, but they
the Oblates and when I walked into Holy return to sobriety.
Rosary Scholasticate for a retreat I knew that
I belonged. I felt right at home.” “The good news of what happened in Alkali
Lake began to spread throughout the Shuswap
His time in the Caribou were challenging, and region, and reached out to the larger Canadian
reflecting back, very life giving. The people community, reaching even Australia.” Both
of Alkali Lake had reached the point of hands a clasped on his chest. “This was a real
collapse and disintegration. “There was only journey with the people and yet when I first
came it was awful.”
This was also the time when he became very
involved in developing the ministry of the
laity. The workload became too heavy for one
individual and he was blest with the arrival of
St. Kateri Mitchel (a Mohawk) and Sr.
Dorothy Bob (from Lillooet). Both of these
St. Ann sisters were full status First Nations
peoples. Together they help educate and
promote strong spiritual leaders for each
village. “We introduced them to the people as
spiritual leaders.”
Reluctantly John admits that he suffered a bit
of a breakdown and needed a rest. This was
also the time when the Oblate Ranch at
Williams Lake was sold and the first
allegations were beginning to surface. There
was much stress.
His next assignment was to the West side of
the Fraser River with the Chillcotin peoples.
John Brieux in a pensive moment. These were part of the Dene people and spoke
a different language. “These were ten years in
one way to go and that was up! My ministry one of the most beautiful parts of British
fitted in as I walked with the people as they Columbia. This was the first place where
reached out for sobriety and serenity. This Christianity was planted in the center of BC.
was a time when they reached back to grab a In about 1863 a Jesuit missionary had been
hold of their own spirituality and their taken by the people into the back country to
culture.” With both hands moving through live with these people. There was memory of
the air he continued, “It was almost
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7. Volume 8, Number 17
May 20, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
his presence and the memory that his native Oblate even when we know we have made
name was ‘one who puts up poles.’ some serious errors. We cannot talk of the
history of BC without talking about the
Over his own efforts to show why he was not Oblates and the Sisters who made such an
suitable for a large urban parish, John impact.
ministered at St. Augustine’s Parish in
Vancouver. After fifteen years of ministry he “I am proud to carry on with my brothers;
took a sabbatical year by picking up his art happy to be a priest, to be an Oblate. I have
studies at Victoria College of Art. Frequently an optimistic outlook and have energy to do
he is asked, “And how is your art doing?” He what I can.”
is very involved in painting and sketching.
Now, he is pastor of St. Paul’s parish on the
North Shore (Vancouver). This is a First ANNOUNCEMENT:
Nations Community that involves John with
First Nations people who are very urban. This Upcoming Discernment
is a new challenge but does allow some
connection with the art world. Weekends
John shares his own difficulties with the Here are two vocation discernment
history of our missionary work in which we opportunities for the coming months. Please
did not strive to inculturate the native culture, take a moment and consider who you might
approach to spirituality, art and music into invite to be part of one of the weekends, and
Christianity. “There was nothing that was so give them a call. If you have any questions
regarding these retreats or vocations ministry
bad. The totems identified the different
please get in touch with me. Ken Thorson
families. They had their own way of
OMI
marrying, of story telling, art and music. We
put a damper on their dancing.” There is a May 20-23… Retreat in the Rockies
sigh. “In a way we sort of lost them by not The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
integrating them into Christianity. will host a discernment retreat in Canmore,
Unfortunately, nothing of the native culture AB for young men (18 - 35 years) who are
was used.” interested in learning about discernment, and
something about religious life. We’ll be
“We need to learn from each other. There hiking, praying, and of course talking about
must be a deep conversion and renewal our journey with God, with Canmore and the
among the people. The arts can serve us well Rockies as our backdrop. Join with others like
here. These are a people who are very yourself who are seeking to know God’s will
creative and musical.” He can understand the for their lives. The weekend will begin on
Friday at 7:00 p.m. and finish on Monday
difficulties these people face in such a
with lunch. Accommodation and food are
dominant urban environment. “How do we
provided. There is no charge for this retreat.
keep our identity?” There are strong [Read More]
questions in John ‘s eyes.
He shakes his head when asked about his For more information or to register contact:
identity as an Oblate. “I am proud of being an Fr Ken Thorson OMI at 613 884 4144 or
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8. Volume 8, Number 17
May 20, 2011
175 MAIN STREET ● OTTAWA ON K1S 1C3 ● TEL: 613-230-2225 ● FAX: 613-230-2948 ● www.omilacombe.ca
Fr Mike Dechant OMI at 780 460 4269 take us from the busy, inner city parishes in
vocations@omilacombe.ca Lima along the coast to Chincha, Alta,
heavily damaged by the 2007 earthquake. We
June 2-5… Seeking God’s Will in Northern will travel to the high Andes and the missions
Saskatchewan of Orcotuna and Aucayacu. Finally, we will
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate travel by boat to Sta. Clotilde deep in the
and the Sisters of the Presentation will host a jungle along the Napo River where Father
retreat weekend for young women and men Moe Shroder’s hospital was founded almost
(18-35 years) who are interested in discerning 30 years ago. It will be the experience of a
God’s path in their lives. We’ll be camping at lifetime. For more information, contact Neysa
St John Bosco Camp, three hourse north east or Teresa at 604 736 3972 or
of Saskatoon. Bosco is a northern camp set nmfinnie@yahoo.com or teresa@nfinnie.com.
and will provide us the opportunity to listen There is also a mission trip to Kenya
for God’s voice in the beauty of nature, as September 14-October 04 led by Fr. Ken
well as in our prayer and conversation Thorson, OMI.
throughout the weekend. In addition to some
good food and some good fun, this retreat
weekend will offer you some principles of Qu’Appelle House of Prayer. website:
discernment and prayer, and will give you the www.qhpstillness.ca
opportunity to spend some time talking with
priests and sisters. Please get in touch with Fr
Ken or Sister Mary Jane for more details The Springhurst Residence, an Oblate
about the weekend. community of retired and active residents,
[Read More] currently has a vacancy. We are open to
applications from Oblates seeking a full
For more information or to register contact: service facility in a welcoming, quiet
Sr Mary Jane Beavis (306) 244 environment to enjoy retirement, pursue long
0726 maryjane.beavis@gmail.com term studies or other employment.
Fr Ken Thorson OMI (613) 884
4144 vocations@omilacombe.ca The Residence is centrally located in Ottawa in
a tranquil setting by the Rideau River near St
Visit the website of Bountyfull House Paul’s University. Springhurst offers a spacious
(Vancouver). Father Larry Mackey, Sister private suite with ensuite bathroom. Monthly
Monica Guest and the staff at Bountyfull rent includes all meals, housekeeping, laundry
House in Vancouver, Canada have been
facilities, access to chapel, shared reception
working for over twenty years with recovery
rooms and outdoor patio and garden space. A
from all forms of addiction and abuse.
level of assisted care is available as needed but
www.bountyfullhouse.org
residents must meet established physical and
Qu’Appelle House of Prayer. website:
mental criteria for independent living.
www.qhpstillness.ca
Oblate Mission Travel- Peru Mission Trip, For further information, contact Marlene
July 2011. Experience life with the Oblates Leonard, Residence Administrator;
in Peru on this 2-3 week mission trip. For Telephone: 613 567 0371 Fax: 613 567 0967
more than 50 years, the Peru/Canada Oblate
relationship has flourished. This mission will Email: springhurstadministrator@oblates.ca
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