1 Oblatio Studia 1 Yvon Beaudoin Fernand Jetté, OMI A Wise Leader at a Critical Time Missionarii OMI 2 « Lord, I offer you the Congregation. May it be truly yours and the instrument of your love and of your kingdom in the world! Through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin, your Mother and ours, grant to all Oblates perseverance and joy in their vocation, an enlightened zeal and confidence in their ministry, a true and pure love for all people whom you have redeemed by your blood. » (F. Jetté, Spiritual notes, July 9, 1978) 3 CHRONOLOGY Birth: December 13, 1921 in Sainte-Rose de Laval First Communion: May 30, 1929 Confirmation: May 10, 1930 Took the habit: August 1, 1940 in Ville LaSalle First vows: August 2, 1941 Final vows: September 8, 1944 Priestly ordination: December 20, 1947 in Ottawa cathedral First Mass: December 21, 1947 in Sainte-Rose de Laval Superior of Saint Joseph scholasticate, Ottawa: May 1, 1965 Vicar Provincial, Saint-Joseph Province: June 15, 1967 Vicar General: May 12, 1972 Superior General: November 26, 1974 Return to Ottawa: October 15, 1986 Died in Ottawa: November 6, 2000 Funeral in Ottawa cathedral: November15, 2000 Burial in the Oblate cemetery, Richelieu: November 21, 2000 4 ABBREVIATIONS AD: Archives Deschâtelets, Ottawa. AG: General Archives O.M.I, Rome. AP: Provincial Archives O.M.I., Montreal. PRINCIPAL MANUSCRIPT SOURCES: Correspondence. AD: HB 2671 J58L-M Diary. AD: HB 2672 J58B, 03-11. Diary of travels. AD: HB 2672 J58C, 08-56. Various Notes (Chapters, Council meetings, etc). AD: HB 2572 J58C, 2, 4, 27, 28, 38, 39, 41, 42. Spiritual notes. AD: HB 2671 J58D 11, 01-10. 5 CHAPTER 1 FORMATIVE YEARS (1921-1948) Family – Childhood in Sainte-Rose – Juniorate in Chambly – Novitiate in Ville LaSalle – Scholasticate in Ottawa – Priestly ordination FAMILY Fernand Jetté was born on December 13, 1921, in Sainte Rose de Laval. He was the third child of Napoléon-Paul Jetté and Marie Bastien. The newborn baby was baptised on the day of his birth by Father Ovila Naud, assistant priest in the parish. The godfather was his uncle, Pierre-Ludger Archambault1. The father, Napoléon-Paul, was a native of the Sacred Heart parish in Montreal where he was born on December 23, 1891 and where he married Marie Bastien on November 13, 1916. Towards the year 1918, Paul and Marie went to live in Sainte-Rose de Laval, a village about twenty-five miles from Montreal. Paul was a tailor and he owned the house at number 248 on the boulevard Sainte-Rose. Later he was to become deputy mayor and postmaster. After the death of his wife he married again, in 1940. His second wife was Béatrice Cosgrain. He died at the age of 57 in the Sainte-Jeanne d’Arc hospital, Montreal, on April 25, 1948. The local newspaper wrote about him that the citizenry of Laval “has lost a public figure with a true business sense, ready to listen to everybody’s troubles, who tried to bring happiness to all. His good humour and amiability inspired confidence in all; he gave sound advice wherever it was needed. Throughout his lifetime he always took an interest in the works of the parish, in the activities of the Knights of Columbus of which he was a member, and in the Catholic Independent League, as well as in other movements which aimed to help his fellow citizens2. Fernand’s mother, Marie Bastien, was born in Sainte-Rose de Laval. Her parents were Gustave Rocan, known as Bastien, and Dorsine Cadieux. Her mother, on the death of her husband married again, this time to Ludger Archambault3. Marie Bastien died suddenly of a cerebral haemorrhage on October 18, 1938. In his Spiritual notes Fernand mentioned the anniversary of her death each year. For example, on October 18, 1981, he wrote: “the anniversary of my mother’s death. She died in 1938. I loved her very much, as also my father, even though I was never very demonstrative. Both of them were very good people. I appreciate them more and more and I thank God for having given them to me as I experience more and more what life is all about.” He made a similar note on October 18, 1987: “Today is the anniversary of my mother’s death… I often think about her, and about my father too … We continue to be the same 1 As stated in the baptismal register by J.A. Demers, pastor, AD: HB 2671 J58C01. 2 Courrier de Laval, May 13, 1948, p. 3: HB 2671 J58D 02. 3 We do not know much about Marie Bastien. The details mentioned here are taken from the Bastien Genealogy. AD: HB2671 J58G 03, with the photo of Fernand Jetté. 6 family. They remember us in their prayer in the presence of God and we continue to remember them and to love them4…” On October 18, 1980, Fernand wrote an interesting comment on the qualities and gifts of his parents and the influence they had: “Today it is 42 years since my mother died. It was Tuesday. I was sixteen. She was forty-three; she would have been forty-four on October 23. I was always very close to her, as I was to my father. They were quite different in temperament; my father was more active, more enterprising, a good organiser and a wise counsellor; he easily influenced those around him. Many came to him for advice, even though he had little education. My mother was more retiring, more discreet, less lively, better educated and more withdrawn. The two of them got on well together and were complementary to one another. As I grow older, I appreciate them more and more, and I find that many of their characteristics are also mine, although only one may be apparent at any one time. Exteriorly, I tend to identify more with my mother’s temperament; my previous occupations: study, spiritual life, intellectual life, have developed that aspect. On the other hand, I realise that the other temperament, that of my father, is also present: a sense of organisation, contact with others on the level of advice or spiritual direction … and, when the occasion presents itself, I find that I am able to succeed on this other level just as on the former. Spontaneously, however, I feel more inclined to choose the former5.” Fernand had two brothers and two sisters. The eldest, Gaston, was born in Montreal on September 13, 1918. He married Raymonde Vanier on September 4, 1944 and died at the age of 82 on May 20, 20006. He worked in the civil service and lived in Quebec. The second, André, was born in Sainte-Rose on June 4, 1920 and remained a bachelor. He died on May 13, 1988. He liked study and was quite successful. He suffered from asthma and was unable to take part in sport. Fernand wrote: “Together we liked reading, the theatre, cinema. At one time we even dreamt of music. We made a twosome: he learned the violin and I the piano… We were quite close” wrote Fernand in his Diary, “but there was not much confiding on spiritual matters. He was a man of faith and a good Christian7.” The youngest member of the family, Réjane, was born on March 25, 1926, and she married Maurice Groulx. She died on May 4, 2002. Fernand said that he and his brothers were very fond of her but tended to leave her alone. They never went out with her and never shared her activities8. Claudette, Fernand’s half- sister, daughter of Paul and his second wife Béatrice Casgrain, was born on December 20, 1940. Se received her secondary education with the Sisters of the Holy Cross and the Sisters of Notre-Dame. “Afterwards, she preferred to make her own way in life. In association with Lucien Grenet and later with his son, she lived in Latin America. Fernand has this to say about her in his Diary on June 26, 1978: “She does not practice her religion… For me, she is my sister. I pray for her and I am very fond of her. The ‘poorest’ are often those closest to us9.” 4 Spiritual notes 1980-1996, p. 27-28, and 1996-1998, p. 75. 5 Spiritual notes 1978-1980, p. 86-87. 6 Genealogy of the Jetté family: AD:HB 2671 J58G 01, N. 1; Diary 1990-200, p. 111-112, 115. 7 Genealogy of the Jetté family: p. 49: Diary 1993-1995, p. 27. Fernand wrote about twenty letters to André between 1943 and 1979. AD: HB 2671 J58F 06, N. 1. 8 Genealogy of the Jetté family: and My family, p. 6. AD: HB 2671 J58C1, N.22; Deaths register. AD : AD 2671 J58G 01, 02. 9 Genealogy of the Jetté family, p. 49, and My family, p. 7; Travel diary, June 26, 1978, p. 59-61. 7 CHILDHOOD IN SAINTE-ROSE (1921-1935) Fernand spent his childhood in Sainte-Rose de Laval which was then a quiet and picturesque little village on the banks of the river of the Thousand Isles. In 1921 the population was about 3,000 of whom half were farmers and lived in the surrounding countryside. The house on the main street, the Sainte-Rose boulevard, where the Jetté family lived, was hidden by green trees, mostly elm. In summertime many holidaymakers came to stay in the town10. The lifestyle of the Jetté family was simple and happy. The parents were good Catholics and the father was a close friend of Father Urgel Demers, the pastor.