The Editor:

Thank you for the prayer card for Remi De Roo enclosed with your last mailing. I had not heard about his death.

I worked fairly closely with him around some policy issues at the hospital in Comox – when the Sisters of St. Joseph still operated it. Remi was good to work with and trusted the people he consulted on different issues. I appreciated his confidence and support.

Kind regards,

George C. Webster, Kelowna

The Editor:

Remi is our patron saint for a synodal church.

Michael McBane, Ottawa

The Editor:

Sorry about Bishop Remi. Rest in peace and joy.

Roma De Robertis, Saint John, NB

The Editor:

It is with sadness at our loss, and appreciation for an extraordinary life in ministry, that I inform you of the passing of our good friend, Bishop Remi De Roo. He died peacefully last night, Feb 01, 2022, in Victoria, following a period of gentle decline in his health over recent months.

Remi was the longest serving Roman Catholic bishop in Canada, and the longest surviving member of the Second Vatican Council (1962-66), which inspired reform and renewal around the world in both church and society

So many wonderful things can be said of him and his committed, faith-filled life, and no doubt obituaries will be arising from many sources in the media.

When I first started listening in 1993 to cassette tapes (remember those days!?) from the Queenswood Centre library in Victoria on the topic of the Enneagram system of spiritual wisdom and personality study with Franciscan and Vatican II priest Richard Rohr, I did not realize how much this would shape my formation in ministry for the decades to come.

It led me not only to the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico, and to Anglican Franciscan community, but also in due time to my first personal meeting with Remi, in the context of taking related sessions of inner spiritual work and teaching which he shared with Pearl Gervais, as we studied the spiritual and psychological insights of the wisdom teachings of the Enneagram. It helped bind together the work I was putting together as I embarked on my ordained ministry, just as Remi was coming to the end of his epic 37-year episcopacy (1962-1999) for the Diocese of Victoria.

I had the privilege of attending Remi’s retirement dinner in 1999, hosted by Christ Church Cathedral, and also being present in 2001 at the Bethlehem Centre at his book launch for the book on Enneagram and Biblical Characters that he co-wrote with Pearl Gervais and Diane Tolomeo.

Nearly all of my time in ordained ministry has been based in Central Vancouver Island, and Remi and Pearl have been good friends throughout this time, since Remi retired to live in Nanaimo. I worked with him over the years on his interspiritual ventures through the Bethlehem Centre, and continued to work alongside him in sharing the spiritual and psychological insights of the wisdom teachings of the Enneagram.

In 2016, he and Pearl Gervais joined me as directors in the founding of our ministry, Spirituality Beyond Borders. I was honoured to share the floor with him for his last public retreat and teaching sessions in our program relating ecology and spirituality, Creation-Centered Spirituality, at the Bethlehem Centre last summer. At the age of 96, he was able to inspire us with lucid and thoughtful contributions in our hybrid online/in-person sessions, as in turn, I took the role of Francis of Assisi, Pearl took the role of Hildegard of Bingen, and Remi interpreted Thomas Aquinas for the present day.

My favourite formal image of Remi, arising from his trip to the Vatican in 2014 for the beatification of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul, was of Pope Francis reversing everyone’s expectations after the ending of the mass by pausing to kiss the ring of Bishop Remi, rather than offering him the customary expectation in the opposite direction.

Informally, Remi always signed off “fraternally yours” in his notes and emails to me – he truly crossed boundaries without hesitation and always saw me as a brother to be appreciated and encouraged. And this from a man who as a bishop who has been personally in the presence of seven successive popes. “Keep up the good work”, he cheerfully and enthusiastically told me often at the end of our sessions and programs. He humbly and joyfully entertained our parish youth and summer students in his home, and was able to share exceptional stories of his life’s work.

Pearl encourages me that his prayers have been with me and us, as ours are with him in this time of his passing over, for the continuation of the good work we have shared together, rooted in the Gospel, rooted in the reforms of Vatican II, and rooted in our common desire for a spirituality that transcends boundaries and borders in the service of the common good.

Rest in peace, Remi.

Rev. Andrew Twiddy, Parksville

The Editor:

After completing my studies at the scholasticate in Ottawa, arrangements were made for me to be ordained by Bishop Remi De Roo at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Victoria on June 26, 1965.

On the day of my ordination, I was becoming anxious waiting to meet Bishop Remi in the sacristy. Finally, a very young looking person with a collar came into the sacristy and I asked him when the bishop would be coming. To my great surprise, he replied, “I am the bishop!”

That was my first meeting with Remi. Subsequently, he became one of my best friends and a friend of my family. We were continually in contact. He supported my leaving the active priesthood in 1975 and wrote a letter to all the parishes in his dioceses thanking me for my services to the Catholic Church in Peru and Vancouver.

He attended the family celebration of my father’s 100th birthday. When Remi came to Victoria, after retiring in Nanaimo, he occasionally stayed at my brother Peter’s home, where a number of friends gathered to meet with him. A few times, they celebrated his birthday. On two occasions my visitors from Chincha Baja, Peru and I visited Remi at his home in Nanaimo, as he was a generous contributor to projects in Peru.

May he rest in peace.

Joe Gubbels, Edmonton, AB

The Editor:

I have been thinking of you especially since I learned of Remi’s death — I know you had a special friendship with him — and wrote some good books about him as well — and I wanted to tell you I am sorry for your loss. He was a rare presence in the Church of our time and touched so many people for good.

I have a memory of him asking me for some of my O Henry chocolate bar one day when I was working at the CCCB in Ottawa and he was on his way to a meeting – and my sister Brenda who lives in White Rock remembers a retreat with him years ago. I do believe that the people we love continue to be present even when they leave us for the everlasting love and light place. Peace and gratitude for all you do fo us. Best wishes and Peace.

Moira Carley, Montreal

The Editor:

Thanks for keeping me in the loop re. Bishop Remi. He sure used his time on earth well!

Faith Magood, Victoria

The Editor:

It is with great sadness and appreciation for an extraordinary life in ministry, that we acknowledge the passing of Bishop Remi De Roo. He died peacefully on Feb 01, 2022, in Victoria, following a short decline in his health. Requiescat in pace.

The Most Reverend Bishop Remi De Roo was born in 1924, became a priest and was ordained in 1950. In 1962 he became the youngest Catholic Bishop in the World. At the time of his passing he was the last surviving Bishop that had participated in the Vatican II.

Here at Bethlehem Centre, Bishop Remi was the initial inspiration in 1987 for the creation of the now, Bethlehem Centre. He had been an active champion of our Society with his participation, patronage, and guidance over the years.

We are extremely grateful for the service that Remi gave to the Centre, and his legacy lives on with us.

The Editor:

Thank you for letting me know, and indeed may the Spirit wing him on his way home. I guess we’ve known each other around 50 years and, while encounters weren’t very frequent, there was a lot of shared conviction, hope and vision. May Remi intercede for the Church and all God’s people, especially on our synodal way.

In our Lord,

Michael Czerny, S.J., Vatican City