Show menuBernard de Margerie (1934-2024)
Bernard de Margerie was ordained priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon on June 1, 1958, in his home town of Vonda, Saskatchewan. His first pastoral assignment was at Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens francophone parish in Saskatoon; he also taught high school Latin, French, and Religion before he went to Rome for ecumenical studies. Upon his return to Saskatoon, he served as director of the Catholic Pastoral Centre in the diocese of Saskatoon, as well as spending a year in the diocese’s Brazil mission, serving as diocesan ecumenical officer, and providing ministry as hospital chaplain. In addition to serving as pastor at Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens several times, de Margerie served as pastor at St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. Francis Xavier and Holy Spirit parishes in Saskatoon, as well as at the Trinité pastoral region of Vonda, Prud’homme, and St. Denis, SK.
His spirit of humble service, gentle humour, and persistent effort taught us how to live out a “hospitable Catholicism” and live more fully “in God’s reconciling grace.” Combining his great loves for the church and for its witness, he constantly reminded us that Jesus prayed “that all may be one.” There is a Gospel call to unity. Our continuing divisions mark the most enduring disobedience to the Gospel.
His passion for ecumenism was inspired in the early days of his priesthood, ignited by Pope John XXIII’s call in launching the Second Vatican Council. Following the 1959 announcement of the upcoming Council, Fr. Bernard was sent to the Canadian College in Rome, where he studied ecumenism during the exciting years of the Council. De Margerie coordinated ecumenism in the Diocese of Saskatoon for many years, and was instrumental in the founding of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism in Saskatoon, where he served as director for 10 years (1984-1994). He served for 10 years on the Roman Catholic-United Church of Canada Dialogue (1975-1984), established the Western Diocesan and Eparchial Coordinators of Ecumenism (1984), the Summer Ecumenical Institute (1984), and several other ecumenical projects and organisations. He was also active in interfaith outreach, including building relationships with the Jewish and Muslim communities in Saskatoon.
De Margerie is the author of In God’s Reconciling Grace, a compilation of prayer and reflection texts for Christian reconciliation and unity.
He was a strong proponent of ecumenical education and formation, incorporating this into the principal programming of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, and shaping the character of Western Canadian ecumenism. Yet he did not neglect ecumenical cooperation in charity, service, and justice projects. He promoted local dialogue and ecumenical learning from one another. At the heart of his ecumenical vision was prayer together in the spirit of the great French ecumenist, Paul Couturier, whose prayer he prayed daily:
Lord Jesus, who prayed that we might all be one,
we pray to You for the unity of Christians,
according to Your will, according to Your means.
May Your Spirit enable us to experience the suffering caused by division,
to see our sin, and to hope beyond all hope. Amen.
In 2013, the De Margerie Lectures on Christian Reconciliation and Unity were established to honour his lifetime of ecumenical ministry. Held within the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the goal of the series is to bring to Saskatchewan innovative thinkers and practitioners in ecumenism from across Canada, the U.S., and the world.
