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| Fr. René Bissaillon, M.S., who celebrates 58 years of priesthood |
Where were you raised?
I was born in Cohoes, New York, near Albany on March 17, 1931. My mother, Annette Nadeau and my dad, Leonel, were both born near Montreal. We had seven children and I was the second oldest. My parents moved down to New York State with their families when they were very young. My hometown was known as the “spindle city” because it was at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers and therefore had water power for the many clothing factories in our area.
How did you come to know about La Salette?
A La Salette priest travelled regularly from Altamont to our parish for Sunday Mass. When I told my parents in 7th grade that I wanted to become a priest, my dad was very surprised but my parents were very supportive. They went to our parish priest, Fr. Adrien Bechard, and he suggested that I join a missionary order because, with our financial situation as a large family, a religious community would gladly accept me. He was right. Since I was serving Mass for the La Salettes weekly, Fr. Bechard contacted Fr. Conrad Blanchet. After speaking with a La Salette, my parents received application information for me to enter.
On Sept. 19, 1946, the 100th anniversary of the Apparition, I entered the seminary in Enfield, New Hampshire. On that day, there was an extremely large crowd of visitors for this major celebration. I was a bit overwhelmed with the number of people and somewhat surprised. A priest came over to meet us and asked if I was one of the new seminarians. Finding out that I was, he immediately put
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| Fr. Damien, born Jozef De Veuster, who worked with the lepers of Molokai. |
What ministries have you been involved with in your priesthood?
I was ordained on April 25, 1959. Since Fr. Blanchet, Paul Douillard, Ray Lecduc, and Bro. Armand Fredette and others were the first La Salette Missionaries to work in the Philippines, they regularly sent us news about their ministry and adventures. Because of their witness and dedication and to the great surprise of my parents, I volunteered before my ordination to go to the Philippine missions.
For the next 51 years of priesthood, I have been serving in the Philippines and in Hawaii. I was first assigned to Aurora, Isabella, Luzon, the northeastern part of the country. I was impressed with the people’s reverence for priests. The Filipino food was delicious but some was quite unusual.
When I said my first Sunday Mass at my new parish, according to their custom, about 100 children came over to me after Mass for a blessing and would take my hand and touch it to their forehead as a sign of reverence. I was very impressed with this custom. The Filippino sense of prayer is also amazing. They pray so much for their needs and those of others. They invite their priest readily to come over their house and enjoy their food and company.
Our parish had no electricity or running water. After two weeks, the pastor got ill and went to Manila and I was alone and in charge, with a big school of several hundred children and about fifteen barrios (villages) to visit. Within the next several weeks, I did many things for the first time as a priest. After anointing a sick man in a distant village, to my surprise I was told that he had leprosy (“Hansen’s disease”). All this was quite new to me.
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| Fr. “Biz” (left) welcomes an island visitor, Fr. Roland Nadeau, M.S. |
My years of ministry in the Philippines have helped me appreciate the strong faith of the people, their deep love for all their priests, even me. In visiting the villages, I ministered to the poorest of the poor but their welcoming spirit was amazing.
I went to minister in Hawaii on June 31, 1991. I’ve enjoyed most my ministry on the island of Kauai. Their friendliness and welcoming spirit has been marvelous. The weather is warm, the beaches are beautiful. However my experience of Hurricane Niniki on September 11,1992, was, like all my fellow Islanders, a devastating one. Most houses on the island lost their roofs. Our parish of St. Theresa’s in Kekaha was almost totally destroyed. The following weeks and months were very difficult. There was so much ocean water around us and literally, “not a drop to drink”. Thank God for the people at the nearby Naval Base who brought us some essentials including electric generators and the necessary pumps to finally get some fresh water.
It took nearly four years for us to get back to some semblance of normalcy. As the saying goes, “good can come from bad experiences”. In this destruction, I discovered a wonderful sense of comradery and community first among the ministers of other faiths on our island. We prayed together, telling our stories and mentioning our needs. We shared the little we had and we even now feel a great sense of friendship. I have also invited other La Salettes to minister here over the years.
How have you used your charism of reconciliation in your ministry?
First of all, I have personally learned much about forgiveness and reconciliation in my own life. With God’s help, I learned to work with people whom I initially didn’t like. I now count them as some of my best friends.
In my lifelong ministry as a parish priest, I have heard a lot of confessions, listened to and tried to help people with their sins and problems. I really feel so good that I could help others by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation with them! This ministry has been very challenging and rewarding but I still have a lot to learn.
What do you like about the message of La Salette?
The apparition is brief and simple, a wonderful and beautiful story. If we follow Mary’s wishes by bringing people back to God, to themselves and to others, we will be fulfilling her mandate to “make this known to all my people”, even those people which I’ve tried to serve over these 58 years as a La Salette.