When he was home on his summer visits, Father Joe always came to
visit my parents at our farm in St. Peters Bay. My Dad and Father Joe spent the
majority of these visits reminiscing about their younger days. Many tales and memories
were re-visited and this was always accompanied by a lot of laughter.
I
did not know Father Joe as well as his nieces and nephews so I don’t have many
stories per say, mostly observations. I always thought it was so fortunate that
Father Joe officiated at the marriages of most of his nieces and nephews. We
were sincerely blessed when he also came home to PEI to officiate at my brother
David’s wedding to his wife Karen in 1999. I was also intrigued by the
vestments he wore at these special occasions - vestments beaded in the
Thunderbird design that were made by Amy George, wife of Chief Dan George. For
many years we had a studio photograph in our living room of Father Joe wearing
these vestments.
This
leads me to one aspect of his life that has always intrigued me – his work with
Canada’s First Nations peoples. As an Archivist, my work often involves
obtaining information about people by reviewing records they created and
accumulated. In looking through some newspaper clippings accumulated by Father
Joe, I learned that he was a missionary to the Cowichan Band (located in and
around the Cowichan Valley and Duncan, British Columbia) for six years
(ca.1960s) and was at that time made an Honorary Chief of the Cowichan Band. To quote from an undated newspaper clipping of the Cowichan Citizen:
Father Rossiter has found that an important part of his work is visiting
and during his years here he has gained the confidence and respect of his
flock. Last year the Indians expressed their regard by making him an honorary
chief at their Corpus Christi celebrations. He was given the Indian name “Kow-witz-zun”
which means the sun coming over the mountain and warming the valley. And
speaking of the Indian tongue, which is not a written language, Father Rossiter
has painstakingly set down prayers phonetically.
The Indians gave a party for our citizen this summer prior to him
leaving for a visit to Prince Edward Island to see his mother Mrs. Edward
Rossiter. It was not known whether he would be returning, but undoubtedly the
Indians must have been pleased when he was posted to Cowichan again. When he does
leave there will be a lasting reminder of him for all to see in the form of the
unusual church (opposite Silver Park) which he was instrumental in building.
My Mother, Mary (Bob) Rossiter has remarked many times that Father Joe
had an incredible gift in his delivery of homilies. He always managed to insert
a joke (or two) and somehow made his homilies relatable to everyday life. In
reading through a selection of his homilies delivered during his time at St.
Augustine’s Parish in Vancouver (1981-1986), I found a few verses in a homily
entitled “Little Things Mean a Lot” that I found particularly touching. In
these verses, Father Joe gives us a glimpse into his heart and some simple
advice to live by:
Where do you look when you need encouragement? Let me tell you first
where I don’t look. I don’t look at the network news. I don’t look at the big
events. Most of them seem to be going badly. I look at the little things. I
know a few homes that are a little bit of heaven on earth. I look at them and
they renew my faith in the family. I know some friends who bring out the best
that is in me. I turn to them and they renew my faith in myself.
I know some people who are Christian to the core. They probably don’t
even realize it, but they are. I talk to them or I think about them and they
renew my faith in God.
In times like these, we dare not conclude that it is unimportant how we
handle our daily lives. It matters to the people around us. It matters to me
how you handle yours, and I hope it matters to you how I handle mine. We can be
sure that it matters to God, and in some small way that we may never clearly
see, it matters to the history of the world.
What a unique person he was and what a unique life he led.
Father Joseph Ernest Rossiter, OMI
January 26, 1929 – December 29, 2012
