2008 Woodie Awards
Assumptionists leave legacies
Mike Morrison
Issue date: 4/16/04 Section: News Stories
Fr. Wilfred Dufault, A.A. was active in the Church and the community at AC and beyond, while Fr. Omer Gemme, A.A., preferring to blend into the background, served a more local congregation. Dufault spent much of his life in academia. and Gemme was an accomplished tradesman.
While living similar, yet different lives, both happened to pass away on the same day, February 24, 2004. Though their backgrounds were poles apart, Fr. Dennis Gallagher, A.A. believes that they both leave behind legacies of "genuine Christian service, albeit expressed in different ways."
As a young Assumptionist many years ago, Gallagher was sent to the port of Boston to help Dufault, who had just come back from Rome, with his luggage. A twentysomething Gallagher, struggling with the luggage, was struck with Dufault's vigor, as the elder man hefted his suitcases without apparent difficulty.
"He was very spirited, a fighter by nature," said Fr. Barry Bercier, A.A as he recalls seeing Dufault exercising in the Plourde despite being confined to a wheelchair. Life in a wheelchair was a real "cross for him to bear;" his spirit, however, " [he] remained very much alive," he said.
This same active spirit was evident in Br. Omer Gemme, A.A, but in a different manifestation. He was a tradesman, a skilled carpenter and a barber who served the Assumptionist community "behind the scenes," according to Gallagher. Bercier once relied on Gemme for his haircuts.
"He was a quiet man, not given to making statements," said Gallagher. "You saw his convictions in practice, not in words."
Contrast Gemme with Dufault, who, just days before his passing, was able to hold animated conversations with his fellow Assumptionists.
"[Dufault] took strong positions on Church issues and defended them," said Bercier. "[He would] urge others to pay attention, and he made every effort to listen."
Dufault did plenty of that through his many years of service, both to Assumption and to the worldwide community of Assumptionists. He was a Professor of Philosophy at Assumption from 1934-1937 and then from 1940-1946. After that, he served as the College President for one year, before he was named the Provincial Superior of the North American Province.
While living similar, yet different lives, both happened to pass away on the same day, February 24, 2004. Though their backgrounds were poles apart, Fr. Dennis Gallagher, A.A. believes that they both leave behind legacies of "genuine Christian service, albeit expressed in different ways."
As a young Assumptionist many years ago, Gallagher was sent to the port of Boston to help Dufault, who had just come back from Rome, with his luggage. A twentysomething Gallagher, struggling with the luggage, was struck with Dufault's vigor, as the elder man hefted his suitcases without apparent difficulty.
"He was very spirited, a fighter by nature," said Fr. Barry Bercier, A.A as he recalls seeing Dufault exercising in the Plourde despite being confined to a wheelchair. Life in a wheelchair was a real "cross for him to bear;" his spirit, however, " [he] remained very much alive," he said.
This same active spirit was evident in Br. Omer Gemme, A.A, but in a different manifestation. He was a tradesman, a skilled carpenter and a barber who served the Assumptionist community "behind the scenes," according to Gallagher. Bercier once relied on Gemme for his haircuts.
"He was a quiet man, not given to making statements," said Gallagher. "You saw his convictions in practice, not in words."
Contrast Gemme with Dufault, who, just days before his passing, was able to hold animated conversations with his fellow Assumptionists.
"[Dufault] took strong positions on Church issues and defended them," said Bercier. "[He would] urge others to pay attention, and he made every effort to listen."
Dufault did plenty of that through his many years of service, both to Assumption and to the worldwide community of Assumptionists. He was a Professor of Philosophy at Assumption from 1934-1937 and then from 1940-1946. After that, he served as the College President for one year, before he was named the Provincial Superior of the North American Province.