Fr. Mario Lachapelle, CSC

Having made my first religious vows at 37, and having been ordained a priest at 41, I had what you might call a late vocation. Before joining the ranks of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, I was a scientific researcher at a large Canadian university, and now I am in pastoral ministry at St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal. Many people have asked me what led to this change in my life.

The change took place over many years, and it was the result of a long spiritual journey. In my adolescence I believed that, with an increase in knowledge and science, humanity could respond to its own needs and its own destiny.

It took me many years to understand that there was something lacking in my life. The more I depended solely on human things, the more other people and the world itself escaped me. I became sad and isolated. And all the time, I had such a thirst for the truth!

One day, from the bottom of this grayness, something compelled me to open the Gospels. The more I read, the more the clouds in my life dispersed. Little by little, I revived. At first, I didn't know what drew me to the reading of the Gospels. Then, one day, I put a name to the one who was calling to me: Jesus. Without a doubt, you could speak of conversion. Having rediscovered God, I now began to rediscover the world.

On day, from the top floor of my office, I saw St. Joseph's Oratory on Mont-Royal. Brother André had been 59 when he founded it. Something urged me to visit this sanctuary. At the end of my visit, I bought a little book about Father Basil Moreau, the founder of Holy Cross. In this work, I found paths for mediation on ways that I could reconcile my faith and my desire to turn to serve others. Reading this book was for me a revelation. I discovered the spirituality of the Holy Cross Congregation and its founder. I desired to commit myself like this man to the path of Christ.

That was in 1990. Because of family responsibilities (my mother was gravely ill) and professional ones (I was a professor at the university), many years passed before I was able to join the Congregation of the Holy Cross. But now as a pastoral minister at the very Oratory that led to my conversion, I am able to better understand the Holy Cross constitution that tells us: "For the kingdom to come in this world, disciples must have the competence to see and the courage to act."

Br. Binoy Gomes, CSC	Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh, CSC