Marcel Lefebvre, Director General of the Pilgrims of St. Michael, passed away on January 12, 2022, just three days after he was hospitalized for acute respiratory problems. We were all taken by surprise as Mr. Lefebvre was in top form the day before, speaking with our friends in Canada and Africa, and taking care of day-to-day affairs.
In the days before his death, Mr. Lefebvre had been arranging the funeral of Pilgrim of Saint Michael Livain Daigle, who passed on January 4, 2022 at the age of 89.
A native of Acadieville, New Brunswick, Livain Daigle devoted his entire life to the apostolate, especially in the great city of Montreal. Since 2009, he had lived at our headquarters in Rougemont, Quebec. Two years ago, Mr. Daigle was transferred to a seniors' residence in the neighbouring town of Saint-Cesaire, where he died.
Since there were now two funerals to prepare, Msgr. Claude Lamoureux, Vicar General of the diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe (to which Rougemont belongs) offered that the two funerals be celebrated at the same time at the Cathedral by the bishop of the diocese, Most Rev. Christian Rodembourg. This honour was in recognition of the Pilgrims of Saint Michael's long history in the diocese. (The head office of MICHAEL moved from Montreal to Rougemont in 1962.) Further kindness was extended by broadcasting the funeral Mass on the diocesan website.
The funeral Mass was celebrated on Feb. 2, 2022, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord at the Temple. Here is a tribute to the deceased men made during the funeral by Marcelle Caya, a Director on the Board of the Pilgrims of St. Michael:
by Marcelle Caya
I offer these tributes to Marcel and Livain as messages of thanksgiving.
It is quite easy to talk to you about Marcel Lefebvre. We all knew him well, and anyone would be able to pay a tribute to him if asked. We have received many such tributes. Here is one from Denis Forget in Ottawa, Canada: "A pleasant person, this great Director made us feel like a brother or a sister. His warm welcome, contagious smile and laughter, his big open arms and his handshake, so straight and strong, are memorable."
For Livain Daigle, it is more difficult because he was a quiet and self-effacing man. Let us first read and meditate on what Saint Peter tells us in his 1st Letter (4:10-11):
"Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these varied graces of God, put it at the service of others. If anyone is a speaker, let it be as the words of God; if anyone serves, let it be as in strength granted by God; so that in everything God may receive the glory, through Jesus Christ, since to him alone belong all glory and power for ever and ever. Amen."
Let us give thanks to God for the gift of words He gave Marcel and for the gift of service He gave to Livain. Let us thank God for the grace of their baptisms. We also thank God for their families who transmitted to them the faith.
Thank you Marcel, thank you Livain, for having been good stewards of God's grace by walking in the footsteps of Louis Even to seek a more just and Christian society. For the encounter with Louis Even, we give thanks to God.
Marcel told us that he often accompanied his father to Social Credit meetings in Montreal when he was young. He joined the MICHAEL movement full-time when he was just 16 years old. Thank you, Marcel, for your 58 years of service and dedication.
Thank you Livain for your 52 years of service and your collaboration with Louis Even in this great movement.
We all knew Marcel's enthusiasm: he was convinced and convincing. Who among us has not received from his hand a CD of Louis Even's lectures accompanied by booklets such as "Who are the True Rulers of the World" and others?
Livain tirelessly distributed leaflets and made himself available for family visits to solicit subscriptions to MICHAEL and its French language counterpart, Vers Demain.
Marcel Lefebvre traveled all over Quebec and French-speaking Canada for meetings and visits to families. He was a champion of subscribing others to Vers Demain, often by organizing teams to distribute our educational materials. Livain was always part of these efforts.
Marcel went to Mexico and to Europe several times. In December 2008, he went to the Ivory Coast in Africa upon the invitation of Father Patrice Savadogo. This trip captured his heart and mind for the people of Africa. He visited other African countries and communicated daily with his contacts on the continent. Thank you, Mr. Lefebvre, for such dedicated work.
Livain was of Acadian origin and had lived in Montreal most of his life. His apostolic work was in Montreal, where each day, with a satchel of flyers, he traveled the streets and distributed our materials. He knew all the city bus routes and Metro stations. Livain joined our headquarters in Rougemont in 2009 and was always ready to work in the print shop and elsewhere. Thank you Mr. Daigle for your dedication.
How well God does things! Today we honour two of our brothers: one, the most enthusiastic and most talkative, and the other, the most self-effaced and silent.
The Pilgrims of Saint Michael would like to sincerely thank Bishop Rodembourg for presiding over the funeral of these two apostles.
We also thank Msgr. Lamoureux and the other priests present for their much appreciated support.
Thank you also to all the Pilgrims of Saint Michael and to the family, also to all the Pilgrims who followed this funeral Mass online.
Blessed Virgin Mary, bless your children and our two brothers, who have prayed the daily Rosary so many times.
Today, on this World Day for Consecrated Life, we hand over our two brothers who have consecrated their lives to God; we hand them over to Divine Mercy. May they rest in peace.
Marcelle Caya, Pilgrim of St. Michael