CURIA GENERALIZIA MARIANISTI
Via Latina 22 - 00179 Roma, Italia
Tel. (39-06) 704 75 892 - Fax (39-06) 700 0406
E-mail: gencomm@smcuria.it

Death Notice No. 22 (To all Unit Administrations): June 25, 2006

The Region of Canada recommends to our fraternal prayers our dear brother, FERNAND BIBEAU, who died in the service of the Blessed Virgin Mary on June 15, 2006 in Québec in the 74th year of his age and the 57th year of his religious profession.

Fernand Bibeau, born on September 22, 1932 at Issoudun (Lotbinière), was the son of André Bibeau and Juliette Talbot. He was the oldest of 7 children. His mother died in 1943 when he was 11 years old. His father, a government employee, alone with 7 young children, remarried a few years later. Fernand, who until then had attended St-Flavien school, became a boarder at St-Damien (Bellechasse) orphanage, where he remained two years. It was there that he was recruited by Père François Jacq, one of the pioneer Marianists in Quebec.

On August 23, 1945, he entered the postulate at St-Anselme (Dorchester) and was there until his admission to the novitiate at Villa Chaminade (Lévis) on August 13, 1948. He was in the first group of Canadian Marianist novices to make their novitiate in Canada.

After his year of novitiate, he pronounced his first vows on August 15, 1949. Then he began his three years of scholasticate at Institut Ste-Marie (St-Anselme).. His perpetual profession took place on July 17, 1954 at Galesville (Wisconsin).
After three years of scholasticate, where he obtained the diploma for teaching in secondary schools, he began his teaching career. First, at St-Anselme (1952-1953), then, from 1953 to 1957, at St-David de l’Auberivière (Lévis). After that, for two years, he was at St-Boniface (1957-1958) and at Toronto (1958-1959). In 1959, he went back to St-David until 1961, the year in which the Marianists left this school because of a change in the school system in Quebec.

Meanwhile, by attending summer school and workshops, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in pedagogy.

After the closing of St-David. Bro. Fernand was assigned to go to Rome to make his second novitiate. However, Providence had decided otherwise. In the course of his trip to Rome, while he was in New York, he received a new assignment by telegram: “Bibeau. Abidjan. Hoffer.”

From 1961 to 1998, this was his apostolate. There was one two-year interruption when he took courses in geography at the university, earning a Master’s degree in geography. As Principal-Founder of Collège Saint-Jean-Bosco in Treicheville, he left the mark of a person calm and always master of himself. The authorities of the country wished to reward him for his activity in developing education, by naming him “Commandeur de l’enseignement national de la Côte d’Ivoire.” Attentive to the well-being of the young people, he made it a point to help in developing sports. Here too, they wished to reward him by naming him “Chevalier du mérite sportif de la Côte d’Ivoire.” He was a pioneer in the use of the computer in the administration of Catholic High Schools in Côte d’Ivoire.

Since 1998, when he was discovered to have cancer of the blood: a kind of rather rare leukemia, Macroglobulinemia of Waldenstrôm, he lived in the community of St-Augustin. His treatments and the numerous pills were not able to get the better of the sickness. Slowly, his fellow brothers watched him decline. His calm and his serenity, however, were without a break during this whole time. He continued to be of service to the Regional superior.

He entered the Hôtel-Dieu in Quebec on May 29 and courageously underwent different operations but his state worsened from day to day. On June 15, he entered into his eternal rest.