Hundreds Honour Father Hudson

Father Robert (Bob) Joseph Hudson 1920-2009

(continued)

Hundreds of people turned out Wednesday, March 11, to pay homage to Father Robert Joseph Hudson, former parish priest of the Catholic Diocese in Saugeen Shores.

Father Bob, as he was known to his parishioners, spent 24 years ministering to the congregations of St. Joseph's Parish in Port Elgin and St. Patrick's in Southampton.

Born in Ireland and ordained to the priesthood in 1946, Hudson came to Canada in 1954 as part of the Spiritan team, whose job it was to recruit for the priesthood in Ireland by visiting high schools and talking with students.

The team initially began in Woodstock, Ontario and, in his first 20 years, Hudson travelled across Canada giving talks, retreats and workshops in schools, colleges and universities, monasteries, convents and parishes. During the 1960s, young people began to turn away from the churches in droves embracing another lifestyle altogether and Hudson, living in Hamilton, began to doubt his vocation.

Then, in 1978, he accepted the posting of pastor in Port Elgin and knew that things would have to be done differently. He realized that children were the key to keep the church viable and he began drawing in children by giving each age group a role previously performed by adults.

(next column)

11/03/2009 11:49 PM

Eventually, there were seven ministries from the the youngest aged 2 1/2 to 4, the 'Alms Angels', to the senior teens. As the young people joined the parish so, too, did their parents. With this new concept in the Catholic Church, St. Joseph's soon became a role model for other parishes throughout North America.

As evidenced by those in attendance at his funeral, Father Hudson crossed the barrier of religious sects. Throughout the audience, there were those from every other church in the area, Presbyterian, United, Anglican ... they were all represented both by clergy and congregations and came to pay tribute to a man who had given more than 60 years of his life to his calling.

Father Bob retired at age 82 due to health reasons and moved to Toronto where he lived in Laval House.

To learn more about the Spiritan group of which Father Bob Hudson was a founding member, go to www.spiritans.com.

^{for world news, books, sports, movies ...}