A great builder passed away

Father Marcel Lalonde, CSC, died on May 26, 2020, at the age of 93 years and 11 months, following a long illness at the Maison Basile-Moreau, a residence of the Canadian Province of Holy Cross in Montréal. With tireless zeal, Father Lalonde was the leader at Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, of which he was rector for 30 years.

“You are one of the Oratory’s great builders, and your name will enter the annals of the greats who faithfully laboured to fulfil the Lord’s plan for our institution,” intoned Rector Claude Grou, CSC, in his remarks at the last public tribute to Father Marcel Lalonde, on October 7, 2018 during a gathering of The Associates of Brother André.

For 30 years, from August 15, 1962, to January 5, 1992, Father Lalonde led by “staying true to the legacies of Saint Brother André and the Holy Cross community of serving the Oratory,” said Father Grou. “During a difficult time marked by the Quiet Revolution,” he added, “you were central to the efforts to stay faithful both to Brother André’s legacy and to the Church, which was finding its way in a changing world.”

Along the years, Father Lalonde surrounded himself with devoted secular and religious collaborators as well as committed businesspeople and benefactors. Over his three-decade tenure, Father Lalonde oversaw many important achievements. Two of the most memorable moments of this extraordinary journey were the beatification of Brother André in 1982 and the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Oratory in 1984.

With honour and profound respect, we would like to express our eternal gratitude to Father Marcel Lalonde for his outstanding commitment to Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal.

In the present context, usual funeral rites will not take place and a tribute to the deceased will be celebrated at a later date.

Biographical notes

Birth in Montréal: June 3, 1926
First vows: August 16, 1947
Final vows: August 16, 1950
Ordination to priesthood: December 23, 1950
Death: May 26, 2020