Bishop Remi de Roo Dies at 97

Bishop Emeritus Remi de Roo

Bishop Remi de Roo, the bishop who made an intervention at Vatican II in order to have eremitical life recognized as a "state of perfection" died on February 1st at the age of 97. I was fortunate enough to meet Bishop de Roo at a presentation he, Bp John Cummins, and Ecclesiologist Massimo Faggioli gave at St Mary's College in March of 2013, and to thank him especially for his work with eremitical life --- work which led to the eventual inclusion of canon 603 in the Revised Code of Canon Law. De Roo became Bishop Protector of the group of about a dozen monk-hermits who had left their solemn vows to live as hermits, a story I have told here a number of times. (cf., Recovering Excitement over Vatican II)

When we met, Bishop de Roo asked if I had come to canon 603 life with a background in religious life --- which he seemed to expect (or at least hoped!) to be the case. I replied yes. My favorite story of that afternoon and evening, however, came when we were preparing for the celebration of Mass. De Roo (Bp Emeritus of Victoria) was concelebrating with Bishop Emeritus of Oakland, John Cummins, and as we were preparing to process in, with two Bishops and other clergy, et al., folks were holding a brief conversation about who followed whom, and who would do what, including where and when folks were stopping to bow. I was carrying the Lectionary in the procession and Bishop de Roo turned to me and said, "You are carrying the Gospel; you bow to no one!!" I will never forget that!

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord! And let perpetual light shine upon him!

The following biography was taken from Le Croix. 

Bishop Remi J. De Roo, Canada's last surviving English-speaking bishop to take part in the Second Vatican Council was a social-justice advocate and an outspoken person for change in the Catholic Church. The former bishop of Victoria died February 1 at the age of 97. Bishop De Roo was known to be outspoken on a variety of subjects -- from celibate priesthood and the ordination of women into the priesthood to unbridled capitalism.

In 1962, when he was 38, he became the world's youngest Catholic bishop and shepherded Victoria for 37 years. Bishop De Roo retired in 1999 at the mandatory retirement age of 75. When he retired, Bishop De Roo was Canada's longest-serving bishop. Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver said Bishop De Roo "will long be remembered as one of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, an ecclesial event that was a great grace for the Church.

A younger Bishop Remi de Roo

"Bishop Gary Gordon of Victoria said Bishop De Roo "was able to bring the first-hand experience of Vatican II into the lived experience of our diocese, and continued in ministry up until well into his 90s."Bishop De Roo brought to the diocese and the Church in Canada his passion for promoting "the council's desire for the Church to grow into the fullness of the people of God in dialogue with the world, especially in the realm of the social teachings of the Church," Bishop Gordon said. As bishop, De Roo visited as many of the indigenous people of his diocese as possible and maintained a close relationship with them for the rest of his life -- and was even made an honorary chief.

Bishop De Roo attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome, where he had already been for further studies and for his doctorate in sacred theology from the Angelicum University in 1952. He described attending the Vatican II sessions as "a voyage of discovery that would radically alter my whole outlook on reality" and "it was indeed a time of euphoria". Even after his retirement, Bishop De Roo continued to travel and lecture about the council which he said affected him. He referred to himself as "a pilgrim of the Second Vatican Council".

On returning to Victoria from the Council, Bishop De Roo began greater laity participation in carrying out programs for the diocese. He was a promoter of the permanent diaconate and the role of the laity as being "more than a secondary one of assistance to the clergy. "The late bishop spoke against the laypeople's tendency to look to clergy for answers to all moral and religious questions. He complained that bishops were "far too engrossed in administration" and too little concerned with pastoral problems. He also stressed the spiritual guidance of priests.

Traditional and conservative Catholics were upset with Bishop De Roo for his support for married and female priests. As an advocate for social justice, Bishop De Roo frequently called for economic justice in public policy making. In 1992 Bishop De Roo co-authored a controversial book In the Eye of the Catholic Storm with former nun Mary Jo Leddy. In 2010, The Vancouver Sun named him B.C.'s fourth most influential spiritual leader of the century for provoking a national debate in 1984 "when he accused (former prime minister) Pierre Trudeau of exacerbating the "moral crisis" of unemployment" and for "encouraging his diocese's 70,000 Catholics to experiment in worship styles and enhance the role of women."