Everyone is Welcome! A Look inside Villa Marguerite!
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December 11, 2023I think most Redemptorists would prefer to retire in an active Redemptorist Community. That being said, sometimes there are not enough communities to handle an influx of retirement. When St. Alphonsus Parish Edmonton was in the process of being returned to the Diocese, there was a need for somewhere to go in the Edmonton area.
Joe Murphy worked out an arrangement with the Grey Nuns of Montreal at Villa Marguerite in Edmonton. They renovated a wing of one of their buildings into retirement units. The St. Joseph Sisters of Peterborough took the second floor, the Redemptorists the main floor with nine units, and Grat Feehan took the basement for a workshop. There, he continued his carpentry wizardry. Stan Liska was the first rector. The Villa Marguerite Community also looked after the Redemptorist cottage on Lac St. Anne, and Liguori House, which was the Provincial House for the former Edmonton Province. Both the cottage (2018) and Provincial House (2023) have now been sold.
The Grey Nuns sold the Villa Marguerite complex to IHS, Innovative Housing Society, a non-profit, in 2005, and they, in turn, sold it to Park Place Seniors Living in 2015. The Grey Nuns remained in the building as a retirement community until 2019. They and the Redemptorists pastored the complex for the whole period.
The Eucharist was celebrated together during the week and on Sunday for the residents and a few Catholic neighbors who lived around the complex. It was actually a perfect situation for some retiring Redemptorists. Some staff have mentioned over the years: “The presence of the Grey Nuns and the Redemptorists lift up the spirit of Villa Marguerite”.
“Presence” is hard to measure but quite real. Over the years, the Redemptorists have made efforts to add to the pastoral outreach of the facility. Mageste Santopinto tried to get the Sisters to introduce Perpetual Help Devotions on Wednesdays, but failed. However, they did allow him to plant tomatoes in the garden!
At present, there are about 350 residents in Benevolence Extended Care, West Wing Alzheimer Unit and Main Building with 200 staff in three shifts – medical, maintenance, housekeeping, recreation, and administration. The residents are divided between major physical disabilities and major psychological disabilities, Category 4 in the Alberta Health System, which is one step before extended care.
In addition to what was happening in Villa Marguerite, the Redemptorists ministered in many of the Edmonton parishes and schools and care homes – Sunday help, vacations, penitential services, funerals, weddings, baptisms and so on. Joe Kot and Ed Kennedy celebrated Eucharist in Norwood Care Home every Saturday for more than ten years. Jack Spicer said Mass for the Sisters of St. Joseph upstairs for as long as he was able.
Dino Benedet was Chaplain for Knights of Columbus. John Molnar got permission to write and print some devotional pamphlets. He did one for the stations of the cross and another on the psalms which he illustrated with photos he had taken on his vacations.
When Ed Kennedy and Alan MacGregor celebrated their 70th anniersary of profession in 2014 they were lauded with chamagne. Imagine Alan drinking champagne! After Ed was lauded with a long list of accomplishments and the drink was drunk, Alan said: “None of the above”. And the drink was drunk.
Joe Murphy reached 100 years of age. After giving up on life in the mid 90’s, he said, “Oh, I might as well go for it”. And so it was. Archbishop Pettipas and Mark Miller and many others came to celebrate with him. One of his friends from Calgary said: “He is a saint. I didn’t know what to say.”
Many visited here over the years; mostly Redemptorists, but occasionally, friends of the Redemptorists. St. Joseph’s in Grande Prairie along with St. Mary’s in Saskatoon were the nearest communities. Medical appointments, visiting friends, rest from ministry, vacations. Quite a number of Redemptorists were brought up in Redemptorist Wing and West Wing (Alzheimer unit) Benevolence Long Term care the Edmonton area. (MacGregor, Douziech, Miller, Bernard, Louch, Hebert, Purcell).
So, home visiting family and friends was always an attraction for them. And there were many who dropped by for a multitude of reasons. For instance, Alfredo Medina dropped in and promptly disappeared for the FISA soccer match in Commonwealth Stadium between Mexico and Canada last year.
Many other Redemporists were brought here to be laid to rest in Holy Cross Cemetery. With more than 70 confreres, it is the largest community west of Toronto!
The last time Br. Cyril went to Sturgeon Hospital, the Chinese doctor said to him: Br. Cyril, I have done all I can for you. Nothing more can be done. Get ready to meet your Maker. Compliments of Br. Cyril. Good Advice.
For both myself and Stan Liska, we remain faithful to be community for one another in the midst of a larger community that surrounds us. Our own prayer life and prayer and Mass together is an important part of our day. Even though we are two members of the community, there is great care from the facility administration, cleaning staff, nurses and the many residents who we interact with on a daily basis. We have several rooms to welcome you! Always a place to stay!