One Life, One Story: Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Religious Life of Father Richard Woodbury, SCJ

September 8, 1965 - September 8, 2025, it was exactly 60 years to the day since Father Richard Woodbury, SCJ took his first religious vows. In fact, after entering the Sacred Heart Seminary on September 4, 1958, he entered the novitiate on July 7, 1964 in Sainte-Marie, Illinois. After his college and theological studies in Montreal, Father Richard took his perpetual vows on September 8, 1968 before being successively ordained subdeacon in November 1969 at the Montreal Cathedral, deacon in November 1970 at the Montreal Cathedral and priest on May 16, 1971 at the N-D-des-S-D Church of Grenville by Mgr Valérien Bélanger, then auxiliary bishop of Montreal. Beyond his parish ministry as pastor and his leadership in the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Canada, Father Richard Woodbury, for many years and still today, has always devoted his energies to the education of youth, in this case at the Sacred Heart Seminary. It was therefore with an attitude of gratitude to the Lord and with feelings of homage doubled with joy that on the evening of Monday, September 8, 2025, the SCJ Community of Montreal, with the presence of members of the regional administration, gathered around Father Richard to celebrate his 60 years of religious life. Deo gratias for his testimony of religious vocation which denotes not only admiration, but also an irrefutable inspiration for the younger generations. We wish him a fruitful and joyful continuation in his vocation to religious life!

Fr. Ushindi Kambale Sahani, scj