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By Joanna Kozakiewicz
When I was young, I wanted to be an astronaut, then a photographer. As an adult, I also wanted to be a missionary in a faraway country and come back a changed person.
How do we know if we are on the right path? Sometimes we forget that we are not the only ones to ask this question. Others have come before us and chosen to branch off onto unexpected paths.
The journey of Fr. Roland Turenne, SJ, for example, took an unexpected turn in the middle of the last century when he left Canada and crossed the Atlantic Ocean. The pope had entrusted the Canadian Jesuits with a public secondary school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the request of Emperor Haile Selassie.
Was this a matter of chance or divine intervention? In May 1945, the novice Roland arrived in Quebec City on the same day that his fellow Jesuits were saying their goodbyes before leaving to inaugurate this distant mission. Years later, Fr. Turenne was the last Jesuit from here to work in that country.
At the end of his life, Fr. Turenne reflected on his journey: “I didn’t have the potential to be a distinguished university professor or writer, but I was resourceful enough to adapt to four different careers, depending on the needs of the Ethiopian people.” It was through discernment that he was able to make this journey, from the plains of his native country to the mountains of Ethiopia.
A Distant and Mountainous Country
Roland Turenne was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba, in 1924. After completing his studies, he entered the novitiate in Montreal in 1943 at the age of 19. During his long formation, he spent three years of regency in Ethiopia, where he later returned in 1959 as a missionary. He remained there for 58 years.
Although he spent 18 years teaching Ethiopians, Fr. Turenne was open to deepening his vocation. He spent 15 years with a French NGO, five years with the Jesuit Refugee Service as a hospital chaplain, and 12 years in a retreat and spirituality centre in Debre Zeit. What unified his approach to these tasks? According to former provincial Jean Bellefeuille, SJ, it was his sense of humour, which enabled this missionary “to accomplish everything without too much stress.”
Fr. Turenne’s vocation consisted not only of doing things but also of being with others.
Fr. Turenne’s vocation consisted not only of doing things but also of being with others. For example, he made it possible for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to study for professions that would enable them to financially support their families. He acted out of love and a desire to serve his fellow human beings, and Ethiopians — especially his former students — expressed their gratitude by visiting him during his final years.
Discerning and Taking Action
But how do we choose where to go and when to change direction in our lives? For Fr. Turenne, his choices were the result of his experiences and discernment. When the Ethiopian Imperial Regime was overthrown and replaced by a communist regime, it became difficult for schools to communicate with the authorities. It was in this context that he left teaching.
A great famine caused by conflict in the 1980s, pushing Fr. Turenne toward another major turning point. According to Fr. Bernard Carrière, SJ, “That’s when he became interested in social issues. He went to the people affected by the famine to bring them food and care for their health.”
This joyful man was very sensitive to others and always open to change, which led him to seek therapy in the United States with a Jesuit priest to help him reorient himself at the age of 60. Then, after completing the Spiritual Exercises, he turned toward social work. “He realized that his mission was to remain in Ethiopia and to improve the living conditions of the Ethiopian people,” explains Fr. Carrière.
This joyful man was very sensitive to others and always open to change, which led him to […] reorient himself at the age of 60.
“It was I who loved you first and chose you”
Fr. Carrière notes that his confrere’s mission was not a personal choice but rather a calling that responded to his desire: “Fr. Roland did not choose to go and work in Ethiopia. But he understood that the call he received from his superior at the end of the first stage of his Jesuit formation in 1951 was in line with his long-held desire to be a missionary.” One of his fellow Jesuits, Fr. Marcel Gareau, who knew him well during his first stay in Ethiopia, also highlighted his “combination of dedication, generosity and constancy.”
The Gospel of John reveals to us that only Christ Jesus can truly teach us how to respond to God’s call. Fr. Turenne commented at length on Christ’s words, “It is I who have chosen you,” he said during a homily at St. Luke’s Hospital in Waliso, Ethiopia. He stressed that it was Christ Jesus himself who took the initiative to intervene in the lives of his disciples and that he continues to do so today. “Because he has chosen us,” he said, “we must be filled with joy.”
“This is the message that Fr. Roland Turenne leaves us, and this is what he bore witness to throughout his long life, even through difficult times and hardships,” notes Fr. Carrière.
“I am deeply grateful to the Lord for the work I have been able to accomplish with good health, courage and great joy.” – Father Roland Turenne
Fr. Turenne continued this mission until the age of 93, before returning to Canada, where he died six years later. Before his death, he shared his consolation at having followed Jesus throughout his life: “Looking back on my half century of missionary service, I am deeply grateful to the Lord for the work I have been able to accomplish with good health, courage and great joy. Now that I am nearing the end of my days, I feel truly fulfilled.”
