Joseph Stanislaus Bernier, O.P., Death, 1977-02-01
Scope and Contents
This collection contains personal materials relating to friars after they have left the order, passed away, or transferred to another province. Each friar's file contents are mostly contain to their novitiate records, canonical assignments, historically important correspondence, and a small number of personal items if desired upon their passing. Within the broader collection, each Friar is sorted as a series.
Friars with particuarly substantial historically important papers or items outside of the scope of the Personal Files Collection are moved to a dedicated collection under their name.
This collection is a work in progress and any use of these files requires the explicit permission of the Provincial. Contact the Archivist to discuss access or inquire about friars that may not been cataloged yet.
Dates
- Creation: Death, 1977-02-01
Conditions Governing Access
Requires explicit permission from Provincial to access any records. Contact the Archivist for more information.
For comprehensive lists and records of individuals who left the order or transferred to other provinces, researchers must contact the archivist. Access to such materials may be restricted and is subject to privacy considerations and organizational policy.
Conditions Governing Use
Can only be accessed upon written permission of the Provincial. Contact the Archivist for further details.
Biographical / Historical
Father Joseph Stanislaus Bernier died Tuesday, February 1, 1977, in Hammond, Louisiana, as a result of a severe stroke suffered in early January. Following services at St. Joseph Church in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, he was buried in the community plot in Rosaryville.
Napoleon Joseph Bernier was born December 5, 1901, in Cloquet, Minnesota, and received his elementary education at public school and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart parochial school in Cloquet with secondary training at St. John's University High School in Collegeville,
Minnesota. After college studies at St. Viator Commercial College in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, he entered the Dominican novitiate at St. Rose Priory in Springfield, Kentucky, where he took the name of Brother Stanislaus and made his first profession on September 9, 1926.
Philosophical and theological studies followed at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois, St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio, and the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 20, 1932 and spent two additional years in Washington for graduate studies at Catholic University.
Father Bernier's first assignment was to the faculty of Aquinas High School in Columbus, Ohio, to teach French, English, and World History. In 1937, he was sent to St. Albert the Great Parish in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as an associate pastor until 1943 when he was named business manager for the school and religious community at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. Froth 1945 to 1954, he served as associate pastor at St. Plus V Parish in Chicago, Illinois; Holy Ghost Parish in Hammond Louisiana; St. Dominic Parish in Denver, Colorado; and Holy Rosary Parish in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In 1954, Father Bernier was named pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1956, he returned to the parish staff at Holy Rosary, Minneapolis, until 1958 when he was assigned to Mater Dolorosa Parish in Independence, Louisiana, as a special assistant for the Italian community in neighboring Tickfaw, Louisiana, where he supervised the
construction of the new church of Our Lady of Pompeii.
In 1969, Father Bernier moved to Holy Family Mission in Cloutierville, Louisiana, to serve the rural mission stations of the Alexandria-Shreveport Diocese. When he retired to Ponchatoula, Louisiana, in the fall of 1976, Father Bernier hoped to begin a new ministry in the field of geriatric service.
Extent
From the Collection: 100 Linear Feet (30 File Cabinets )
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Archives of the Province of St. Albert the Great, U.S.A. Repository
1910 S. Ashland Ave
Chicago Illinois 60608 United States
3122430011
archivist@opcentral.org