On January 28, 2023, at the Cardinal Vachon residence, a gathering of Redemptorist confreres, family members and friends of Father Jean-Marie Côté, C.Ss.R., was held to mark his 100th birthday. The meeting, organised and led by Fr Gilbert Lévesque, was intended to be a reminder of the significant events in Father Jean-Marie’s life during his long years of service to the Congregation.
The jubilarian received many congratulations and good wishes. Father Michael Smolinski, C.Ss.R., Provincial Superior, thanked Fr. Jean-Marie for his dedicated service and faithfulness as a missionary in the Congregation and in the Church.
Mons Guy Desrochers, C.Ss.R., Bishop of Pembroke, recalled meeting with Fr Jean-Marie who helped him discern his vocation and encouraged him to join the Redemptorist Congregation. “I thank God for having given us a religious companion so imbued with his love, his joy of life and his divine wisdom. You have and will always have a special place in our hearts” – wrote Mons Desrochers in his letter to the jubilarian.
Jean-Marie Côté, C.Ss.R., was born on January 26, 1923, in Metabetchouan, QC. He joined Redemptorists in 1941. Having completed his novitiate in Sherbrook, QC, he professed his vows on August 15, 1942. He was ordained to the priesthood in Aylmer, QC, on May 30, 1948. After the ordinations, Fr. Jean-Marie completed graduate studies in Pastoral ministry, Canon Law, and a doctorate in Theology from Angelicum in Rome.
During his life as a Redemptorist, Fr. Jean-Marie Côté taught at the Minor Seminary in Sainte Anne-de-Beaupre, QC, and served as a formator in novitiate and theologate in Aylmer, QC.
He also preached retreats from out of Montreal and Aylmer, QC. From 1996 till 2014, he ministered as a chaplain and spiritual director of the Redemptoristine Sisters at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Monastery in Ste-Thérèse, QC.
He retired to Cardinal Vachon Residence at the age of 91, where he lives with a few other Redemptorist confreres a continues to live a life of prayer.
We are grateful for the gift of his life, vocation, and ministry and wish him an abundance of God’s blessings for this new year of his life.
(Based on materials submitted by Liliane Fournier, from Regional Secretariat; pictures by Fr. Mario Doyle)
