FATHER ALPHONSUS KERCKHAERT | Fr. Al was born and raised in the Netherlands, where he grew up in the small farming town of Axel near the Belgian border. He received a Catholic upbringing and also was able to read and write in Dutch, English, and Belgian Flemish. He married his wonderful wife in a ceremony at the Shrine at Lourdes in 1951 and he and his wife emigrated to Canada where he was successful as a salesman and particularly in his role as father and husband. Al was given a special ministry from the Lord to accompany his wife through her sickness and in her approach to eternal life. |
Sometime after Diana's death, Al began his preparation for the priesthood and entered St. Peter's Seminary in 1986. Then 58 years old, Al was like a father and uncle to many of the younger men in the seminary. They respected him, and Al wanted to experience the full range of priestly formation in the seminary. He was appointed to St. John de Brebeuf parish in Kingsville for his final preparation before ordination to the priesthood. When he was ordained on April 28, 1990 by Bishop Sherlock Fr. Al was commissioned to be the associate pastor at Most Precious Blood in Windsor. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Fr. AI's total focus was on serving his Lord and the people of God as a priest. He began immediately to pour his whole life into his loving service and he remained with his people right to the end. The Sacrifice of the Mass which Fr. Al loved and which he had the privilege and gift to celebrate as an ordained priest was united with the offering of his own heart to God in whatever way God's providence led him. The many years of Fr. Al's Christian faith, his absolute devotion and love for his family, and the fulfillment of his God-given call to the priesthood were celebrated in the Mass of Resurrection when so many of his own people who had known and loved him carried him to his final resting place. |