Memorial Mass: Father Joseph Palubeski

TUESDAY, DEC. 12: A memorial Mass for the late Father Joseph Palubeski, C.R. Rector of St. Theresa’s Roman Catholic Cathedral is scheduled for next Tuesday, 20th of December at 7.30 p.m. at the Cathedral. He served in Bermuda for eight years, first as Pastor of St. Anthony’s Church in Warwick and then as Cathedral Rector having been appointed in 2005.

He was Spiritual Director to Couples For Christ, conducted annual Lenten retreats and prepared couples for the Sacrament of Matrimony. Saturday mornings he could be found greeting scores of young students as they gathered in Cathedral Hall for weekly religious instruction. His friendly manner and welcoming spirit reflected his profound faith and fidelity to the values of religious life and his commitment to sharing his belief inspired and touched countless lives in more than five decades of faithful service.

Father Palubeski died on 3rd December after a short illness. He was in his 73rd year and his 54th year of religious life. Bishop Robert J. Kurtz, C.R. presided at the Mass of Christian Burial last Thursday in Kitchener, Ontario which was concelebrated by forty fellow priests from the Congregation of the Resurrection. Amongst the congregation were former parishioners and friends from Bermuda and Jamaica. During the Mass, Bishop Kurtz “thanked the Lord for the beauty of his life and his priestly ministry for the glory of God and the good of the Church.”

Born in Woodstock, Ontario in 1939 he attended St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ontario. He obtained a BA in Honours Philosophy from the University of Western Ontario in 1962 and later his Masters of Education from the University of Toronto. Having been ordained to the priesthood in America in 1966, he held high school teaching positions in Canada for seventeen years, before assuming pastoral duties in North Bay, Canada.

His pastoral commitment continued when in 1993, he was appointed Pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Stony Hill, Jamaica with expanded responsibilities for four area missions. He was an active member of the Archdiocese of Kingston Youth Commission, serving in Jamaica for seven years. He was then selected to be Pastor of Guardian Angles Church in Louisville, Kentucky where he served for two years before coming to Bermuda.

Donations to the “St. Theresa’s Cathedral Endowment Fund”, in Father Palubeski’s memory would be gratefully accepted and can be mailed to the Diocese of Hamilton, P.O. Box HM1191, Hamilton HMEX.