The late Father Bob Bedard founded the order more than 30 years ago
By Deborah Gyapong
OTTAWA (CCN)
The Companions of the Cross elected their former vocations director Father Allan MacDonald as their new superior general Sept. 2.
Father MacDonald is the third person to head the order of priests since the late Father Bob Bedard founded it more than 30 years ago. He takes up leadership of the growing charismatic order for a six-year- term. The previous general superior, Bishop Scott McCaig, who served 10 years, was named bishop of Canada’s Military Ordinariate on April 8 in the middle of his second term as head.
“Father Allan MacDonald embodies the charisms and spirituality of our late founder, Father Bob Bedard,” said Bishop McCaig.
“He has great spiritual wisdom and experience in ministry, and he exemplifies our charism,” said Companions formation director and former executive council member Father Pierre Ingram. “We are eager to move forward in our common mission and brotherhood under his leadership.”
Father MacDonald showed great success as vocations director. On Aug. 30, at a Mass in Ottawa, he introduced five new seminarians who made their first one-year commitments to the community and five who renewed their commitments entering their second year. There are a total now of 24 seminarians considering the priesthood. The order has 38 priests and two bishops. The Ottawa-based community now serves in Halifax and Toronto as well as Detroit and Houston.
In addition to serving as vocations director, Father MacDonald has been university chaplain, and assisted in the first-year applicancy program
According to his testimony posted on the Companions website, Father MacDonald intended to become a corporate lawyer when he went to St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S.
“All the while the Lord Jesus kept giving me little reminders that He had special plans for me,” he said. “I chose to ignore Him, until the second semester of my last year of undergraduate studies. I went on a retreat that really helped me. It gave me the courage I needed to respond whole heartedly to Jesus.”
He gave up his law school plans and entered St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ontario September, 1989. “I have never regretted it.”
Born in Montreal in 1966, Father MacDonald grew up in St. Raphael’s, Ontario, in the Alexandria-Cornwall diocese. Bishop Eugene LaRocque ordained him a priest in 1994.
The eldest of six children, he recalled being taught by his parents to value the Catholic faith and to have “great respect” for priests. “I have been blessed to know priests who loved being priests, were men of prayer and enjoyed life. They prayed with us, cried with us, and laughed with us,” he said.
When he was 13, receiving the sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop LaRoque, the Bishop asked him if he ever thought of considering the priesthood. “I firmly believe it was at that moment the ‘seed’ of my call to the priesthood was planted. Bishop LaRocque ordained me 14 years later, at the age of 27. Odd, or God?”
Father MacDonald experiences great joy in being a priest and acting in Persona Christi during the Holy Eucharist and in the confessional. He also has great hope for the future.
“Jesus is rising up an army of young people who are madly in love with Him, His Church and desire to be instruments of the new evangelization,” he said. “More young people are awakening to the lies of this world and throwing out old and tired liberal ways for more traditional and solid elements of the true faith based on a loyalty to the Magisterium, love of Mary, great respect and devotion to the Eucharist and an openness to all the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit.”
“I am proof positive of the fact that simply asking the question, ‘Did you ever think of being a priest?’ really works,” he said. “Remember, if we don’t plant the seed then the Lord will have nothing to water!!”
On Sept. 2 at a Holy Hour at Blessed Sacrament Parish, one of the parishes run by the Companions in Ottawa, Father MacDonald consecrated his ministry as leader to the intercession of St. Joseph.
