Parcourez la nécrologie de Joseph Francis Xavier Wednesday April 2nd 2025 résidant dans la province Ontario pour le détail des funérailles
In Loving Memory of Joseph Francis Xavier
Reverand Canon Joseph Francis Xavier, age 96, peacefully returned to his eternal home on April 2, 2025 in Toronto, Canada surrounded by love.
Born Bastiampillai Joseph Francis Xavier to Bastiampillai Joseph Rasiah and Gnanamma Christopillai on June 4,1928, in the village of Naranthanai on the island of Kayts, Sri Lanka, he was the eldest of three children. He was educated at Saint Patrick’s College, Jaffna. After early studies at the Catholic seminary of Jaffna, he was ordained to the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church in Jaffna on August 24, 1950, and served as Assistant to the Bishop of Jaffna.
In those early years, he was affectionately known as “Kutty Xavier”. He later joined the Anglican Church of Colombo and was appointed Assistant priest at the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Mount Lavinia and then the Church of Saint Michael and all Angels in Colpetty, Sri Lanka. He earned a MA in psychotherapy at Princeton University, USA in 1973 and a graduate certificate in counselling supervision at the University of Pennsylvania in 1975. He then returned to Sri Lanka to found the Diocese of Colombo’s first center for pastoral counselling. A fervent activist for civil and human rights, he fled Sri Lanka in 1983 after the riots of Black July, taking refuge first in New York, USA and then Montreal, Canada where he settled with his wife and three children. He was appointed Assistant Priest at Saint Paul’s Anglican Church in Montreal and then founding priest of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal’s first Tamil congregation.
In 1990, he was appointed co-director of Tyndale Saint George’s Community Center in Little Burgundy, Montreal where he galvanized a mostly black community in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods into a robust and thriving center of social service and cultural activity. He earned a Canadian Governor General’s Award in 1992 and was made a Canon of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal in 1994. In 1995, he moved to Toronto and took up a position as Family Counsellor at Tamil Eelam Society of Canada (TESOC), working among refugees and immigrants in multicultural settlement services. He also worked at Family Services Association (FSA) Toronto where he led counsellor trainings. He conducted court-approved Anger Management classes in Tamil for the government of Ontario until his retirement, and was invited to train migrant counsellors in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Norway. He remained a visionary leader and revered elder within the Tamil community of Canada until his last breath.
Rev. J. Francis Xavier was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Peter and Vincent. He is survived by his wife, Chandranee (nee Weerasuriya), his children Navajeev, Subha (Charles Michael) and Dinesh, and his beloved grandchildren Jeevan and Avishan. He also leaves behind four sisters-in-law in Sri Lanka and many adored nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews in Sri Lanka, Australia, England and Canada. He will be remembered for his fiery and provocative sermons, never hesitating to bring his faith and his politics to the pulpit, his passion for social justice and community building, especially within the global Eelam Tamil diaspora, and his devotion and respect for the dignity of every human being no matter where they come from or what they do. He loved his family and community deeply, and adored basking in the smiles and energy of his grandchildren, and all children.
A funeral service will be held on Thursday April 10, 2025 at 2 pm at Saint Jude’s Wexford Anglican Church, 10 Howarth Ave, Scarborough, ON M1R 1H4. Visitation is on Wednesday April 9 from 4-9 pm at Chapel Ridge Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 8911 Woodbine Ave, Markham, ON L3R 5G1 In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the International Medical Health Organization (IMHOcanada.org ) which strives to serve under-served communities in need, particularly those affected by poverty, conflict, and natural disaster in Sri Lanka.
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Wednesday April 2nd 2025
Décès pour la Ville:Markham, Province: Ontario
avis deces Joseph Francis Xavier Wednesday April 2nd 2025
nécrologie Joseph Francis Xavier Wednesday April 2nd 2025
Nous offrons nos plus sincères condoléances à la famille et aux amis de Joseph Francis Xavier Wednesday April 2nd 2025 et espérons que leur mémoire pourra être une source de réconfort pendant cette période difficile. Vos pensées et vos mots aimables sont grandement appréciés.