Missing Uncle Peter. He was a real champion of my work as an theatre artist. Thank you Peter. I miss our visits and laughing with you. Your love of family is deep, active and true. ❤️

Peter Larisey, SJ, was a mentor and friend.  He wrote the historical introduction to Windows on Our Souls and gave the book a solid foundation and new perspective on early Christian imagery.  Peter  inspired and supported the artwork of so many artists.  He is dearly missed.

Fr. Peter was always a warm and engaging man of God. During my studies at Regis College he always took the time to speak to students and to encourage us to be aware of the importance of art in liturgy.
May he rest gently. Condolences to his Jesuit family and friends.
Margie Gillis, Diocese of Antigonish             

First off, my apologies for writing this so late after Peter Larisey's death, I only found out about it a week ago and am so upset I didn't get to see Peter one last time before he passed away.  I met Peter Larisey when I was recommended to take his course on art and faith when I was struggling how to incorporate my art with my new found faith. Peter was fantastic!! He made me feel so welcome, he allowed me to sit in the lectures, and he was so instrumental in helping me understand how my passion for creating art came from God. I was so thankful to him that I gave him a painting of a Spirit Dove that I created and I was looking forward to the recent book he was working on. My late condolences to the family on losing Peter during such a difficult moment and thank you Peter for your presence in my life! 

I always remember Fr Peter in my life. From early bedtime stories of the fairies on the shore as a child, to spiritual advice as a teen and adult. He was never dismissive and always made me feel like he understood my issues. When my husband and I were talking about getting married (pre-engagement), Fr Peter was the first person we talked to, trying to figure out the right path for us as a couple. As I approach 24 years of marriage, I am so grateful for his guidance, wisdom and mostly unconditional love. His true legacy. 
With much love,
Susan

This was written to a close friend of Peter's when Peter passed away - not posted on Peter's obituary site - but one I would like to post now, in Peter's remembrance:

'He was a good man, a good priest, and a good friend - especially to the Little Brothers of Jesus - as well as many faith communities but - again - especially to the little one that met for years on Ashdale Avenue in Christian friendship, to celebrate Mass together, where Peter was the faithful celebrant, and - always - simply Peter, our friend.'

'Peter's friends will miss him, but are comforted that he is with the Lord he loved and lived for - with humility and simplicity - never lording over others his wonderful intellectual gifts.'
 
Only two days after hearing of Peter's passing, I was one of those caught by surprise - after randomly turning on the t.v. - to see Peter's dear face loom large and live on the screen as a guest narrator for a re-play of the tvo documentary  'Where The Universe Sings' (www.tvo.org), also re-played January of this year .

I felt profoundly touched and blessed by this unexpected encounter.

'Art and its spiritual dimension. This is also what Peter loved and was an important part of his life's work...what a beautiful an unexpected connection with Peter and the mystery of his presence and love, somehow still with us.'

The universe is indeed singing - with choirs of angels - where our friend Peter now surely dwells and knows everything.



Today I am thinking of Peter. Yesterday I went for a short hike in Gatineau Park, a park Peter was familiar with. I was thinking about how much Peter loved nature, the woods, the ocean, the colors of the sky, the sounds of the birds and other creatures. I had some very nice times with Peter walking near the lake, ocean and in the city. There was always lots to look at and talk about when hanging out with Peter. 
I miss him. Sending love to all that were touched by Peter’s love, friendship and curiosity. 
Peace - Mary Ellen 

Peter has been a great friend of mine for the past four decades. I met him when I was a student at Carleton University in Ottawa. He was lecturing in art history and was the Assistant Chaplain at the Newman Center. My roots are from the East coast as are his and so he saw our common heritage as grounds for friendship. After our paths diverged, we stayed in touch, by phone and letters and I often visited him in Toronto. I married and reside in The Bahamas and so have not been able to see him for many years - although we would contact each other now and then. My wife, Anna-Maria and I were scheduled to visit him this month. We talked on the phone and he said how much he was looking forward to seeing us and meeting my wife.

 He once told me that he tried to look for the good in people and tried to support that. He described himself as an intellectual worker, and although his interests and passion were in that place where the human spirit in its struggle to grapple with,  and express reality creates art  and in so doing awakens and renews religious experience, he was in every measure, in true Jesuit form, "in the World but not of it". He was as down to earth as they come. When it was up to him, he chose to live in the poorer part of town and enjoyed many genuine enduring friendships with people in the community.  He loved Canada, he loved the Maritimes. He loved life and lived it to the fullest. My deepest sympathies to the Jesuit Community in Toronto, to Martin, his family and his Mom, to all his family in Nova Scotia especially David and Peter who I met so many summers ago. Thank you Peter for the many years of friendship. I will keep you in my heart and live in the hope to see you again.

Paul:
When you were with my Uncle Peter, he gave you his undivided attention. It was a pleasure to share his enthusiasm both for his work and for the things you (I) was doing. Plus he’d spark your imagination and make you think or feel stimulated. Last time I was talking to him I said I don’t know if you realize Uncle Peter how much you are a part of who we-I was and am. 
Lise:
Peter was deeply compassionate. Every encounter and every conversation was in-depth in a natural and unassuming way. He presented his own humanness and vulnerability at the same time he could see into ours. 
For two years he went on a solitary retreat in my Queensport, N.S. cottage for a few weeks in the summer. The last year he befriended a man who rented the place who can only be described as troubled. Most everyone else reacted to this man with aversion. When we drove with him or toured rural Guysborough County, he’d be overcome with the natural beauty. 
When he stayed with us and we stayed with him at the Jesuit House in Halifax, he was appreciative of the care we took of the ordinary and little things. 
I’ll always remember him telling me that the opposite of love was competition. I’ve reflected on this comment a lot over the years and have come to believe in the truth of it. 
I loved our discussions about art and I thought his work was revolutionary. 
He restored my floundering faith - not in a religious dogma but in a life well lived. 
He told us that he was called to his life as a Jesuit priest and never regretted this decision. He was a spiritual Father to many. He valued very highly his community and his relationships with his adopted son, family members and friends. Their happiness was very important to him. 
He had the uncanny ability of seeing through to the essence  of persons and works of art. He tried to communicate this essence truly and completely because he believed that it came from God. 

Dear Peter was my mother Tess's  cousin and they were great friends. He was a beloved second cousin to my sister Aileen, her daughter Tessa, and me..we will miss him so..his kindness, curiosity,
intelligence, grace, and true affection for others.
I'll remember our trip with him to the Ontario Art Gallery after a fine, classic Italian dinner in Toronto..you couldn't ask for a better tour guide!
I'll remember being honoured by his presence at my Buddhist Refuge Vow ceremony in Toronto as my family representative.
I'll remember sharing wine in his room at his home in Pickering, where I wish I had visited more often...Happy in Heaven Peter!

On behalf of St. Patrick's Church community in Halifax,  I send deepest condolences to the Jesuit community and to Fr. Peter's family on his passing.

I knew Fr. Peter as he was a family friend and would often be at Bernard's for community mass. When I was 11 or 12, all us kids had hair  lice, and my mom thought it best to just chop off our hair to a short haircut. Needless to say, I was very very embarrassed about my "boyish" haircut at age 12.  When we were all gathered at Bernards one day, Fr. Peter gave me his hat because he thought I would appreciate it. It wasnt even a very nice hat, just a baseball cap haha! But I wore that hat for at least two months after to help hide my head until the hair grew in! It was a very kind gesture from him. But more than that, I remember his face, his presence throughout my life. Sincerely,
 Chiara Ubertino

I met Father Peter in 1993 while he was mounting the art show at U of T and subsequently at art events for a dear mutual friend. His warmth and humour and humility made him unforgettable.  The re presentation on TVO this past week of a documentary on L. Harris in which he appears was a gift of synchronicity. 
He will be missed by many.

Father Larisey  was my first year home-master at Loyola High school. He taught me appreciation for art, opened the door to the Jesuit view of the world and prepared me for my secondary and college years at Loyola.
Like many things in youth, I did not appreciate the many wonderful things offered to me in the day. The time,  patience and encouragement provided by Father Larisey is a prime example. Belatedly I thank him and offer my sincere condolences to his family.
 A.M.D.G.

It was an honour to have been a friend of Peter. We extend our sympathy to his family and to his community. We will certainly miss our conversations with him.

Father Peter was supportive of the LGBT Catholic group All Inclusive Ministry at Our Lady of Lourdes Jesuit Parish. He was kind and I am grateful for having known him.

Fr. Peter Larisey S.J. was a close friend of mine for about 40 years. We shared an interest in Modern and contemporary art, and religion.  He would frequently visit our home and became like a close relative to our family. Peter had a deep spirituality and he always brought joy, love and hope into people’s lives.  I feel that he was a very important art historical scholar.  I very much hope that his current manuscript will be published.   As a book it will have much to offer in the larger conversation about the Roman Catholic Church in relation to Modern and contemporary culture.

Deepest condolences to the Family of the late Fr. Peter Larisey, S.J. on his passing.

He was a prominent son of an old Dartmouth family back to when Dartmouth was still the old Town, which was incorporated in 1750, and grew up in close proximity to Dartmouth’s founding site.

Many old Dartmouthians will share in his family’s sorrow.



Goodbye Fr. Peter,

You had come many times to say Mass at Morrow Park, Then we would have a chat. You were never a person of judgement and your love of art was amazing. 

Thank you Fr. Peter, for being our friend and to all the others you have been friends with  in your beautiful life here.
 
God bless you Fr. Peter

Father Peter and my late brother Father Jack Hall, SJ resided at the same time in a number of the Jesuit residences in the Toronto area. I met Father Peter there on a number of occasions over the years. He was a pleasant and erudite person but most importantly a very kind man. I will always remember Father Peter's kind remarks about my brother at the time of the memorial service for Jack after his death in March of last year.

Please accept our sincere condolences to his Jesuit brothers and his family.

I was a friend of Peter's for almost thirty years, dating to our time together on the editorial board of Compass: A Jesuit Journal. As soon as we first met, I was drawn to his warmth, keen intelligence, and unshakeable commitment to his faith and art. In fact, I liked and admired Peter so much that I asked him to be one of the officiating clergy at my wedding in 1995. Over the ensuing years, we met regularly for lunch, occasions that my wife, Jane, and I will always treasure. We will miss him greatly. God bless you, Peter.

Fr. Peter Larisey was an adored friend of my late mother Vivian White (nee Keeler), who was also originally from Dartmouth. I was saddened to learn that he had passed away.   Such a kindly, caring and deeply intelligent person, my mother treasured him.   My condolences to his family and all who knew and loved him.

Peter has been a wonderful friend for many years. There would be so much to say... The conversations about his writing and mine... The conversations about Van Gogh, about  God and art and church, and about him, and me... The day when he came to bless our home, the home of two gay men... The good happy meals together. Lately I would go to Pickering and Peter would take me to a very nice restaurant by the lake. Before, it was often a small Sushi place by his studio.... The laughs we had together, Peter laughed broadly, loudly, with his whole body... Oh, I miss him! 
Peter was a man of faith but he carried his religion lightly and that's why he was so close to many people who did not share, or no longer shared his faith, including me. But one of my dearest memories of Peter is a canoe trip we took together in Algonquin Park, thirty years ago. We celebrated mass on a small island, under ancient trees. Just the two of us. He gave me pictures of it just a few months ago, it was for him too a precious memory. I share one of these pictures here. Sorry, the system does not seem to accept it in portrait mode.
Peter, I hope that, when you died, you found what you believed in!

I only got to know Peter later in life, as he was a vital part of my wife’s family, but in that short time he was a blessing to me in my pilgrim journey. His active energetic faith had a way of making you feel valued and appreciated. Seeing the many lives he touched over the years only make me wish I had gotten the chance to know him even better. He certainly was a kindred spirit especially in his creative and vibrant approach to life and ministry as a Jesuit priest, one if several I have know and been friends with particularly in Montreal at one time or another when I was studying Theology at the Loyola Campus of Concordia University next to the Jesuit High School (I did some teacher training there for my Rel Ed diploma at McGill) and the former Jesuit Hilton as we used to call it. Peter represented the very best of what it meant to be a Jesuit priest for the Lord in the spirit of Vat II. Certainly I and the Forget family will miss you greatly. Thanks for the witness of a creative and caring faith. My Prayers for his family esp back home on Nova Scotia...

We are saddened to hear of Father Peter's passing.  To Joan, Beth, David, Harold and Billy our deepest condolences and prayers.  Peter was very dedicated to his Jesuit family and as well to his immediate family.  He always made it a point to visit everyone when he came home to Nova Scotia.  One of the highlights of his visit  was when he held a family Mass - very  personal and  touching indeed.  A legacy left which we all will remember.  Rest in Peace Father Peter!   

This picture was taken December  2017 in Peter's studio in Toronto. He gave us this beautiful carving which we have in our home in Gatineau. 
Mary Ellen - niece

Memory 2/2
During one of his summer trips a few years ago, Peter came to see me at our Kingsport cottage in the Annapolis Valley in NS.  I asked if he would like to try the special tandem bicycle I have with the seats beside each other – like a huge tricycle but with two seats and two handle bars.  It’s tricky to ride. Well, we hopped on and rode down the country dirt road with farmland on one side and ocean on the other (he loved the sea). Wonderful and fun!

Peter was always game to do things. He managed to get around the province to visit many family members and friends on those annual journeys back home. 

I will miss our visits, conversations, art adventures, having him in the audience at my performances and our lunch and dinner dates, which were full of laughter.  I’m so happy he met my wife Wendy and daughters Olivia and Ruby.  

I will also miss Peter’s curiosity and his bravery to push boundaries in all that he did. What a fantastic writer, uncle and friend.  

Mary Ellen MacLean - niece



Memory 1/2
When Uncle Peter came to Nova Scotia to visit, it was a wonderfully anticipated event. He seemed to have all the time in the world for each one of us and there’s a lot of us in the extended family– from young to old.  He gave us nieces and nephews special attention.  He really talked to us, asked us interesting questions and told us great stories while showing his photographs from his many travels around the world. As I got older, I began performing and when, in Toronto for work, I would meet up with Peter for outings.  He would take me to art galleries, like the AGO, and smaller galleries showing the most amazing contemporary local, national and international artists.  I learned so much from those art adventures. Over the years we shared many lunches, dinners and conversations about art, theatre, film, dance, music, personal challenges, sometimes accompanied by very nice wine. He was a huge support and cheer leader for me as a performing artist. He always encouraged me to keep creating, keep being an artist.  His critiques of my work were insightful, forthright, respectful and honest. I have admired his discipline as a writer along with his spiritual leadership and work as an educator.  I know he very much wanted to finish his current book. He worked on it daily right up until very recently when he became ill. He will be thrilled watching it get published someday from wherever he is.

One of my family memories of Peter was when he would say mass at my parents’ home when he would come for the summer visit. He would use Mum’s homemade bread and sometimes a relative’s homemade wine. I remember how he made the ritual real for me, not like how I would experience mass in church on Sundays as a kid.  It was personal, close up around the family table, and it was uncle doing it! He connected to everyone no matter what their religion or spiritual practice was, colour of skin or sexuality.  Peter created an amazing sense of togetherness with everyone. 

 
 

I met Fr. Peter during my Graduate studies at Regis College, Toronto. He was a creative genius, a true artist and was profoundly committed to  supporting Religion, Arts and Culture as a path to societal transformation!
He possessed  was a wonderful sense of wonder and contemplation. May he rest gently!  Thank you for your creative ministry!
Margie Gillis,  STB, M.Div. Regis College Class of '91!


My sincere condolences to the LARISEY family on the passing of Fr. Peter.  I have not met Fr Peter - only through the eyes of his sister, Joan Monahan, who spoke with love about her brother.  I did exchange emails with Fr Peter and grew to understand Joan's love for his caring ways.  God Bless and may Fr Peter rest in peace.


Fr. Larisey, on behalf of the Jesuit family, accepted Fr. Jim Webb's induction into the St. Francis Xavier University Hall of Honour.  Fr. Jim was also a Jesuit and Fr. Peter gave excellent, pertinent and sometimes humouous examples of how Fr. Jim exemplified the Xaverian spirit throughout his Jesuit career.  Thank you Fr. Larisey for doing this.

Fr.Peter was the first to foster my love of the theater and of paintings when he was teaching high school at Loyola in Montreal during his regency 60 years ago. I am most grateful to have last seen him 4 years ago and exchanged last e-mails at Easter this yea R.I.P. 
Fond memories
Al

“Unable are the Loved to die / For Love is Immortality…”                       — Emily Dickinson

Picture of the new Father Peter blessing our daughter, Susan.

Father Peter was a great person, so interested and helpful to all.  I always found him to be congenial and a pleasure to talk with.  My thoughts and prayer will be for him.  Rest in peace, you will not be forgotten.


Wonderful memories of Peter.
He babysat Carol when she was small.   Great cousin and friend of family.
He blessed our daughter, Susan, the day afer he was ordained in 1965, see picture.
He was a great friend and told our kids bedtime stories he made up about the summer cottage in Dartmouth.
He gave us tours of his Art Exhibits and did a great job.
He inspired us all with his faith and personality.
We loved his book,"Light in a Cold Land"

The depth and breadth of Fr Peter's knowledge of art, his kindness and erudition, his humour and stories, his love and service to so many diverse communities, near and far, will continue to inspire all of us who have known him through the years. 

Father Peter Larisey was a cherished friend and mentor. We met 35 years ago through our mutual friend Diane Holmlund. Over the past three plus decades, Peter encouraged and critiqued my stained glass projects - offering historical context, artistic precedents and spiritual insights.  Peter's writing on art was refreshing and invited us into Mystery. His trusted counsel was always given with warmth and kindness.  I will deeply miss his irrepressible spirit and capacity for loving life.   

Father Peter was a regular participant at an informal brunch of parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes. After the 11 30 Mass, a number of us gather to share stories about the week and offer thoughts about the direction of the Church under Pope Francis.  Father Peter would give his insights into the role of art in the Church and the respect that LGBT people in the Church deserve.  He had the spirit of a much younger man. Parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Church will miss his kind and wise presence among us.

Father Peter was a good friend and a good supporter . We had many lunches together and he often challenged me to think more about issues.  At times we disagreed but our friendship always remained strong. I will miss Father Peter, jerry  mccullough 

Special memories of Fr Peter growing up. He spent lots of time with us...introducing us to art, telling us incredible stories about the cottage in Nova Scotia and guiding us spiritually. We will never forget his love and support getting married and baptizing our children. We will truly miss his gentle, loving spirit. 
Love, Sue, Ken, Samantha and Alicia

OBITUARIO

Fr. Peter Larisey, S.J.

30 marzo, 1929 – 30 abril, 2020

Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home & Chapel

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