Fr. Jacques Monet, S.J.

Fr. Jacques Monet of the Society of Jesus died peacefully on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at René Goupil House in Pickering, ON. Jacques, the son of Fabio Monet and Anita Deland, was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec on 26 January, 1930. He attended Loyola College, Montreal, and entered the Society of Jesus in 1949. A strong desire to specialize in history led him to the University of Toronto from 1958 to 1963. His theology studies took place at Collège de l’Immaculée-Conception, Montreal, where he was ordained 1966. In1968 he was appointed lecturer of history at the University of Toronto, with teaching stints in Montreal and Sherbrooke. A major move occurred when he accepted a professorship at the University of Ottawa in 1969, which lasted until 1982. During that time, from 1972 to 1977, he was chairman of the History Department. He returned to Toronto in 1982 as President of Regis College and Professor of History. When his term ended in 1988, he became the founding director of the Canadian Institute of Jesuit Studies. He kept his teaching post at Regis College until 1992, when he accepted the Presidency of the University of Sudbury, a position he held until 1999. During that time he was appointed a Chevalier of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques, an award created by Napoleon Bonaparte, to single out people who have committed themselves to Francophone culture.

Jacques then became Director of the Jesuit Province Archives, both in Toronto and Montreal. He was a specialist in Canadian constitutional and social history, as well as 19th century French Canadian nationalism, the Church in Quebec and Jesuit history. He excelled as a TV commentator for the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1984 and on Radio-Canada during Queen Elizabeth II’s visits to Canada in 2002 and 2005; and again on TV during 2002 World Youth Day in Toronto. Jacques also served as executive editor for the three-volume history series on the Jesuits in English Canada. Ill health required him to be posted to the Jesuit Infirmary, Pickering in 2019.

Wake at Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home, 467 Sherbourne St., Toronto, on Friday, May 24, from 7-9 p.m., with Vigil prayers at 8 p.m. Funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 41 Earl St., Toronto, on Saturday, May 25, 2024 at 10 a.m. Burial will take place at the Jesuit Cemetery in Guelph, on Monday, May 27 at 2:30 p.m. Donations to the Jesuit Advancement Office, 43 Queen’s Park Cres. E., Toronto, ON M5S 2C3, (416-962-4500) would be appreciated as your expression of sympathy.