Last Sunday, more than 500 people gathered at the Danversport Yacht Club to honor Reverend Louis Bourgeois’s 50th anniversary of ordination into priesthood.
Father B, as he is affectionately known by so many, is the priest at the Church of St. Paul in Hamilton and after the morning Mass, joined parishioners from that church, members of other churches he’s served at, and many of his friends from St. John’s Seminary. Michelle McGuiness, chairwoman of the St. Paul Parish Council, helped with planning for the event and said there aren’t enough words to convey how wonderful and appreciated Bourgeois is to the parish. “He is the most humble and genuinely caring man you could meet, and the council and the congregation were thrilled to honor this important occasion,” she said. A number of priests Bourgeois served with at other parishes, or attended St. John’s Seminary with in the 1950s, joined him in celebrating Mass that morning, and McGuiness said seats for the luncheon celebration were sold out well in advance of the event with guests traveling from all over the state to celebrate. “It was a great day for our church and a great day for the priesthood,” Bourgeois said of the event. “It will be long remembered, and I very much appreciate such a warm and generous gesture.” Bourgeois was ordained Feb. 2, 1959. He served first at St. Joseph’s in Wakefield, and then spent three years at a church in Waltham before moving to St. Susannah’s in Dedham, where he spent 11 years. He worked for another 12 years at St. Anne’s Church in Salem before he came to St. Paul’s in 1993.
He was also one of the first Rotarians of the Hamilton-Wenham chapter and also serves as the police and fire chaplain for the towns, and has said the Memorial Day blessing every year.