(Translated from the original text in French)
Born in St-Narcisse on September 17, 1941, he is the son of Alphonse Bonenfant and Alice Saint-Arnault. Coming from a large family, Brother Roland Bonenfant had 15 siblings: Jean-Paul, Lucien, Germaine, Irène, Gisèle, Joseph, Clémence, Rose, Jean, Rolande, Lorraine, Réjean, Yvon, Claude, and Gilles. Brother Roland completed his primary education in St-Narcisse and his secondary education at the Séraphique College in Trois-Rivières. He studied philosophy at the Franciscan scholasticate in Quebec and theology at the Franciscan Seminary in Montreal. He also earned several degrees, including a Bachelor of Arts in 1964, a Licentiate in Theology in 1969, a Master’s in Pastoral Ministry in 1973, a Master’s in Pastoral Catechetical Theology in Paris in 1974, and a Certificate in Public Relations in 1991.
He entered the Franciscan novitiate in Lennoxville on August 7, 1960, took his temporary vows in 1961 in Sherbrooke, and his solemn vows in 1964 at the Franciscan convent on Rosemont Boulevard in Montreal. Roland Bonenfant was ordained a priest in Saint-Narcisse-de-Champlain in 1968.
Brother Roland had a full sacerdotal and apostolic life. From 1968 to 1971, he worked at the Sacré-Coeur parish in Welland, Ontario, where he co-founded the French-language newspaper L’Écluse and the youth day center Le Café, where he was also a co-facilitator. During his studies in Paris, Roland was also a catechism teacher for the youth at Lycée Condorcet-Racine. Upon returning to Quebec, he lived in several Franciscan fraternities, including those in Longueuil, Montreal, Lachute, and Trois-Rivières. He held various roles, including vicar, guardian, bursar, spiritual assistant, vocation pastoral leader, postulant master, member of the Diocesan Religious Council of Longueuil, and Definitor of the Province. Roland was actively involved for many years with La Revue Franciscaine, serving as co-editor, collaborator, member of the editorial team, and eventually its director from 1999 to 2002. Notably, he was the Director of the Frédéric-Janssoone Center and served as Vice-Postulator for the cause of Blessed Frédéric-Janssoone from 2001 to 2020, and then as President of the Vice-Postulation Council for the cause of Blessed Frédéric-Janssoone. He was the editor of the bulletin Le Souvenir du bon père Frédéric from 2011 to 2024.
He passed away in Trois-Rivières on March 20, 2024, at the age of 82, after 63 years of religious life and 55 years of priesthood.
