Rev. Fr Gerard Debo, C.SS.R. (1857-1928)

Rev. Fr Gerard Debo was born in Courtai, Flanders on 1 December, 1857, pronounced his religious vows on 15 October, 1876, and was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood on 19 October, 1881. That which especially characterized this Father, and which made him so kind towards all those who approached him, was above all an unmistakeable goodness, devotion and desire to serve beyond the realms of ordinary duty. To render service was his passion - it was the breath of his life. "To serve God and souls," was his motto. In this noble cause his consecrated his life and for the same he lost that life because it was in going about his duty that his end came.

As a true son of St Alphonsus he maintained, as a precious heritage, a tender and filial love towards Our Blessed Mother. How he appreciated the value of his religious vocation! He wrote upon his jubilee souvenir card the words of St Alphonsus: "I exhort you all to cherish your vocation, which is the greatest benefit you have received from God after that of the Creation and Redemption."

Father died at Gaurain on 5 February, 1928. †

(From his mortuary card.)