| Written by Catholic Register Staff,
|
Views : 1017  |
ST. THOMAS, Ont. - When the St. Thomas, Ont., sports community gathers Jan. 24 for the 30th annual Sports Spectacular celebrity dinner there will be an empty chair for the founder of the event. Fr. Patrick Costello passed away. He was 78.
Fr. Costello was a cousin of the late Fr. Les Costello, a Stanley Cup winner with the Toronto Maple Leafs and for years one of the mainstays of the Flying Fathers, clown princes of hockey, all of them priests.
Though he was closely associated with sports in southwestern Ontario, Fr. Costello’s organizational drive extended well beyond the sporting life. In addition to the Sports Spectacular, which raised money for Community Living and the Special Olympics, the St. Thomas priest started the annual St. Anne’s Festival, a four-day cultural event in June. He was the driving force behind building St. Thomas’s St. Anne’s Centre, a venue for wedding receptions, dances and the annual Sports Spectacular. He oversaw construction of a non-profit seniors’ residence across the street from St. Anne’s Church.
Fr. Costello’s drive couldn’t be contained in St. Thomas, and he made his mark in Africa by striking up relationships with bishops and pastors in Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. He helped to establish a St. Anne’s parish in rural Zambia in 1980.
Fr. Costello died of cancer on Christmas Day in Chatham. His funeral was held Dec. 29 at Chatham’s Blessed Sacrament Church.
Recommend this article...
|
|
Users' Comments  |
|
Average user rating
 (0 vote)
|
|
|
The News 
