“It’s all God’s grace, not our personal abilities,” the bishop-elect said. “We can’t be under any illusions on where it comes from.”
The Vancouver archdiocese’s vicar-general knew he wanted to serve Jesus relatively early in his life. Growing up in North Vancouver in the 1950s and ’60s, he attended Holy Trinity Church with his parents Kathleen and Mark (both deceased) and studied at Holy Trinity Elementary School.
“In that parish there was a great tradition of service,” he said. “Altar boys would serve in large numbers at weekday Masses. It was just part of growing up there; it wasn’t seen as exceptional.”
He said this was probably where his “seed of vocation was planted.” He also credited his parents for being good examples of how to be faithful Catholics.
“Church was very important to them, and the priesthood was revered.”
He said his parents didn’t hinder him from the priesthood but didn’t put any pressure on him.
“The family sets the framework for your world. If family life is conducive to faith and vocation then it’s possible to hear the call.”
Once Jensen decided to pursue the priesthood he was sent by former Archbishop James Carney to St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ont., where he obtained a master of divinity degree in 1979. One of his classmates, now Bishop Brian Dunn of Antigonish, N.S., will be on hand at Jensen’s ordination Mass.
Dunn described his friend as a solid, insightful, firm and reliable man.
“In the seminary he was very quiet, but whenever he spoke you got to the core of the truth he was talking about. He had a wonderful way of penetrating the reality of the situation,” said Dunn.
Jensen returned to Vancouver in 1980 and was ordained a priest by Carney and has served at parishes throughout the archdiocese.
He’s had the chance to work for four “outstanding archbishops,” he added, from Carney all the way to Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB.
Miller described his soon-to-be-former vicar general as “an inspiration to us all” and “indefatigable in carrying out his priestly ministry.”
“The Holy Father has chosen a worthy shepherd and successor to Bishop Wiesner (former Bishop Gerald Wiesner, OMI, of Prince George), and we shall all pray his ministry will be fruitful for the entire people of God entrusted to his care,” said Miller.
Jensen has served education in the archdiocese as a member of the Catholic school board of the Vancouver archdiocese, where he currently sits as vice-president.
“Catholic education, in a school or parish setting, is really a continuation of the ministry of Jesus, so we can know and respond to God’s goodness to us,” he said. “It equips us for mission, to be witnesses so that others may come to know and serve God, too, in the family of the Church.”
He was named a prelate of honour with the title monsignor in 1997 and Miller appointed him to his current post as vicar-general in 2009.
Jensen appears to keep somewhat to himself and maintain a certain level of privacy, but his co-workers within the chancery know he is a witty man with a sense of humour and a good heart.
“He is the funniest man I know,” said Mary-lynn Murray, office manager in the chancery.
Murray also admires his knowledge of the Catholic faith and his commitment to it.
“He knows what’s right for the diocese and what isn’t.”
Dunn said his colleague’s mastery of catechesis and religious education will not only be a great contribution for the people of Prince George, but also for the entire country when he becomes a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
(B.C. Catholic)