For more than half a century, Msgr. Raby appeared on the pages of The Catholic Register, but is best known for his column — The Little World of Fr. Raby — which was a staple and a must-read for thousands of Catholics across the country.
He wrote his first Little World column in the early 1960s and his final column appeared in 2007. Msgr. Raby officially called it quits on his column in February that year after having suffered several strokes that left him with limited ability to speak and write.
His columns were so popular that they spawned three volumes of his collected columns published by The Catholic Register, as well as a collection of his Christmas poems.
“I was saddened (by his death) like so many Canadian Catholics because he was such an icon in the Canadian Church,” said Joe Sinasac, former editor of The Register. "“I got to know him as a real gentleman in the literal meaning of that word.
“I would say without a doubt that his columns were the most popular features in our paper for decades.”
Sinasac said Msgr. Raby's strength as a writer was in his ability to tell stories in a straight-forward, compassionate way.
"He told stories about being Catholic in Canada and at a very basic level," Sinasac said. "He told stories about his parishioners, about his gardeners, about his housekeeper that everyone could relate to. They touched us in a way that were sometimes humourous, always compassionate and they often had a very strong moral point."
Kingston archbishop Brendan O'Brien said he got to know Msgr. Raby in his retirement, although he had long been familiar with his Register columns.
"I always thought that they revealed someone who was certainly a good pastor, somebody who was close to the people and who had a sense of humour and also of human relations, O'Brien said.”
Over many years, Catholic Register readers delighted in Msgr. Raby’s folksy and humorous anecdotes about parish life from the perspective of a warm, friendly and deeply devout priest. They usually came with a moral attached and were always rife with the wisdom that comes from years of being a pastor in parishes, many of them rural, in the archdiocese of Kingston. To him, Catholic journalism was “an antidote to all the negativism” in mainstream media.
Some of his friends became well known through their frequent appearance in his columns. The late Toronto Auxiliary Bishop Robert Clune and Fr. Norb Gignac were constant golfing and travelling companions, sharing with Msgr. Raby two of his favourite relaxations, and Msgr. Raby often shared the stories of their relationship.
Msgr. Raby’s column showcased his talent as a storyteller and leadership as a pastor. He was a writer who knew his craft, having studied journalism at Marquette University in Milwaukee.
While Msgr. Raby was always firm in his Catholic orthodoxy, he emanated a gentleness and joyful sense of humour.
“I think (my column) showed people that priests are human. That we do have a sense of humour.”
Msgr. Raby officially retired from parish life in 1998 but remained very active in the Kingston archdiocese until health problems slowed him down. He had spent the last year's of his life in retirement in Kingston.
Msgr. Raby was born in the small town of Gananoque, Ont., on Oct. 1, 1918. His father, Leo, a French Canadian, was a baker. His mother, the Irish Canadian Nelly Moran, was a devoted wife and mother of Mary, Thomas and Helen.
Msgr. Raby first heard God’s call to the priesthood as a seventh grader and pursued his call to the priesthood. He started his bachelor’s degree at Kingston’s Regiopolis College. The Second World War halted his philosophy studies but he continued them later in Halifax.
In 1941, Msgr. Raby studied at Toronto’s St. Augustine’s Seminary. In 1945, at 26, he was ordained at St. Mary's Cathedral in Kingston. He served in a number of parishes throughout the Kingston archdiocese, both rural and urban, until his retirement.
Monsignor Raby will lie in state at St. Joseph’s Church, 392 Palace Road, Kingston, Ontario, on Tuesday, September 10, 2013, from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m., and from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., with a Vigil Service at 7:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 11, 2013, at St. Joseph’s Church. A reception will follow at the Francis J. Spence Pastoral Centre, 390 Palace Road, Kingston. There will be a Rite of Committal with Prayers at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 11, 2013, at St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Napanee. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Priests’ Benefit Fund of the Archdiocese of Kingston would be appreciated. In the care of Wartman Funeral Home, 980 Collins Bay Road, Kingston (613) 634-3722.