TORONTO - The parish of Our Lady of Lourdes faced the harshest command its faith can impose at the recent Sunday morning Masses. The Catholics of this diverse, downtown parish obeyed the biblical injunction to celebrate — all the while knowing that their leader, friend and pastor had died.

Jesuit Father Bill Addley died at St. Michael's Hospital just before 2 a.m. Jan. 21, surrounded by friends. The pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes for almost 13 years, a former provincial superior of the Jesuits in English Canada and one of the first Canadian Church leaders to face the sexual abuse scandal head-on, Fr. Addley died of complications from colon cancer  within two weeks of being diagnosed.

He went through an operation to resection his colon Jan. 13 and for a time seemed likely to recover. But the cancer had spread and he couldn't regain his energy.