FOUGERE, Most Rev. J. VERNON, Bishop Emeritus of Charlottetown - Most Reverend Vernon Fougere, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Charlottetown, died on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Charlottetown, at the age of 70 years. Born in Petit de Grat, Nova Scotia, he was the son of Godfrey and Anita (Goyetche) Fougere. A graduate of St. Francis Xavier University and the University of Montreal, he was ordained to the priesthood by Most Reverend William E. Power for the Diocese of Antigonish on May 31, 1969 in Sydney, Nova Scotia. After ordination he served as Associate Pastor in Mont Carmel Parish, New Waterford; Pastor of St. Louis Parish in Louisdale; Honduras, Central America; Administrator of St. Joseph’s Parish, North Sydney; Pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish in Bras d’Or and St. Augustine Parish in Sydney. In 1975 he studied Spanish at the Cuernavaca Language School in Mexico before going to the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa in Honduras. He was fluent in French, English and Spanish. He was named Vicar General and Director of Pastoral Services in 1988. On December 11, 1991, Pope John Paul II named him the twelfth Bishop of the Diocese of Charlottetown. He was consecrated and installed on March 19, 1992 in Saint Dunstan’s Basilica. He retired in 2009 after a long illness. He was the second youngest of five children including Alex (Lucille Aucoin), Shirley (Eldon) George, Leona (Amos) David and Robert (Anne Boudreau).
Resting at Belvedere Funeral Home for visitation Thursday 2 to 5 p.m., then transferred to St. Dunstan’s Basilica, Charlottetown for visitation Thursday 7 to 9 p.m. and Friday 12noon to 1:15 p.m. Funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Dunstan’s Basilica Friday at 1:30 p.m. Private interment in the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Charlottetown at a later hour. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the PEI Lung Association or St. Dunstan’s Basilica Restoration Fund. www.belvederefh.com