Vincent HEFFERNAN Obituary

HEFFERNAN, Rev. Vincent Ambrose SFM 1940 - 2021 Fr. Vince Heffernan from Port Loring, Ontario, died of heart failure, on Friday, August 13, 2021, at Scarborough General Hospital. He had been residing at Presentation Manor, the Scarboro Missions community residence in Scarborough, Ontario. He was 81. Born on March 27, 1940, Fr. Vince was one of ten children born to the late Ambrose and Agnes Heffernan. Brother of the late Mike Heffernan and his wife Josephine of Oakville, Edward Heffernan and his wife Margaret of Loretto, Kenneth Heffernan and his wife Linda of Cambridge, Frances Gresson of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, US, Philip Heffernan and his wife Marie of Alliston, Clifford Heffernan of Arthur, Catherine Heffernan of Arthur, Dan Heffernan and his wife Rita of Iron Bridge, and Joseph Heffernan and his wife Bev of Kitchener. Fr. Vince's home parish was St. John the Evangelist in Arthur, Ontario. He received his elementary education in nearby West Luther Township, attended Arthur District High School, and then Stratford Teachers College. In 1964, he entered the St. Francis Xavier Seminary (later known as the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society) after spending a year in the Society's novitiate, Nazareth House, in St. Mary's, Ontario. After completing his preparation for the priesthood, Fr. Vince was ordained for Scarboro Missions by Bishop Kenneth Turner, SFM, in St. John the Evangelist Church, Arthur, Ontario, on May 2, 1970. He was appointed that year to the Guyana mission, first auditing a course in history and culture at the University of Guyana and then assisting Scarboro missioners in Georgetown, the capital. He returned to Canada on furlough in 1973 and studied at the Maryknoll Mission Institute in Maryknoll, NY. In October of that year he returned to Guyana serving as pastor at Scarboro's parish in Springlands and then assisting at the Society's central house in Providence, East Berbice-Corentyne, just outside of Georgetown. Taking a sabbatical year in 1979, Fr. Vince took courses at the Toronto School of Theology while living in Scarboro's house of formation in the city with the formation students. He continued assisting Scarboro's Formation-Education Department while taking a one-year course in Clinical Pastoral Education. In 1981, Fr. Vince was appointed to the mission in Chiapas, Mexico, as part of a team walking among Indigenous peoples, the Tzotzil, in remote villages. It was a new mixed team approach for Scarboro Missions - priests and lay missioners, women and men serving together. He attended language study in the city of Cuernavaca, but in January 1983 the Society closed its mission in Chiapas and Fr. Vince returned to Canada. By 1988, he was head of the Promotion Department at the Society's central house in Toronto while also serving on the House team, taking care of the health and wellness needs of the missioners living there. On weekends, he served as chaplain to the Sisters of St. Joseph in Toronto. In 1990, Fr. Vince began the Second Chance Ministry of which he was most proud. Located at the Scarboro Mission Centre, Second Chance offered counseling and spiritual direction to women with post-abortion syndrome. Until his retirement in 2010, Fr. Vince continued to offer spiritual direction, counseling, and healing Masses. He also contributed to the formation of mission candidates and served on a team of house coordinators for missioners residing at the central house. Visitation will be at the Crawford Funeral Chapel in Arthur, Ontario, on Thursday, August 19th from 4:00-8.00 p.m. Please choose a time online at https://www.heritagefuneralhomes.ca/crawford-funeral-chapel/ or call the Crawford Funeral Chapel at 519-848-6872, to attend. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. John the Evangelist Church in Arthur on Friday, August 20th at 11:00 a.m. Burial to follow in St. John's Cemetery. A memorial Mass will be celebrated with the Presentation Manor community in Scarborough, Ontario, on Saturday, August 21st. Due to COVID-19 protocols in place, attendance is restricted. As a young missioner serving in a foreign land, culture, and language, Fr. Vince's early words speak volumes about what he truly sought: "…in the long run and regardless of cultural differences, what is really needed is someone who can understand the human heart." May he rest in Peace.