Father Marot remembered for his ministry to youth of the diocese

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By Lauren Clem

Staff Reporter

PROVIDENCE — For those who knew Father Roger Marot, who passed away last Wednesday, his death marked the end of an era for youth ministry in the Diocese of Providence. The former diocesan director of youth ministry and founder of the Father Marot CYO Center dedicated his life to serving young people, and is remembered with great admiration by the parishioners he served and the thousands whose lives were touched by the youth centers he so loved and cherished.

“The man lived and breathed his mission,” said Louise Dussault, director of the Office of Catholic Youth Ministry, who first met Father Marot while growing up at her home parish of St. James, Manville.

Like so many others, Father Marot’s vocation began simply, when he was a schoolboy at St. Cecilia School in Pawtucket. He attended St. Paul University Seminary in Ottawa, Canada, where he came to know Bishop Emeritus Louis E. Gelineau, as the bishop recalled during his homily at Monday’s funeral Mass. Bishop Gelineau would go on to serve as bishop during some of Father Marot’s most active years in youth ministry, and the two would eventually settle as neighbors at St. Antoine Residence and the Villa in North Smithfield.

“Most important was his special gift to strengthen the faith and bring young people closer to God,” recalled Bishop Gelineau. “Untold numbers of young men and women have been strengthened in their faith and practice by this special ministry and the leadership of Father Marot.”

When Father Marot received his first parish assignment at St. James, Manville, in 1950, the Catholic Youth Organization was still fairly young in the diocese, having been founded by Msgr. William Delaney in 1935. Youth activities were largely restricted to parishes or inter-parish sporting events, and few diocesan-wide retreats took place. It was Father Marot’s leadership that brought the regional model of CYO to the diocese, giving young people an opportunity to worship and socialize with their peers from many parishes.

“Father Marot was the first person to bring it together,” explained Dussault. “He was really a key player in that.”

After developing a bustling CYO program at St. James, Father Marot went on to found CYO of Northern RI (later renamed the Father Marot CYO Center) in 1969, the first regional CYO center to offer programs beyond sporting events. As diocesan director of youth ministry, he would go on to organize programs at eight other centers, overseeing an era during which countless families would trace some of their most precious moments to the doors of a CYO Center.

“Just the idea of setting up a place where young people can go over the decades to have fun, enjoy each other’s company and learn to love God,” said Steve Van Orsouw, a youth minister at the Father Marot CYO Center who has been active there since his teenage years.

“There are so many people who wouldn’t even exist if not for the CYO Center,” he added. “Mrs. Van and I met there.”

Many others who attended the funeral and memorial services of the past week shared similar stories, including Diane Landry, a parishioner of St. Agatha Church, Woonsocket, where Father Marot served as pastor and pastor emeritus through his final years.

“I was wondering where my life would be and where my kids’ lives would be if we didn’t know Father Marot and the center wasn’t a part of our lives,” she said. “The center has touched almost every person in my family.”

Like many others, Landry recalled Father Marot’s talent for identifying the gifts of others and his stubbornness and persistence in calling upon young people to use those gifts in ministry. As a teenager, she was asked repeatedly to serve as a youth leader on a Search, a retreat program that continues to be an important part of CYO ministry.

“It was the best experience in my life and it was all because of his encouragement,” she said.

Michael Lavigne, a former St. Agatha’s parishioner who now works in ministry in the Archdiocese of Boston, shared a similar story of discovering his personal talents through the support of Father Marot. He also recalled a moment from his own Search retreat when, shooting baskets by himself during free time because he did not know any of his fellow retreat participants, he was joined on the basketball court by Father Marot, who always made it a point to make sure young people felt welcomed at the center.

“He had a really profound way of encountering people,” he said. “He was always looking to help people fall in love with Jesus Christ.”

Though several of the youth centers have now closed to reflect the changing demographics of the diocese, the Father Marot CYO Center and its sister center, Rejoice in Hope Youth Center in Cranston, remain active sites of ministry for young people. Dussault said the centers will continue to carry out Father Marot’s legacy, even as they adapt to meet the changing needs of youth in the diocese.

“The best way to honor his death is to continue the ministry,” she said. “I think we owe Father Marot a great debt of gratitude for his work and the example of his devotion to the Lord and his ministry for young people.”

Already, the reach of his legacy beyond those he knew personally can be felt at the center that bears his name. At a prayer meeting held in his honor on Monday night, Bailee Baillargeon, an active youth participant, shared her gratitude.

“I never met Father Marot, but indirectly he changed my life through the CYO prayer meetings,” she said. “He spread his message in a way that I could understand. I wish I could thank him now because he definitely changed my life.”