Remembering Reverend Eugene Robitaille, S.S.,C.C., and Father Jude Mead, C.P., S.T.D., L.L.D

Fr. Jude Mead

  Fr. Eugene Robitaille

For almost 20 years, Father Eugene Robitaille was associated with the Carmelite Sisters in their Formation Program, and he was the Chaplain at St. Teresa’s Motherhouse. Father Robitaille’s connection with Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa went back to the early days of his priesthood as Novice Master in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Father Eugene was devoted to Mother Angeline, and she in turn, found him a truly dedicated priest who was ever available for the spiritual needs of the Sisters. Thirty years ago on May 15, 1988, Father Eugene Robitaille, Promoter for the Cause of Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa, passed away.

In an excerpt from the book Woman of Faith, Father Robitaille conveys his thoughts: “One of the greatest graces of my life has been to have known Mother Angeline Teresa… I have been in awe of her… To me she seems to continually give herself to God; He marvelously fills her with His Spirit… Over the years Mother Angeline has dispensed help and assistance in untold ways to untold people – to the aged and infirm, to the Sisters of her community, to bishops and priests…. What has always impressed me – and so many others too – is the manner of her charity, her sensitivity, her delicacy and her graciousness. Mother Angeline would always give the impression that you had bestowed a great charity upon her – whereas, she was the one who had performed the act of charity. Surely this is the refinement of love, this is the charity of Christ!”

As a Promoter of Mother’s Cause, Father worked diligently, traveled extensively, collected data, and visited the Carmelite homes to give talks on the life and dedication of Mother Angeline. The Teresian Society was Father Eugene’s brainchild. In May 1986, Father Eugene presented Bishop Howard Hubbard, D.D. the idea of forming the Society, and it was approved. The purpose of the Society was to seek prayerful support of the members for the promotion of the Cause. He never forgot to include the members of the Teresian Society during Mass, with the Intercessions after the Gospel, and each month Father would announce Masses for all the members. It was his earnest wish that Father   Jude Mead,  C.P.,  S.T.D, L.L.D. take  over  after God called him home, and Bishop Hubbard made the appointment in 1988.

Father Jude Mead, a Passionist priest, was recognized internationally as a preacher for the clergy, women and men religious, and the laity. He authored eight books before writing a biography of Mother Angelina, entitled Daughter of Carmel. In this book Mother Angeline’s faith, leadership, reverence for human dignity, and individual needs of the elderly are chronicled. Father Jude served faithfully as the first postulator of Mother’s Cause. He labored unceasingly in researching and working on what was for him a labor of love for his longtime friend, Venerable Mary Angeline Teresa, until his death in May 23, 1992.

“Some of you of course knew her in her lifetime. So many others never knew her, but knew about her. It is our fervent hope and our prayer that through our publication and other means we might help you know Mother Angeline Teresa and her great spirit of love…. Because of Mother Angeline and her Sisters the world of the elderly is a better place – homes where the sick and the weary find love and strength for their bodies and souls”—Father Jude Mead