Fr. Meany / Fr. St. Onge Council 7943
   •   P.O. Box 109   •    Troy, Vermont 05868   •

  

The Fr. Meany / Fr. St. Onge Council meeting room is located in the parish hall next to Sacred Heart of Jesus Church at 130 Pleasant Street in Troy, Vermont. The Grand Knight for 2008-2009 is Laurent Jalbert. You can contact the GK by phone at 802-744-6271, by postal mail at the address above, or email.

The council publishes a monthly newsletter that includes news and events of interest to our members and is updated at the beginning of each month. Newsletters for 2009 will be available shortly.

Please check the Activities page to confirm meeting dates and times.

Our council was founded through the efforts of 33 dedicated Catholic men in January 1982. In January 2007, we celebrated our 25th anniversary. The council was named after Fathers' Meany and St. Onge, who were exemplary priests and models of courage and holiness to all.
Fr. Meany was a Jesuit Priest who served as an Army Chaplain with the "Fighting 69th" regiment on Makin Island in the South Pacific during WWII. While giving the Last Rites to a mortally wounded soldier, he was shot by a Japanese sniper and critically injured. He lay bleeding and in pain for nearly an hour before a devout Catholic soldier Jean Paul Berthiaume, came to his aid. While giving medical attention to his Chaplain, Jean Paul was shot and killed. Fr. Meany was eventually rescued and treated for his wounds, but only after seven more soldiers were wounded by the sniper. Jean Paul went to his eternal reward, killed in battle while trying to give aid to his beloved Priest.

Jean Paul Berthiaume was the brother of Charter members Charles and Louis Berthiaume. It is fitting that Fr. Meany be remembered and honored by our council.

A biographical sketch of Fr. St. Onge is in the works. Let it be known that those who knew him say he was a man of action and wasn't afraid to speak his mind. As information becomes available, it will be posted.

The Charter Members of our council are listed below.

Our Council works closely with Fr. Henry Mlinganisa and the St. Ignatius, Sacred Heart and St. Vincent parishes in the Lowell, Troy and North Troy areas. We provide man power and funds for various parish, youth and community projects. Council members are active in our Tri Parish community as Eucharistic Ministers, catachists, lectors, altar servers, greeters and ushers. Members also serve on key parish committees such as the Tri Parish Council, Finance Committee and Building Committee.

Our council has earned the Columbian Award many times in the past. This award recognizes the council that has completed at least four projects in five different areas; Church, Family, Community, Youth and Council. This award is made possible by the cooperation and desire of our members to put our Catholic faith into action. Some past projects include financial support of seminarians and religious through the Refund Support Vocations Program, the Keep Christ in Christmas banners that are placed in our town squares each Advent Season and financial donations to the Orleans / Essex County Special Olympics.

In the 2004-2005 fraternal year under the able leadership of PGK Larent Jalbert, we earned the Star Council Award. This prestigious award is given to councils that achieve all the service project requirements for the Columbian Award as well as meeting their insurance member and new member quotas.

Under GK Daniel McAvinney, we earned the Star Council Award for the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 fraternal years.

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Send comments or questions to the web page editor, at webmaster@kofc7943.org Updated December 8, 2008