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In 1954 at Canisius College, Joe Bissonette was
elected president of his senior class, inducted
into the DiGamma Honor Society, and selected by
faculty and students as Ideal Man - an award
recognizing singular accomplishment in
leadership, scholarship, and service. Joe found
his model not in the executive suite but in the
son of a carpenter whose message, like Joe’s,
was heard most clearly after his death. Joe
entered the seminary and was ordained a priest
in 1958.
During several early parish assignments, Joe’s
second career decision was taking shape. It was
a conclusion that for him, the service of Christ
would be advocacy for and life shared with, the
poor and disadvantaged. Thus began his
inner-city ministry, which continued for 20
years until his death in 1987.
On the night of February 24, 1987, two young men
appeared at the door of St. Bartholomew’s
Rectory at 335 Grider Street, complaining of
being hungry and without a place to stay. He
brought them into his home and began to prepare
sandwiches. The sandwiches were untouched but
Joe was bound, beaten, and stabbed to death.
The Bissonette House memorializes the life of
Father Joseph Bissonette. The room where Father
Joe died is the room where they pray
together—Christians, Muslims, Jews, Native
Americans—it is the room where lives are changed
and new lives begin |
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