Help us discover what happened to our uncle.
BOLIVIA
Fr. Luis Jolicoeur -- 1938-2006

Sometime during the night of January 2, 2006, Fr. Luis JOLICOEUR, an Oblate well-known internationally, died of asphyxiation because of a fire in his bed. Indications are that he may have fallen asleep while smoking. That is all that one can say at this point, while awaiting the results of the police investigation. Since he was alone at the house in Cochabamba, Bolivia, no one was able to smell the smoke and save him.

At the time of his death, he was a member of the formation team of the Oblate scholasticate "Bolper" which serves both Bolivia and Peru. He was also the provincial treasurer for Bolivia.

Born in 1938 at Ste-Anne-des-Chênes in Manitoba, Canada, he made his first profession of vows as an Oblate in 1958. After completing the Licentiate in Philosophy at the International Scholasticate in Rome, he began his theological studies in Santiago, Chile in 1961. He was ordained a priest in 1966.

After ordination, he received an obedience for Bolivia where he became involved as chaplain of Boy Scouts for several years and as a prison chaplain. Since 1980, he served several terms as provincial counsellor and provincial treasurer. From 1991 until 1997, his was the provincial of Bolivia.

He was a member of the three-man commission that planned the 1998 General Chapter. He became even better known during the 2004 Chapter as coordinator of the team of translators. In December 2005, he was in Rome, representing the Latin American region on the committee that is studying the future of the General House.