Fr. Jack Bastigal: A sower went out

Born to Slovakian immigrant parents in the Drumheller Valley, Fr. Jack Bastigal's priestly vocation is a product of good seed sown in good soil, sown while he was still an altar boy at the tiny mission church of St. Francis of Assisi in Rosedale. The Drumheller Valley at the time was a patchwork of small mining towns, served by a team of three priests stationed at St. Anthony's Parish in Drumheller itself; one to serve Nacmine, Midland and Newcastle west of town, another to serve Rosedale, Wayne, East Coulee and Dorothy to the east, and the third to remain in Drumheller.

ln Fr. Jack's childhood, Fr. Stephen Molnar served the east leg of the valley, and was a frequent visitor at the Bastigal house, mostly for Mrs. Bastigal's cooking. However, there would come the questions and the suggestions from the priests growing up: "Maybe you might want to think about becoming a priest ... " Fr. Jack describes this as the planting of the seeds: "You really don't know if they're going to mature or germinate." 

The Bastigal family moved to Calgary, and Fr. Jack went to St. Mary's High School, where he graduated in 1954. The Basilian Fathers there kept planting more seeds, asking what he was going to do after graduation, a topic that was well-discussed among his "buddies" there - what kinds of jobs to get, what would be good work. Fr. Jack strongly considered engineering, and then finding work in the nascent oil industry in Calgary. He had applied to Gonzaga University in Seattle, and was accepted. His parents were thrilled - they had advocated that Fr. Jack get a good education, find good work, and avoid the difficult work that had been working in the Drumheller Valley coal mines. But lo and behold, the seeds stuck ... 

A month or so before his departure for Seattle, something seemed wrong.  It was impossible to verbalize, especially to his parents, but he needed more time to decide before jumping into this career; the Bastigals were decidedly less than thrilled. 

ln the mid-1950s, it was possible just to walk into a potential employer's office and see if they were hiring, and so Fr. Jack went down to the Imperial Oil Refinery looking for work- he was hired to the labs on the spot, thrilling his parents once again. But around Christmas, things just seemed wrong right again, and so Fr. Jack quit his job, causing another debacle with his family. One would have assumed that this cycle would not continue on, but it did twice more through the winter and spring of 1955 ... Fr. Jack was hired on in customer relations with the Electric Light Department of the City of Calgary, and all was going smoothly until the spring, when suddenly working in an office building on Sixth Avenue SW wasn't as appealing as being outside. Fr. Jack transferred to the Parks Department, and he still vividly remembers seeding the grass at 14th Street and Memorial Drive NW. Around this time, he reconnected with the president of his class from St. Mary's, Mike Tansey. Mike had been set on becoming a priest, and had gone to St. Joseph's Seminary immediately after graduation. Fr. Jack was hesitant. He had thought about going to seminary, but wasn't sure if it was for him. Mike was reassuring: "If it isn't for you, you'll know pretty quickly. lf you come up there, and you see it isn't for you, just let them know, and off you go!" So it was that Fr. Jack Bastigal made his decision to enter the seminary, at this point in time at the original St. Joseph's Seminary on 110th Street in Edmonton, where first year accommodations were in a 10' by 12' room, shared with another seminarian. It was a real testing of the vocation, whether or not one was serious about it. To make a long story short: along came ordination in 1961. 

Fr. Jack stresses that discernment of the vocation is very personal; each vocation comes in a different way. For some, it is an automatic understanding, for others, less so. He is grateful to the priests who brought up the possibility of the priesthood over the years, as each one made him consider it seriously over the years. "It pushed me to make a decision, and- lo and behold!"

When asked about highlights in his years in ministry, Fr. Jack brings up treasured memories and friendships built up in ecumenical work. In the early 1960s, demarcations between denominations were still strict, but opportunities for ecumenism seemed to come up more regularly for Fr. Jack than his brother priests. One of his first placements was as assistant at St. Pius X in Calgary, and chaplain at the University of Calgary. It was initially a challenge, working with the other chaplains within the same offices: "When you leave the seminary, you're convinced that it's the Catholic Church, and the others aren't following the way of the Lord fully!" But the experience sowed its own seeds - as Fr. Jack was challenged and shared understandings with other professors and chaplains, it opened up a broader understanding of "who is acceptable by God, who is being used by God". Later on, these seeds would bear their own fruit.  

Years later, Bishop O'Byrne asked Fr. Jack to become founding pastor of Ascension of Our Lord Parish in Calgary. At the same time, he became aware that a good friend from Calgary Interfaith, Pastor Bob Schoenheider, was currently selling his congregation's small Lutheran church building in the downtown core, and looking for a space to build. Since both needed land they began discussing the possibility of a joint venture, an ecumenical centre to house both congregations. The idea was presented to Bishop O'Byrne and Lutheran Bishop Bob Jacobson, who were happy to endorse the project. And so was born the Sandstone Valley Ecumenical Centre, with two distinct worship areas, a common narthex, meeting rooms and offices; the beginning of a journey together in faith. 

Unfortunately, over the years, Mount Calvary Lutheran had its struggles, and eventually folded, but the friendships that Fr. Jack built with the people of Mount Calvary have stayed firm. He says that "it's those kinds of things that make such a difference: you recognize that you are all looking to praise, honour and worship the same God".  While Sandstone Valley Ecumenical Centre is no more, the seeds it has sown have borne fruit. Once past his term as bishop, Bob Jacobson of the Lutheran church and his wife were received into the Catholic Church. He was allowed to take Catholic orders, and became chancellor of the Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan.

Again, while at St. James in Okotoks, Fr. Jack's experience in ecumenical settings was crucial. One of the teacher-librarians at the Catholic school, Marilyn Smith, had mentioned that her husband was an Anglican priest, and that he would like to meet with Fr. Jack. After the usual pleasantries, Fr. Jack asked Fr. Steve if there was anything specific he would like to discuss; the response was that he and his wife were thinking of becoming members of St. James' Parish! A while afterwards, Fr. Jack was struck while preaching one Sunday that Fr. Steve might consider becoming a priest in the Roman Rite. This matter was mentioned to Bishop Henry, and it was suggested that Fr. Steve might be assigned some readings and a course of study. After this study period, a letter of recommendation, and lightning-speed approval from Rome, Bishop Henry came to St. James' Parish in Okotoks to ordain Fr. Steve and to officially appoint him to serve in the parish. 

It is a strange fact of most grains, that in common speech, their fruit and their seeds are discrete ideas, yet they are one and the same, botanically speaking. After a priestly life bearing much fruit borne of good seed, one would assume that Fr. Jack would now be content to rest quietly in his retirement. Yet - for a good while after this formal interview was concluded, Fr. Jack and I discussed the current situation in the Church in this diocese. He has recently moved to Dorchester Square in the heart of Calgary and is settling into his new apartment, enjoying the companionship of his brother priests, and filling in when needed in various parishes throughout the diocese. From his new perch overlooking a busy part of the city, he has witnessed some of the effects that COVID-19 has had on the community. The number of people experiencing financial, psychological and spiritual needs has increased, and Fr. Jack wonders what could be done to serve such people, aside from the agencies that exist in the city; his compassion towards them is palpable through the telephone. His hope is that as the pandemic ends parish life will experience a resurgence - a resurgence of faith. It is clear that despite (or because of?) his long, fruitful life as a priest, Fr. Jack is still the sower, scattering the fruit of his vocation far and wide, looking for it to land in good soil. 

Fr. John (Jack) Bastigal

Ordained: May 27, 1961, St. Mary’s Cathedral by Bishop Carroll

Pastoral Placements

• Assistant: St. Mary’s Cathedral, Calgary (1961-1962)
• Assistant: St. Pius X, Calgary; Chaplain, University of Calgary (1962-1966)
• Diocesan Director of Vocations (1966-1967)
• Administrator: St. Victor’s, Gleichen; St. Columbanus, Arrowwood; St. Ann’s, Hussar (1966-1967)
• Assistant: St. Luke’s, Calgary; Assistant Director, Catholic Information Centre (1967-1968)
• Studies: Research Coordinator, Institute of Social Research, Fordham University, Department of Sociology, New York City (1968-1978)
• Visiting Professor, University of Puerto Rico (1976)
• Director: Council of Social Affairs — Diocese of Calgary (1978-1984)
• Pastor: Ascension of Our Lord, Calgary (1982-1994)
• Pastor: St. James, Okotoks (1994-2008)

---

Written by Solomon Ip for Faithfully. Solomon is a born-and-raised Calgarian, who got letters after his name in Lethbridge. He worships at All Saints, Lethbridge; St. John the Evangelist, Calgary; and both the Calgary and Lethbridge chapters of the St. Francis Xavier Chaplaincy. He is an oboist by training, chorister by grace, hobby wordsmith, amateur calligrapher and museum enthusiast.