There is a campaign under way to have Father William H. Judge, S.J., declared a saint
by the Vatican and named the Patron Saint of Miners.
Issue: 2015-09-10 PHOTO: Dan Davidson
Vivian Painter and Father Emmanuel Obidile unveil the bust of Father Judge
In the meantime, Father Judge, often referred to as the Saint of Dawson, will have to
make do with the memorial plaque mounted on a massive rock outside the new
Dawson Community Hospital and Health Care Centre.
Many Dawsonites would like to have had the new hospital named after him, but didn’t
get their wish.
Facilities Manager Vivian Painter, in collaboration with St. Mary’s Catholic Church, is
doing her best to link the hospital to Judge’s legacy.
Judge arrived in Dawson from Fort Mile, having already been in the North for some
years, predicting that the Klondike Gold Rush would be an opportunity for witness and
service.
In 1897, he opened St. Mary’s Hospital just below the Moosehide Slide, near the place
where his grave marker lies today.
The original building was smaller than the large structure that was finally completed
in 1906, after his death in 1899, but he began the tradition of health care in the
Klondike. That tradition later carried on by the Sisters of St. Anne.
When the hospital burned in 1950, health care continued in the former Yukon
Courthouse and in the Commissioner’s Residence. A federally-funded cottage hospital,
originally named for Judge, was built in the 1960s.
After health care responsibilities were passed to the Yukon government, the building
underwent a number of name and status changes, eventually being identified as a
nursing station.
Painter, who worked at that building 35 years ago, recalls passing by that rock and
plaque.
Hired in the fall of 2013 to manage the new building, she determined to have them
relocated to a prominent spot by the entrance to the impressively-upgraded facility
when the old nursing station was demolished to make way for the construction of the
new seniors’ care facility.
On August 9, a dozen or so people gathered outside the main entrance to witness the
unveiling of the final element of that outdoor tribute, a bust of Father Judge.
It has been in Dawson for a couple of years, located in the church at Saint Mary’s, but
now it is out in the open for the public to see and to help commemorate the memory
of this dedicated priest’s service.
Painter and the recently-arrived new priest, Father Emmanuel Obidile, each spoke
briefly about the life and work of Father Judge.
“We’re so, so grateful to have this memorial to someone who is very important to
us,” Painter said.
“Father Judge worked miracles in his apostolate of bringing hope to a wild gold rush
town situated in one of the coldest and bleakest of landscapes,” Father Obidile said.
He urged Catholics and non-Catholics alike to pray for the beatification of Father
Judge.
“He lived an exemplary and heroic Christian life.”
On a practical note, he reminded his small audience that having Judge declared a
saint would undoubtedly be another tourist attraction for the Klondike.
“There is one provision,” said Painter, "that if the hospital ever ceases to exist, which
will not happen, we will return this to Saint Mary’s. I think that Father Judge will be
here, greeting all those who come to the door, for many years to come.”
Comment: Carlotta gave us a call asking about the artist...Dan is trying to track this information down. He is waiting on a call from the Whitehorse priest who is trying to get in touch with the last RC Bishop. When the artist name comes available we'll share it here with you.