On Thursday, July 25, Fr. Pierre Jaboulay, SMA, was laid to rest at the African Missions Cemetery in Montferrier. The funeral Mass, presided over by Mgr. Michel Cartateguy, former Archbishop of Niamey, gathered family members, the SMA spiritual family, and staff from the retirement home where Fr. Jaboulay resided. This simple yet solemn ceremony was marked by touching memories shared by the celebrant and the deceased’s loved ones.

Before his death, Fr. Jaboulay had left a note outlining his wishes for his funeral. “I echo what a fellow missionary once humorously told me in Africa: ‘Don’t say anything about me. If you want to say something good, it will inevitably be full of lies, and if you want to say something bad, it will take too long.’ What I want to say: thank you, God, for all the joys you have given me in life: Thank you, Lord, for the Hope you have sown in our hearts. May the ceremony be an occasion to pray earnestly for all those who suffer and do not have Hope in their hearts. I ask forgiveness for not having loved enough. Thank you all for your help and for putting up with me. A huge thank you to all the staff at the home. Yes, a thousand thanks. This is just a goodbye. Glory to God.”

In his homily, Mgr. Michel Cartateguy spoke with emotion about Fr. Jaboulay’s 61 years of priesthood, a missionary inspired by the sentiments of Saint Paul. “The first reading expresses St. Paul’s missionary sentiments. I see a connection with those of our brother Pierre, who demonstrated them throughout his 61 years of priesthood, in Africa as well as in France,” he said.

The archbishop highlighted Fr. Jaboulay’s human fragility and inner strength. “For Paul, the missionary is a fragile clay vessel. He experiences his fragility daily. Often misunderstood, he continues his mission with courage and perseverance because he firmly believes that the Word within him is a treasure. A treasure that is the very power of God and from which he draws his own strength.”

He recalled Fr. Jaboulay’s conviction, who wanted to dedicate his life to the African Missions with obedience and a smile. “I see this conviction of Paul in Pierre when he wanted to dedicate his life to the African Missions, and I quote: ‘I want to be a member of the African Missions in absolute obedience to the Constitutions, to the superiors, always with a smile, no matter the situations.’ The smile in all situations was his expression of the inner music revealing the harmonious beauty of the treasure he carried within. The poet says, ‘the smile is the music of the soul.’”

Fr. Jaboulay had a life philosophy of “elsewhere and otherwise.” “However, he would relativize the absolute of his obedience to superiors by saying before a classic appointment: ‘I want to be elsewhere and otherwise.’ ‘Elsewhere and otherwise,’ these are two words that perfectly characterize him.”

Fr. Pierre Jaboulay, affectionately called “Pierrot” by his family, was the youngest of the cousins. “You were the youngest grandchild of our grandparents Linossier, and – with fifteen months less than you – I was their youngest granddaughter,” recalls his cousin Madeleine, who became Sister Marie Claude, SMSM. His missionary vocation was clear from a young age. “Do you remember the day you were asked: ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ and you replied ‘I want to be a missionary in Africa!’ When asked why, you cheerfully answered: ‘To eat bananas!’”

Fr. Jaboulay was known for his adventurous spirit. “What year did you decide not to come back to France on leave by plane but to travel across Africa by truck? Aunt Anna was not happy: it shortened your family holidays a lot. But I was delighted,” recounts Madeleine. He loved immersing himself in local communities, celebrating Mass in remote places. “You came to my community in Hydra, and we went to celebrate the Ascension Mass in the other SMSM community in Algeria in Meftah,” she added.

After decades of service in Africa, Fr. Jaboulay served in the parish of Saint-Christo en Jarez. “And then you gave up your beloved Africa to become the pastor of Saint-Christo en Jarez. You could then take care of your beloved sister Chantal, who was a year older than you. You accompanied her through her long illness,” remembers Madeleine. He was greatly appreciated for his proximity and simplicity. “I appreciated Pierre a lot, and so did the entire parish community, because he was very close to people, available, and very simple,” said a parish deacon.

Mrs. Marie-Juliane Jaboulay, wife of Bernard, Fr. Jaboulay’s deceased brother, said: “Dear Pierrot, after all these years spent in the service of the African Missions, you returned to the native land of St Chamond and particularly to the parish of St Jean Louis du Levant in St Christo en Jarez. You delighted us on the piano during our family celebrations, and we will remind Elise and Emma that you baptized them. You will remain in our hearts.”

Fr. Jaboulay considered prayer as his raison d’être. When he arrived in Côte-d’Ivoire in 1965, he admitted: “I did not pray much… But an eight-day retreat in 1976 was a turning point. ‘You will make a resolution,’ I told myself. ‘Take 5 more minutes of adoration each day in the church.’ I started giving those 5 minutes… and those 5 minutes gradually stretched into 60 minutes.”

He always found time to pray, even when tired or unmotivated. “I must say that one day, not feeling well at all… I went to pray for ‘my hour’ of adoration… An hour later, I found myself whistling some cheerful tunes without realizing it, the Lord had just filled me with His Peace.”

Fr. Jaboulay preferred to pray in community rather than alone. “What I can say now is that it is easier for me to pray with 2 or 3 brothers or sisters than when I am alone. Praying with 3 or 4, when we are bound by true and deep friendship, is heaven already for me,” he said. He found great joy in the Office of the Psalms. “Firstly, through the Office, I feel truly united with the whole Church, and secondly, one always finds in the Psalms the Word of God that corresponds to what one is experiencing.”

A few days before his death, Fr. Jaboulay had a memorable conversation with his cousin Madeleine. “On Sunday, July 21, 2024, you called me: ‘Madeleine, it is always you who call me. Today, I am taking the initiative,’ and you talked to me for a long time… ‘May God bless you!’ you added before hanging up. The next day, you were urgently hospitalized in palliative care. Isn’t it extraordinary that you wanted to talk to me just before you died? I receive this as a gift from God. And it consoles me that I could not accompany you to your final resting place. Do not forget us! Help us remain faithful to Christ!”

Fr. Jaboulay leaves behind a legacy of faith, humility, and service. “A former seminarian who knew Pierre in the novitiate paying tribute wrote: ‘Pierre was the joy of living and simplicity… Today, he joins the great orchestra of the angels in heaven.’”

May his example of life and prayer continue to inspire those who had the chance to know him. “May the Lord, the Master of the celestial choir, make him sing eternally.”