Born: Port Louis, Morbihan, France, July 12, 1834.
Took the habit: N.-D. de l’Osier, January 12, 1856.
Vows: N.-D. de l’Osier, January 13, 1857 (No. 432).
Priestly ordination: Marseilles, June 23, 1859.
Died: Brownsville, Texas, October 6, 1862.
François-Marie Sivy was born in Port Louis, diocese of Vannes, France on July 12, 1854. After one year of theology in the major seminary of his diocese, he began his novitiate in Notre-Dame de l’Osier on January 12, 1856 and took vows there on January 13, 1857. In December 1856, the novice master, Father Florent Vandenberghe had presented his candidacy for vows to the general council with certain reservations: “I would like to see him spend some time in Montolivet before taking vows. This Brother has good health and is well-disposed, suitable sentiments and adequate ability. He has a natural defect which is that he stammers, but only when he is reading. The superiors of the house where he did his studies up to second year theology have given him a good reference even as regards his capability. His behaviour during novitiate was normal and he even showed some generosity. Nevertheless, his comportment is somewhat dissipated and it would be better if he were more recollected.”
He did his scholasticate in Montolivet from 1857 to 1859. Father Antoine Mouchette, moderator of scholastics, always sang his praises. In the report for 1857 we find: “Quite a good religious, full of good will, always happy, progress is good in spite of trials and hardships; and in 1858: “an excellent religious, zealous, pious, obedient, a joyful character, always happy; 1859: quite a good religious in all things, generous, very regular, quite ordinary talents, nevertheless he will be quite useful in a mission because he can do a lot of material things, that will make up for his difficulty in speaking which scarcely permits him to preach.”
Bishop de Mazenod ordained him to the priesthood on June 23, 1859 and gave him an obedience for Texas. He set sail with Father Joseph Rieux on in October 1859. On arrival he was assigned to Victoria in Mexico where he remained for a few months in 1859. He was then in Brownsville where he died of yellow fever on October 6, 1862, the same day as Father Eugène Schumacher. Father Augustin Gaudet informed Father Joseph Fabre in a letter dated October 8: “This is a very painful and a very great loss. The service that he had already rendered to the mission and especially to this establishment, by his skills in every field, gave us reason to believe that he would be a real hope for the future in the country. The work he did in the church will cause his passing to be mourned for many a year by our Catholics.” Father Fabre added in the necrology note: “All who knew him will remember his kindness of character, the smile which was habitually on his lips, his obvious piety and his fraternal charity. He died at the age of twenty-eight years and a few months.”
Yvon Beaudoin, o.m.i.
