Ovide Charlebois

Ovide Charlebois, OMI (17 February 1862 - 20 November 1933) was a Canadian Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate who served as the Apostolic Vicar of Keewatin from his appointment in 1910 until his death. Charlebois worked in the missions first in the nation's northwest and was noted for his extensive travels across Saskatchewan to visit isolated minorities in order to teach them catechism and to minister to those who were open to converting to the faith. His appointment as a bishop allowed him greater freedom as he was able to build new chapels and schools across his apostolic vicariate which he divided into three for greater management. Charlebois was considered a pioneer for his dedication and contribution to education and infrastructure in his apostolic vicariate where he established chapels and schools. He taught catechism on a regular basis in the various schools that he visited and also established a newspaper in order to better connect the more isolated communities.

The beatification process for the late prelate launched in the 1950s and he became titled as a Servant of God. It remained inactive until it was re-launched in the late 1970s thus allowing for it to continue.

His assignment to the missions first started on 2 September 1887 upon being sent for the first time to Le Pas where he would work at Cumberland House. Charlebois expressed his willingness to go there to minister but indicated his fear of being alone and in complete isolation. In 1890 he established a school where he would teach catechism to children. He returned to Le Pas a short while later in order to minister to those indigenous and Métis populations who expressed an interest in the faith at a time when the population in that particular area was less than one hundred people; he also ministered to these populations that were dispersed thus requiring him to travel on a regular basis in order to reach these isolated communities. The cause remained inactive until 13 April 1978 after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued the official "nihil obstat" (no objections) decree. The second process to investigate the prelate's life and saintliness opened on 16 September 1979 and closed sometime later at which stage the C.C.S. validated the two previous processes in Rome on 6 June 1986 as having complied with their rules for conducting these processes. The official Positio dossier was submitted to the C.C.S. on 28 April 2001. Pope Francis titled Charlebois as venerable on 28 November 2019. The postulator for this cause is the Oblate priest Diego Saez.

Writings Charlebois published one set of writings: Débuts d'un évêque missionnaire