The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

77| O akville B eaver | T hursday,A ugust 30,2018 insidehalton.com siblings. Coughlin became an or- dained priest in June 1967. His first posting was as As- sociate Pastor of St. Basil in Brantford. He went on to serve at St. Margaret Mary, St. Charles Garnier and St. Patrick in Hamil- ton, St. Patrick and St. John in Burlington, with the Companions of the Cross at Our Lady of Per- petual Help parish in Otta- wa, and with St. Dominic and St. Michael in Oak- ville. Coughlin's last posting to a parish was with St. An- drew's Church on the lake- shore in downtown Oak- ville. He was there from 2001-14, overseeing a major renovation of the quaint, pioneer-style church in 2010 and its 175th anniver- sary celebration. St. Andrew's was a case of returning to where he es- sentially started as Cough- lin served as a deacon there the year before he was or- dained. Already dealing with adult-onset muscular dys- trophy, which made walk- ing progressively painful and difficult over the years, Coughlin endured severe heart and kidney ailments in his latter years. It finally resulted in his re- tirement in late 2014. At that point he became chaplain to the Sisters at St. Joseph Motherhouse Convent in Dundas, just north of Hwy. 403, where he still led Mass and held editorial meetings for the Bread of Life magazine, a publication that has been going for 40 years. Coughlin was known during his five decades of religious service for lead- ing prayer groups and healing Masses and as an orator. He was a past chair of the Catholic Charismat- ic Renewal Services of Can- ada committee. "Msgr. Peter Coughlin has been a steady light in the encroaching darkness of our post-Christian age. I first met him over 40 years ago. As a young teenager, he invited me to read at Mass during one of the large charismatic confer- ences in Hamilton. That was his gifting. He would call forth and nurture charisms. He has played that role in my life ever since," said longtime friend Miriam Wright. "Persevering through his own struggles and sig- nificant sufferings, his message was always the same: keep your eyes on the Lord and put your trust in Him. Father Peter was a guiding light and set a beautiful example to lead us to the eternal light of God's loving embrace..." she added. Wright's husband Bill, the current editor of the Bread of Life magazine, said he took inspiration from Coughlin. "Last year I received in- vasive radiation treatment for my prostate cancer. For the past five months the side effects of this treat- ment have left me mentally and physically exhausted. Father Peter's kindness and consideration were a great help to me. I told Fa- ther that I try to follow his good example of fighting difficult circumstances...." Coughlin wrote six reli- gious books with his sev- enth and final publication being a mini autobiogra- phy, Walking with the Spirit, which was pub- lished in 2016. On March 4 of this year, Coughlin was among sev- eral priests elevated to the rank of Monsignor during a special Mass at the Cathe- dral Basilica of Christ the King in Hamilton. In June 2017, he cele- brated 50 years as a priest with a special function in Waterdown that was at- tended by many people. Coughlin's final words in his autobiography sums up his life and his yearn- ing. "I wanted to be a priest and to serve people, to bring people to the Lord and the Lord to the people. I ask pardon of those I have hurt through my priest- hood and my immaturity and self-centeredness. I never intended to cause harm but have wanted to be a blessing and an image of Christ Jesus, an alter Christus. ".... I really do want to hear the Lord say to me, 'Well done, good and faith- ful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.'" Coughlin leaves behind his siblings Rose, Jack- olynn, Larry and Paul. Visitation for Monsi- gnor Peter Coughlin will be held Thursday, Aug. 30 at St. Andrew's Catholic Church, 47 Reynolds St., Oakville, from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m., with a Prayer Vig- il at 8 p.m. Visitation will continue Friday, Aug. 31, from 9:30-11 a.m., at The Cathedral Ba- silica of Christ the King in Hamilton, 714 King St. W., with a funeral Mass at the cathedral starting at 11 a.m. NEWS MSGR. COUGHLIN 'A STEADY LIGHT,' SAID LONGTIME FRIEND Monsignor Peter Coughlin (centre) is flanked on the left by Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada, and on the right by Hamilton Diocese Bishop Douglas Crosby. The photo was taken on March 4, 2018 at Christ the King cathedral in Hamilton where Coughlin was elevated to the rank of Monsignor during a special service. Diocese of Hamilton Continued from page 12 ".. I really do want to hear the Lord say to me, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.'" - Monsignor Peter Coughlin, from his 2016 autobiography, Walking with the Spirit