So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)
Yesterday, at approximately 5:15 p.m., in the Cormier Pavillon at the Faubourg du Mascaret, Professor Emeritus Denis Bourque departed this world. A graduate of the University of Montreal, Denis served for many years as a professor of French Literature at the Université de Moncton, supervised numerous doctoral theses, and authored multiple books and articles on Acadian history and the Acadian people. His love for the Acadian people was unmistakable rooted not only in his scholarship, but even more deeply in how much he loved sharing his Christian faith with them.
Above all else, Denis Bourque was a follower of Jesus Christ. He believed wholeheartedly that Christ’s death on the cross paid for all his sins, and that through faith he had received the gift of eternal life. This was not merely a doctrine he affirmed; it was a message he cherished, proclaimed, and longed to see embraced—especially within the French‑speaking world and among his own people, the Acadians.
Denis was a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church and was especially devoted to the church plant, Espérance Vivante, where he faithfully assisted his pastor by teaching the Scriptures to the French congregation. He loved being around French speaking Christians and ministering to them in any way that he could.
I first met Denis in 2004, after being introduced to him by another believer, and from that moment a friendship began that has lasted ever since. I will miss my friend. I will miss our conversations about the church, about the faith, and especially about our shared longing to see more Acadians come to know the gospel of Jesus Christ and share in the hope of eternal life. Just recently, he helped my wife and I minister to some elderly at a nursing home in Moncton by helping with a bible study. He loved God’s word and wanted to help share it any way that he could.
As I watched him suffer the repercussions of the curse of sickness, he always seemed positive, never looking sad or helpless, and still wanting to converse as always about the Saviour. The last time I saw him was on Monday, and even in his weakened state, as I read 1 Corinthians 15 to him, he couldn’t help but awaken and express his awe at such a hope of the victory of Christ over death.
Today, I mourn him. His absence rests heavily on my heart, and I pray he knew how deeply he shaped my walk with Christ. The world will move forward as though nothing has changed, yet it ought to pause and honour a man like this. Still, while earth continues its rhythm, heaven rejoices—for a son has been welcomed home, and Denis now delights in the presence of his Saviour, whom he loved so dearly.
I hold fast to the hope that I will see him again on the other side, when we will rejoice together once more in the Saviour we both love—this time, standing in His glorious presence.
-Shawn McGrath