Aboriginal
faith leader dies
By Kiply Lukan Yaworski
SASKATOON — Verna
Vandale, a faith leader of the Catholic 
Aboriginal
faith community in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, died July
9 at the age of 62 after a battle with cancer. Her funeral was held
July 14 at Gordons First Nation, where she was born Aug. 10, 1947.
Vandale was a longtime parish
life director at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which serves First Nations,
Métis, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the city’s
core neighbourhood. During her time as a leader on the pastoral team,
she was instrumental in working to have the Guadalupe House faith community
declared a full-fledged parish in February 2007.
During the ceremony establishing
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, the parish vision was presented: “to
build a strong faith community, to empower and equip Aboriginal people
to become leaders in their families, communities and the church; and
to integrate First Nations culture and spirituality in sessions and
celebrations.”
Vandale’s love for
both her Aboriginal culture and her Catholic faith was described during
a prayer vigil July 12 at St. Mary’s Church in Saskatoon, where
she was remembered as a mother, a grandmother, a friend, and a spiritual
leader.
In the 1970s, Vandale came
to Saskatoon to study nursing, while raising her young family. She worked
as a nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon and up north before
she and her husband Lionel Vandale built a home in Aberdeen. After Lionel’s
death in 1992, Vandale turned to the Guadalupe faith community for support
and friendship, eventually beginning a new career as pastoral associate
and then as parish life director, appointed by the bishop.
Vandale’s leadership skills, perseverance, pastoral caring and love of Jesus were described by family members, friends and colleagues during the prayer vigil. Her contributions in the parish included sacramental preparation, healing circles, prison ministry, outreach to Aboriginal communities throughout the province and ongoing support for such initiatives as the Sounds of Guadalupe music ministry team.
Predeceased by her husband Lionel, her son Martin, and her parents Kenneth
and Emily McNab, Vandale is survived by her four daughters, nine grandchildren
and one great-grandchild.
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