Parish News

Père Michel Bousserie

We were all saddened by the sudden death on Kos of Père Michel Bousserie, who passed away peacefully in his sleep on 25th July 2011, aged 73. He had not been in the best of health for some time, but loved coming to Kos in the summer, and had given pastoral service at the church of Agnus Dei each summer for the past 20 years.
Michel Bouserrie was born on March 21st 1938 in Sarlat, France, and was ordained as a priest on 23rd May 1964 by Monsignor George Louis in the Cathedral of Saint-Fond in Périgueux. Thanks to a sojourn in the Levant in the late 60s and early 70s, Père Michel discovered the Maronite Christians and the diverse rites of the Middle Eastern Churches. This created in him a strong desire for ecumenism and the collaboration of the Latin and Eastern Churches, to which end he worked for many years, serving on peace commissions and ecumenical councils in Cyprus and elsewhere. For the past twenty years he had offered summer pastoral services to our parish on the island of Kos where he became a much loved figure, eagerly awaited each year. He regarded Greece as his second home - a place where he had very dear friends, and where he was at ease with the language and culture. Masses were offered in all our churches for the repose of Père Michel’s soul and Fr Luke celebrated the Requiem Mass. Père Michel is buried, by his own wish, in the cemetery of the little church on Kos that he loved so well.