Roman Catholic Archbishop. A native of Saint Boniface, a French-speaking town in Manitoba, Raymond Roussin receiving his early education under the care of the Oblate Sisters and successively under the Marianist Fathers before eventually joining the Society of Mary himself in Québec. Professing his first vows on August 29, 1957, he studied philosophy at St. Louis University in St. Louis, successively furthering his learning at the University of Fribourg in Fribourg, Switzerland, where he was ordained priest at the Marianist seminary of the city on March 21, 1970 as a member of the Congregation of Marianists. Earning a licentiate in sacred theology, back in Canada he taught English at St. Boniface Diocesan High School where he established Christian Life Communities as a way of encouraging students to live their lives centered on the Gospel. The movement was so effective that students continued meeting after they had graduated, under the banner of 'The Family of Mary' with several groups remaining active to this day. Lecturing across Quebec, Manitoba and the United States, he was elected provincial superior of his Order in 1980, an office which he held for the next six years. Successively joining St. Benedict's Retreat and Conference Centre, north of Winnipeg, holding among others the office of high school rector, in 1991 he was appointed chaplain for St. Paul's College at the University of Manitoba. Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of the now suppressed diocese of Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, on April 10, 1995, with Roussin receiving his episcopal consecration on the following June 15 at Winnipeg's Saint Boniface Cathedral from Bishop Noël Delaquis. Having overseen the dissolution of the Gravelbourg diocese and of the territorial abbey of St. Peter-Muenster and their integration into the archdiocese of Regina and the diocese of Saskatoon, Roussin was transferred to the diocese of Victoria as coadjutor bishop on September 14, 1998, succeeding to the ordinariate following the retirement of Msgr. Remi Joseph De Roo on March 18 of the following year. On January 10, 2004, he was named archbishop of the metropolitan see of Vancouver, British Columbia, succeeding Msgr. Adam Joseph Exner OMI., taking his possession on February 17 of the same year. An avid outdoorsman who relished canoe adventures and cross-country ski treks and who developed deep and lasting friendships, leading him to be welcomed into numerous families as one of their own, Roussin was above all known for his simplicity, gentleness and humour. Known as "Papa Ray" or "Father Uncle Ray" among his friends and their children, many were those who joined him on restful holidays at the remote Marianist cottage on Falcon Lake, Manitoba, where he would cook on the wood-burning stove, read long books in the sun on the deck, gaining thus a deep tan, piloting boatloads of visitors and groceries back and forth to the marina. Often saying mass at the dining room table, his simple but powerful homilies seldom extended more than six or seven minutes, a pattern that was sometimes observed even after he became bishop. A man who loved opera, ballet, live theater and every so often a good drink of single malt Scotch, Roussin traveled extensively before he was ordained bishop, visiting many countries as he provided simultaneous translation during Marianist conferences. Active within the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), he served as member of the Episcopal Commission for Christian Education (French Sector), the Episcopal Commission for Liturgy (English Sector), the Permanent Council and also as CCCB liaison bishop with Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry. Suffering from a severe and irreversible clinical depression, Archbishop Roussin's name made news worldwide after waging a public battle with depression, leading Pope Benedict XVI, on January 2, 2009, to accept his request for early retirement from the pastoral government of his see after his health no longer allowed him to render services appropriately. Moving to Winnipeg, his deteriorating health was eventually diagnosed as Parkinson's disease, leading to his death in 2015 after spending his last years visiting parishes, schools and hospital in the area. The fact that Archbishop Roussin went out publicly about his battle with depression led some to believe that he hurt the Church's reputation and reduced himself to a weak being, but the consideration that it was being presented to the public by a high ranking prelate, who showed special efforts from his end to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and advance the cause of mental health, soon led to a particular appreciation by many, such that he received the Canadian Mental Health Association's Mental Health Voices Award in 2006.