From pupil to pulpit - familiar name returns to the Catholic church

UNITY – A familiar name has been welcomed back by the congregation of the St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church to serve as priest, Father Matthew Ramsay.

Ramsay was born in Humboldt to parents Jim and Melanie. In the early 1980’s, the Ramsay family moved to Unity as Jim was hired as the health administrator when Fr. Matthew was only two years old. Ramsay attended Kindergarten at St. Peter’s School before the family moved away.

Growing up, Ramsay was not sure what he wanted to do after he graduated high school. He attended a retreat outside of Edmonton when he was in Grade 12 where a priest spoke to the teens about trying to listen for God’s will in their life along with a prayer.

“I said the prayer everyday just to see what happened. It was January or February of that year I got the answer, and it was not at all what I was looking for. I kept on praying and the urge just kept getting stronger. I spent about five years trying to do other things but eventually decided to pursue the life of a priest and went to the seminary,” said Ramsay.

He knew priesthood was not for everyone, as he would not only learn the skills and knowledge to be a priest. As Ramsay continued his education in the seminary, he knew he was where he needed to be.

“The more I got to know the priesthood, I got to know myself more as well,” he added.

Since being ordained, Ramsay preached at St. Philip Neri Parish in Saskatoon, the Kerrobert Catholic Church for three years and St. Anne’s Parish of Saskatoon before being assigned to Unity.

For Ramsay, the transition has gone quite smoothly, and he is excited to be back in the community.

“I have really good memories of this town as a kid. I remembered the pool, the school, the church, the post office and the library,” he said.

Although leaving St. Anne’s Parish after nine years would be hard, Ramsay is excited for the change.

“I’m getting to know the people and seeing who and what are here and what we can do together and to see where this leads us,” said Ramsay.

Prior to making the move between Saskatoon and Unity, the priest was in South Africa on a mission with St. Anne’s Parish.

“Just before I moved to St. Anne’s, they had created a relationship with the Church of Sacred Heart Cathedral in the city of Zomba in the country of Malawi. They called themselves sister parishes and some of our parishioners have travelled there and got to know the community. This last trip was the sixth time I have gone down there in the past nine years,” said Ramsay.

St. Anne’s Parish raises money prior to returning to the South African community, where the monies have been used to improve the community. A home was built that could be rented out, generating an income for the community, as well as a couple of churches. On this last excursion, Ramsay said a blind, elderly woman was the recipient of an indoor washroom in her home.

“We work alongside them, and we were a part of local weddings, funerals and baptisms. This last trip was unique as half of the group were youth under 18, giving us time to participate in the youth group the church in Malawi had. The kids did some hikes and prayed together,” said Ramsay.

The experience Fr. Matthew has had in South Africa is something he hopes to continue, possibly with parishioners from Unity.

With the excitement of moving, Ramsay said he will miss having his family close by.

“I have two sisters who live in Saskatoon and now that I am in Unity, I am two hours further away from my parents,” he added.

Although Fr. Greg’s presence may be missed, he did leave some words of advice for the new priest.

“He did say spend time in the school and he told me ‘I hope you know that Unity is a gem’,” said Ramsay.

Fr. Matthew is excited to work not only in Unity but to venture to Tramping Lake and Reward for services there as well.

“There are some beautiful treasures in terms of architecture of the old country churches. It is really beautiful out here, so I’m glad to be a part of that for a few years,” he added.