On Jan. 11 Fr. Profit passed away at 58 in Prince Edward Island, his home province, after battling non-hodgkin's lymphoma for nearly three years.
“Jim was a tall, charming man who was appreciated by the Jesuits he lived with and by many others,” said Fr. Roger Yaworski, executive director of the Ignatius Jesuit Centre in Guelph, Ont. “His faith-filled struggle against cancer, which he believed was related to the illness of the Earth itself, has been a source of inspiration for many. He never gave up hope for himself or for the Earth.”
Yaworski first met Fr. Profit in 1980 while serving as his novice director as the Prince Edward Islander formally began the journey towards priesthood.
“It is a little bit like a parent losing a child, the order has been reversed,” said Yaworski, who took over as executive director once Fr. Profit became too ill.
Immediately after his ordination in 1991, Fr. Profit travelled to Jamaica where he served as pastor of St. Theresa's Church in Annotto Bay followed by several years of ministering to the aboriginal community on Manitoulin Island, Ont., before returning to Guelph in 1999.
And while Fr. Profit's passing is cause for sadness, it does come as a relief to those who watched him suffer.
“Everyone has a sense of relief and a sense of peace,” said Lisa Calzonetti, director of operations for the Ignatius Jesuit Centre. “There is a sombre feeling right now at the centre but I think that will decrease in terms of there being a little more levity as we share stories. I feel like celebrating because he was so extraordinary and I watched him go through his pain and that was not who he was.”
He was a man dedicated to social and ecological justice.
“The whole area of social justice was certainly an area of focus but he certainly later in life moved on much more to the ecological issues connected with social justice issues,” said Yaworski.
When Fr. Profit wasn't trying to preserve the world he was actively trying to beautify it through his gardening. He also spearheaded the Old Growth Forest, 40 hectares of land which the Jesuits are attempting to return to its original unharvested state over the next 500 years. A trail within this forest is to be named in his honour.
And while gardening brought great joy to Fr. Profit's busy life, Calzonetti said what truly made the man who always wore a smile happy was seeing results.
“I don't think I ever say him unhappy (but) he was the happiest when he saw the fruits of his labour coming to some sort of fruition,” she said.
A funeral was to be held in Summerside, P.E.I., on Jan.14 before Profit's body returned to Guelph where two visitations were to be held at Holy Rosary parish on Jan. 19 followed by a burial on Jan. 20 in the Ignatius Jesuit Centre's cemetery.