TORONTO - The deacon other Toronto deacons relied on for years has passed away. Deacon Bert Cambre died peacefully, surrounded by his family at Burlington's Joseph Brant Hospital March 29.

"He was an icon of Christ the servant, especially when it came to reaching out to try to gather the marginalized," said Stephen Pitre, Toronto's co-ordinator of diaconal ministry.

Deacon Cambre grew the office for deacons at the archdiocese of Toronto in 2000 and ran it for 10 years. He was a careful steward of the community of deacons and always attentive to the deacons' wives and widows.