The Chancellor’s Office was informed of the passing of Reverend Roger Bisson, M. Afr., 94, a member of the Missionaries of Africa, on Monday, September 27, 2021, at Bon Secours Maria Manor, St. Petersburg.

Father Bisson was a native of New Hampshire.  He attended high school and college in Worcester, MA, and completed his seminary formation with the Missionaries of Africa in Alexandria Bay, NY.  He was ordained to the priesthood for the order on January 29, 1955, in Ottawa, Ontario.  From 1955 to 1961, Father Bisson served on the faculty of the Missionaries of Africa Seminary, in Franklin, PA.   For the next 23 years, he worked as the Director of the Catholic Relief Services programs in Burkina Faso, Zaire, Benin, and Madagascar.

In early 2004, Father Bisson was assigned to the Missionaries of Africa Residence, in St. Petersburg, where he lived in retirement until he was transferred to Bon Secours Maria Manor in recent months.  During his time in our diocese, he provided assistance to the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, St. Petersburg, Most Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Gulfport, and at the Our Lady of Divine Providence House of Prayer, Clearwater.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, October 12, 2021, 9:30 a.m., at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, 5815 5th Avenue N., St. Petersburg.  Clergy wishing to vest should bring an alb and white stole.  The Mass will also be livestreamed on the parish website: https://stjudesp.org/livestream-mass/.   Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery, 5233 118th Ave. N., Clearwater.

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the Missionaries of Africa, 5757 7th Avenue N., St. Petersburg, FL 33710.  Please remember Father Bisson’s surviving family members and confreres in your kind thoughts and prayers.  

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“Well done, good and faithful servant!
Come and share your master’s happiness!”