Collection C031 - Collection Gilles Baril

Gilles Baril was born on 12 June 1955 in Asbestos to Thérèse Gagnon and Alfred Baril. From a young age, Gilles and his family believed he was destined for a place in the Catholic Church as a priest. In pursuit of this, he studied theology at Université de Shebrooke from 1974 to 1977, which was followed by a three-year pastoral internship in the parish of Saint-Isaac-Jogues in Asbestos. Gilles was ordained in 1980 and his first placement was as the vicar the Précieux-Sang parish in Sherbrooke. Following this, he became the priest for La Patrie, Piopolis, and Chartierville while also the vicar at Val-Racine, Notre-Dame des Bois, and Woburn from 1986 to 1996. In 1996 he was appointed as the priest in Ascot Corner, until his appointment to the parishes of the Unité-des-Saints-Apôtres of Coaticook (consisting of Saint-Jean-l’Évangéliste, Saint-Marc, Saint-Emond, Saint-Matthieu in Dixville, Saint-Wilfred in Kingscroft, Saint-Herménégilde, Saint-Henri in East Hereford, and Saint-Luc in Barnston, ) in 1998. During his life as a priest, Gilles has been involved in the establishment of specialized groups to respond to particular needs in the community, such as “Les Main Ouvertes,” which was directed towards single persons, and has authored a number of books. He has also been involved with the Mouvement des Cursillos, becoming the head of the organization in 2012.