Jubilarian – Fr. Tim Uniac, CR
- 40th Anniversary of Ordination: June 27, 2026
This year the Congregation of the Resurrection in Canada is blessed to be celebrating two Jubilarians! Today we would like to share a reflection by Fr. Tim Uniac, CR, who is celebrating 40 years of priestly ordination.
As I reflect upon forty years of priesthood I find myself asking: How was this possible? What sustained and nourished me over these past forty years to bring me to this moment of celebration? There are a number of things, events, and people that helped make forty years possible, all of which hold a special place in my memory and heart, however, one thing which keeps coming to my mind is Religious Life. It has been my life as a consecrated religious in the Congregation of the Resurrection that has made forty years of priesthood possible. It is this that I celebrate most, it is this that has sustained and nourished my priesthood.
What I am most proud of is the pride of place I give to Religious Life, to my community, I am proud to be a vowed Resurrectionist and to be of service to my community – I am in truth a Resurrectionist first, and priest second. This would explain why twenty-six years of my priesthood has been spent in full-time service and ministry to my community, not in priestly pastoral/parish ministry (parish ministry was all I wanted to do as a priest). My engagement in vocation recruitment, and as Youth Director of the CYO, allowed me to go forth and brag about my community as I invited others to join or to engage more fully in their faith lives. My engagement in community leadership at both the local level and international level in Rome allowed me to share and celebrate community with my brother Resurrectionists from around the world. I find myself shocked at the number of various internal committees of the Congregation, and external Boards I have served upon as a representative of the community, over my journey of forty years – all of which made me proud to be a Resurrectionist.
While I have identified Religious Life as the core element of my priesthood, my pastoral ministry has been a sustaining and nourishing force as well. Serving in parishes in Brantford, Elmira, Waterloo, Kitchener, Hamilton, and Ruskin, Florida have been opportunities for me to exercise my pastoral ministry and to enter the lives of some amazing people. It has a been a privilege to enter deeply into the lives of people at both their happiest and their saddest moments, to walk spiritually with such committed and active people of faith, to stand back and watch people share and live their faith in ways I could not do, to become true friends with so many – pastoral/parish ministry made all of this possible. This too has sustained me and nourished me for these forty years.
My family and close friends have been instrumental in my forty years of priesthood. I mention them last not because they are the least important, no! I mention them last so that they will be the freshest on your mind as you too ask what has sustained and nourished me. My family and friends have been true examples of commitment and dedication, not just to me, but also to their own vocational lives of faith. My parents who recently celebrated 70 years of marriage model for me what it means to be dedicated to your vocation, they have been the sustaining and nourishing force behind my priesthood.
