Fr. Joe LeClair of Ottawa's Blessed Sacrament church says he will be back to work in September after stepping down because of a gambling addiction.
Hundreds of LeClair supporters surprised him with a farewell party Tuesday night.
They sang and shared stories of how he helped them get through some of the toughest times in their lives. Now, they say, it's time to return the favour.
"We were three people who thought that it was very special to say goodbye to Fr. Joe on a friendly basis," says one organizer Linda King.
King says LeClair deserves a joyful send-off with well wishes.
The room was filled with hundreds of people who say their love for the priest was not wavered by last month's article in the Ottawa Citizen exposing his addiction.
"He came in the middle of the night to bless a baby, give a baptism and give last rights to a baby that was dying," says Kelli Thompson. She is a nurse who was working at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario at the time. She says she was so touched by his words and compassion towards the family she converted to Catholicism.
Thompson was not the only one with personal stories. Almost everyone there had a story of their own.
Some spoke of how LeClair helped bring them closer to God. Marie Riopelle says she has followed him from church to church ever since he was ordained more than 25 years ago.
"You can't express how much we're going to miss him, and all we can do is hope he comes back," says Riopelle.
"(I want to) have a nice retreat in the summer and rejuvenate myself spiritually and do a lot of reflecting," says LeClair. "I want to pastor. I want to bring more people to the Lord."
This party was LeClair's first public address since news broke of his addiction mid-April.
His supporters say he will always be able to come home.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Stefan Keyes
