Father James H. Burnie, C.S.Sp., former parochial vicar and pastor of Our Lady of the Valley, Hemet, and a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, died peacefully at Peters Township Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation on August 3. He was 92 years old.
Fr. Burnie was born November 23, 1930, in Orillia, Ontario Canada. He professed his vows as a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit on August 1, 1980, at the Holy Ghost Novitiate in Farnham, Quebec and was ordained to the Priesthood on February 11, 1984, at Highland Creek in Toronto.
Before he was ordained, Fr. Burnie worked for the Canadian National Railway. He became involved in helping the homeless in Toronto which led to his late-in-life vocation. Fr. Burnie’s first assignment after ordination in 1984 was as a member of the Trans Canadian province where he served as Vocation Director in Toronto for four years. In 1988, he was appointed to the Mission of Altamira in Mexico. Upon his return from Mexico, he was assigned to the U.S. Province (then Western Province) to minister in the Spiritan Renewal Centre in New Braunfels, TX. In 1996, he was appointed to Our Lady of the Valley in Hemet and served as parochial vicar and then as pastor for five years. In 2002, he was assigned to St. George Church in St. George, UT and then was asked to serve at St. Francis Xavier Church in Kearns, UT in 2003. A year later, he was appointed to St. Mary’s Church in Hattieville, AR. He was asked in September of 2006 to become Superior at the Spiritan Retirement Home in Bethel Park PA. After a brief stay, he returned to St. Mary’s and ministered there faithfully until 2023. In all his ministries, he was known for his dedication and positive influence on those he served.