Father Pierre Rigaud

Hall of Fame

Pierre Rigaud was born in Mauves-Sur-Loire, France in 1920. Twenty years later he joined the oblate Fathers in Pontman, France, and by 1946 he had become a Roman Catholic priest. Father Rigaud moved to Canada and was posted first in Burwash Landing, then Fort Nelson, BC and back to the Yukon to Ross River and finally settling in Faro.

Father Rigaud was always an integral part of each community. While in Ross River, he needed a dog team to travel to parishioners and became very interested in dog mushing. In 1962 he entered his team in the Sourdough Rendezvous competition and placed second. He faced the same challenge the next year and captured gold.

Upon his arrival in Faro in 1969, Father spent many hours supervising and assisting children in sports activities. He volunteered much of his spare time; his firmness and unrelenting fairness made him a favourite with children and adults alike. There was always keen interest to participate in any activity led by Father Rigaud. In recognition of his contributions to the community outside of church, residents organized the Father Rigaud Peewee Hockey Tournament in his honour. It became the annual highlight of the hockey season for the Faro community. Faro families on the trails and on the ice still revel in his legacy.