Father Emile E. Dumas, MM

Born: June 11, 1940
Ordained: June 10, 1967
Died: February 26, 2025

Father Emile E. Dumas died on February 26, 2025 in the Skilled Nursing Unit at Maryknoll, New York. He was 84 years old and a Maryknoll priest for 57 years.

Emile Edmond Dumas was born on June 11, 1940 in Peabody, Massachusetts, son of Joseph A. and Blanche A. Tetrault Dumas. He was the youngest of eight children. He attended St. John’s Parochial School in Peabody, Massachusetts and graduated from St. Mary’s Boys High School in June of 1958. He entered Maryknoll College, Glen Ellyn, Illinois on September 4, 1958 and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1962. During the summer of 1965 he attended the Institute of Linguistics at Oklahoma University, Norman, Oklahoma. He received his Bachelor of Divinity degree in June 1966 and was ordained a priest on June 10, 1967 at Maryknoll Seminary, New York.

After ordination, Father Dumas was assigned to the Maryknoll Mission Region in Japan. Upon completion of two years of language and cultural studies in Tokyo, he assumed the duties of assistant pastor of a parish in Matsuzaka in the Diocese of Kyoto. While on home leave in 1971, Father Dumas spent a few months at Nativity of the Blessed Mother Church in Flagstaff, Arizona and at St. Catherine’s Parish in Phoenix, Arizona. He returned to Japan in July of 1972 and in October was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in the Diocese of Sapporo. Along with his pastoral work, Father Dumas taught English and Religion in a local Catholic High School and engaged in youth work in the public high school.

In March 1976, Father Dumas began work with the Marianist Fathers and Brothers at their new Kosei High School in Sapporo, where he served as dormitory supervisor and high school teacher. In July 1977, he was recalled to the United States and assigned to the Development Department. He served first in the San Francisco Development House, and then in the Los Angeles Development House.

Father Dumas returned to the Japan Region in November 1980 and was assigned as pastor of Kinugasa Parish in Kyoto. In October 1983, he was appointed Regional Superior of the Japan Mission Region, and was reelected for a second three-year term in 1986. He attended the 1984 General Chapter at Maryknoll, New York.

After his second term as Regional Superior concluded in September 1989, Father Dumas returned to the United States for sabbatical studies. He received a Master of Pastoral Studies degree from Loyola University of Chicago in January 1991. He then served as Vocation Minister, residing at the Maryknoll Residence in Chicago, Illinois until November 1995.

From December 1995 until September 1999, Father Dumas served in the Office of Society Personnel (OSP) at Maryknoll, New York. Following his term on the OSP staff, he lived for several months in Lourdes, France.

Father Dumas was assigned to the Russia Unit in October 2000. After language studies in Irkutsk, he volunteered to work with parishioners of Assumption of Mary Church on Sakhalin Island, Siberia, and served the Russian Catholic Faith Community. In February 2005, he was assigned to the Japan Region, where he served as Pastor of Maruyama Catholic Church in Sapporo as well as Diocesan Pre-Cana Chaplain. He was elected by the Japan Local Group to attend the Twelfth General Chapter in 2008 as an Official Delegate from the Asia Region.

Father Dumas returned to Maryknoll, New York in June 2010 when he was assigned to the U.S. Region and appointed Pastoral Care Coordinator of Mission St. Teresa’s. He was appointed Superior of the Retirement Community (now Senior Missioner Community) in March 2012, and again in March 2015 for a second three-year term. Father Dumas participated in the Thirteenth General Chapter at Maryknoll, New York in 2014 as Superior of the Retirement Community. In April 2015, he was assigned to Senior Missioner Status. He continued to reside at the Society Center in Maryknoll, New York and was assigned to the Senior Missioner Community in November 2022.

Father Dumas reflected that whether in Japan, Russia or his many and varied assignments in the USA, “journeying with people as a missionary disciple of Jesus was a source of much joy and excitement. No matter their ethnic, religious or cultural background, all who live in the global village share in the image and likeness of God. The overseas missionary journey reveals loudly and clearly that we all share a common relationship with God, the Source of all Life and Love.”

Father Dumas is survived by his nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sisters, Emma Harank, Mary Hunt, Delia Emerson and Yvonne Bulger, and his brothers, Paul, William and Charles Dumas.

A Memorial Mass was concelebrated in the Queen of Apostles Chapel on March 4, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. Father Paul Duffy was the Celebrant and homilist. Father James Jackson read the biography and Father William McIntire read the Oath.