January 7, 2026

By Darcy Fargo
Editor

“He was a very good priest. He wanted to help people. That’s what he did, and that’s what he liked. It’s hard to pick out one thing that stood out about him except he was good at loving people and loving God.”

Beverly Hennigan of Watertown used those words to describe Father Pierre Aubin, a Missionary of the Sacred Heart who served parishes in Jefferson County for many years.

Father Aubin died December 30 at Sacred Heart Villa in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. He was 91.

Hennigan said she and her family first became acquainted with Father Aubin decades ago, when the priest was serving in Watertown.

“We went to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Watertown, and that’s where we met him,” she said. “My children were small then. It grew from there. I became a religious education teacher and then principal of the (religious education) classes.”

Father Aubin then asked Hennigan to serve as secretary for the Sacred Heart Foundation, an entity he founded, and as his personal secretary.

“He asked me if I would do it part-time, just a few hours each week, and that was alright,” she said. “I started being his full-time secretary when he went to Evans Mills as pastor, and I was with him when he went to Chaumont and then to Cape Vincent. He really wanted to go to Cape Vincent. He wanted to be near the water.”

Hennigan said she and Father Aubin remained colleagues and friends for more than 50 years.

Hennigan said her friend treasured his vocation as a priest.

“He loved being a Missionary of the Sacred Heart,” she said. “He was a priest, and that was his main focus. He did whatever he could do to help others.”

That desire to help others pushed him to create the Sacred Heart Foundation, which helps support men entering the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart to follow God’s call to serve as priest or consecrated religious, and Mission Project Service, an entity that aids missionary clergy, religious and lay people in finding funding to support their mission projects.

“He was one of those people who could ask for money and could make things happen,” Hennigan said. “But he wouldn’t ask for anything unless it was needed.”

Even when he wasn’t directly helping others, Hennigan said Father Aubin shared his love of God and God’s people.

“He always treated people like they were his friend, even if he didn’t know them,” Hennigan said. “He was a very good friend to me and my family.”

Funeral Mass is January 8

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated for Father Pierre Aubin, a Missionary of the Sacred Heart, at 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 8, at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Watertown.

Calling hours will be held at the church on January 7 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Burial in an MSC plot at Calvary Cemetery, Watertown will be held in the spring.

Father Aubin was born in Quebec, Canada, on July 27, 1934, to Achille Aubin and Marguerite Montreuil. He graduated from the local school of St-Antoine de Tilly in 1947. In that year, he entered the Ecole Apostolique du Sacre-Coeur in Beauport, Quebec, the minor seminary of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Canada. In 1951, Father Aubin entered the novitiate of the order in Waterloo, Quebec, making first profession of vows in 1952. He then continued his studies toward the priesthood at St. Joseph Apostolic School, Watertown, graduating in 1955. In that same year, he made perpetual profession of vows in Quebec City, Quebec.

Father Aubin was ordained a priest in St-Antoine de Tilly, Quebec, on June 22, 1958. From 1955 to 1965, he was engaged in specialized studies on the university and college level. He was awarded a B.A. degree by Laval University, Quebec City, in 1955; from Ottawa University, Ottawa, Ontario, he received an S.T.B. in 1957, an S.T.L. in 1959, and a B.Ed. in 1960. From 1961-62, he attended LeMoyne College, Syracuse, and continued studies at Fordham University, in New York City, receiving an M.A. in mathematics in 1965.

His first appointments overlapped his studies. From 1960-61, he served as teacher and prefect at the MSC seminary in Watertown. From 1963-66, he was also on the faculty of Immaculate Heart High School in Watertown. He was appointed superior of the Watertown MSC community from 1966-72. From 1968-72, he also served as vocation director and from 1968-71, as mission procurator. He was (Canadian) provincial councilor and president of the Northeast Province Corporation, from 1966-70. In 1968, he was appointed director of the MSC summer camp, Cape Vincent, and in 1971, he began a term as parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Watertown. Since 1967, Father Aubin has been provincial superior representative on the board of directors of the Sacred Heart Foundation, which he founded and since 1977, project service director of the province.

He was also active in the Knights of Columbus in Watertown, Council 259, where he was chaplain from 1981-84. In addition, he was auxiliary chaplain at Dry Hill Air Force Station from 1978-80. He was assigned as pastor of St. Mary’s Parish, Evans Mills, and St. Theresa of Avila Parish, Theresa, in 1986-1999. In June of 1999, he was appointed pastor of The Church of All Saints in Chaumont. In June of 2002, in addition to his duties as pastor of All Saints, Father Aubin was also appointed pastor of St. Vincent of Paul in Cape Vincent and Saint Vincent de Paul in Rosiere.

He has been director of Mission Project Service in New York City since 1979. From 1981-87, Father Aubin was a member of the board of trustees of Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois. From 1994 to 2000, he was superior of the Watertown community. With co-author, Rev. George Cotter, MM, he has written two books: Agencies for Project Assistance, which was first published in 1982 and is now (1991) in fourth edition, and Divided Loyalties, which was published in 1983.

His special interests include the Sacred Heart Foundation and sports, especially hockey, golf, fishing and hunting, and work at camp. Father Aubin was fluent in Fathernch and English. In 2018, Father Aubin became a senior associate in the parish of St. Vincent of Paul, with residence in Chaumont.

Later, in 2022, he moved to Sacred Heart Villa in Center Valley, Pennsylvania where he had knee replacement surgery. He lived in retirement there until he died peacefully in his chair on December 30, 2025, around 9:30 p.m.

He is survived by his brother, Camille Aubin; two sisters, Gabrielle Aubin and Lucette Aubin; and many nieces and nephews. Father Aubin was predeceased by his parents; two brothers, Robert and Andre; and three sisters, Jeanne Aubin, Madeleine Lafleur, and Suzanne Perrault.

Local arrangements are entrusted with Cummings Funeral Service, Inc., Watertown, and online condolences to his family, his MSC family and friends may be posted at www.cummingsfuneral.com.