Profil of Rolph Fernandes

Rolph is a native of Trinidad. He was educated there at St Mary’s College, Port-of-Spain. He migrated to Montreal, Canada in October 1956 and in the spring of 1957 he joined the First Order of St Francis where he pronounced his vows and lived as a friar until 2000. His main ministry for the Franciscan Order was Inter-Faith Dialogue. He was a founding member of  “The Interfaith Council of Montreal” in which he was chosen to represent Montreal’s Council of Churches.

Rolph visited India on two occasions; the first in 1971 when he accompanied the Venerable Namgyal Rimpoche on a retreat visting Dharmsala, where he met His Holiness The Dalai Lama and in Darjeeling and Siikim where he received empowerment from His Holiness The Karmapa. On his return to Canada, he then took residence in a Franciscan retreat fraternity in Lachute where he then lived for 10 years. It was during that period that his community sent him to Europe where he studied and became a teacher of meditation. In 1981 Rolph returned to India and this time lived at Shantivanam ashram in Tamil Nadu, under the guidance of Fr.Bede Griffiths. He attended his first Inter-faith Conference with Fr.Bede in Cochin. Before returning to Canada, Rolph visited many living masters including Ma Ananda Mayi and he also took retreat in a cave in the Himalayas.

It was on his return to Montreal that the Provincial Minister of the Franciscans nominated Rolph to be the official Inter-faith officer for the Order. He was sent to attend the Parliament of World Religions in 1983 and also International conferences in Melbourne, Australia, in Rome, Paris and Sarajeivo. Rolph founded in Montreal, in 1987, “The Peace Prayer in The Spirit of St Francis” and was the main organizer of this event for ten years. In 1993, he was asked to organize the Inter-faith gathering in Montreal, to host the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In September 2001, for the first time in Canadian history, the Colors Parade with the Presentation of the Colors and the inauguration of the year at the Royal Military College in Kingston, was done in an Inter-faith ceremony. This event was requested by the chaplain and prepared and directed by Rolph.

Rolph now lives on his own and has been sharing his experiences in Inter-faith Dialogue and also lecturing on Franciscan spirituality as seen in that light. He lectures on “Yoga and Christianity”, “Yoga and the Spirit of St Francis”, “Meditation”, “Meditation Techniques of Eastern and Western Traditions”. He also gives talks on his research between mystics of both Christian and of the tradition of India...

In 2004, Rolph studied with Rabbi Gelberman at the All faith’s Seminary in N.York and was ordained as an Inter-faith minister. He continues to serve in accompanying pupils in meditation, in AA retreats, in presiding marriages, and in counseling people of various faiths who he meets, to continue on their path in peace. Rolph now works also in Montreal as an Inter-faith minister for the Center of New Thoughts.