When it comes to serving people, the golden rule is you have to listen more than you speak.

So believes Father Paul Voisin, the Rector at St Theresa’s Cathedral.

The 65-year-old has been a crucial part of the ministry at Mount Saint Agnes Academy since arriving on the island eight years ago. Each Thursday he visits young people in the school’s early learning programme up to P5; his aim is not to beat them over the head with talk of religion, but rather to show them the principles of the faith through how he lives.

“It’s not ‘Here comes Father Paul, he’s going to talk about Jesus’,” he said.

“I’m very involved at MSA by leading some of the masses for the children, sitting on the school’s board and helping out with two committees as well. Most importantly I just try to be there as a presence. What I’ve found is children don’t always remember what you said, but they do remember that you took the time out to listen.

“They like to talk about their dog or vacation or their tree house, but no matter what the subject they want to feel heard and understood. That’s what is really important.”

Father Paul knew from an early age he wanted to devote his life to the church.

Growing up in Waterloo, Ontario, the parish priest at that time was a very warm, grandfather-like figure who knew everyone in the area by name.

“It was a small school in a small parish, but our priest really cared for the people,” Father Paul recalled.

By 18, he decided to follow a similar path — and after completing seminary school, he went on to work as director of Saint Andrew’s, a Catholic School in Bolivia.

“Five of the 13 years I was in Bolivia I was director of that school. Part of my success there was because I’m a priest at heart and people felt cared about.

“Again, I listened to them, not just talked. People responded well. I have visited six times in the 20 years since I left there and every time I bump into old students and their parents they say ‘when you were here, those were the golden days’. Students felt they were listened to and teachers felt supported.”

He left the South American country to return to Canada to be closer to his family in the late 90s. In 2008 he accepted the invitation to come to Bermuda and pastor St Patrick’s Parish in Smith’s, before being transferred to St Theresa’s three years later.

He’s enjoyed seeing young people make the connection that religion is more than just a subject you study; it’s part of how you live and treat others outside the classroom as well.

“I myself went through Catholic grade school, high school, university and seminary and I think the difference between a Catholic school is the freedom it gives teachers.

“While in a history class, teachers can take advantage if something comes up in the curriculum about ethics or morality based on something that happened in a conflict or war and because it’s a faith-based education you have a freedom to talk about it in a faith context. A teacher can say ‘These are the gospel values and what Jesus taught us is to be respectful and to see other people through the eyes of God.

“We may consider someone to be a loser or not particularly attractive, but God sees them as precious, loved and beautiful.”

Approximately a third of students at MSA come from non-Catholic backgrounds, but the children are taught to be respectful of one another no matter what their beliefs.

“Students here have gone on to make big contributions to life in Bermuda, not only in the church, but civil society, government, healthcare and business and all the areas of life,” Father Paul said.

“We hope our graduates go out and not only make a difference in their professions, but bring those gospel values to whatever they dedicate themselves to — whether they are working in construction or the CEO of a company, that somehow their values of Christ are always evident when they deal with other people and difficult situations.”

Father Paul will be speaking tomorrow morning at a special service at St Theresa’s in honour of Catholic Schools Week, starting at 11.30am.

For more information visit: www.sttheresascathedral.com