New piece at Base Borden church has historical ties to local vets, RCAF

A church on CFB Borden has a new dedication to the RCAF in the form of a stained-glass window, which has strong ties to faith, family, and service.

A church on Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden has a new dedication to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in the form of a stained-glass window, which has strong ties to faith, family, and service.

For any other church, the piece at Saint Joseph’s Chapel on Dieppe Road would simply blend in with others.

But it means a lot more to Ret. Maj. Jean Maurice Pigeon, a veteran and Barrie resident who comes from a family with plenty of ties to the RCAF.

His father, Cpl. Joseph Alban Marcel Pigeon, CD, served in the RCAF and was stationed at CFB Borden until his death in 1971.

“This is the church that we worshipped in as a family,” said Jean Maurice Pigeon. “I have siblings that were regular forces, some were reservists, some were involved in the cadet movement. But all of us served in the RCAF in some capacity or another.”

With the RCAF celebrating its 100th anniversary last year, Pigeon wanted to honour his parents and those who served at Base Borden, which is the birthplace of the RCAF.

“We looked around and we found a stained-glass window that had been salvaged from a church in Ontario,” recalled Pigeon.

The piece portrays Saint John the Evangelist and numerous attributions to the RCAF, including its emblem and a carved eagle at the top.

It was produced by a 150-plus-year-old stained-glass manufacturer and Pigeon found it at the Stonehouse of Campbellville.

He then had it reframed by Huronia Art Glass in Barrie.

“What we did is just shored it up on the outside edges,” said Gordon Hawthorne, owner of Huronia Art Glass. “We recemented some pieces that were a little loose and gave it a good cleaning and I gave it back to him in better shape than it came.”

The piece was installed in the church in late August and dedicated by CFB Borden on August 31st.

“We are very moved and very privileged to have such a nice Pigeon family dedicate and donate this glass window to us,” said Lt.-Col. Karyne Brown from Base Borden.

“From the Roman Catholic perspective, we believe the stained-glass window is The Bible in colour,” added Maj. Patrick Ampani. “It speaks to everyone generation upon generation.”

The piece is on display in Saint Joseph’s Chapel for the 80 to 100 servicepeople, veterans and their families who attend mass services each week.