From Canada comes this remarkable story of a permanent deacon being ordained to the priesthood — but like so many, his journey was unique:

Growing up on a West Quebec farm in the 1930s, Gerard Lafreniere’s dream came to him as he trudged the two-mile walk to church on Sundays — one day, he would become a priest.

That day has come, and probably not a moment too soon.

Tomorrow night, the 80-year-old Lafreniere will be ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood.

The road leading the Orleans man to his childhood dream has had its detours — including nearly 50 years of marriage, a son and a 25-year career as an insurance broker.

“The good Lord, after 64 years, got me back by the neck,” said Lafreniere of fulfilling his boyhood dream.

For the past 30 years, Lafreniere has been a permanent deacon at Saint-Joseph Parish in Orleans, assisting with the parish priest with the liturgy and administration.

It was only after the death of his wife Gisele Viau in 2007 that friends, including some priests, encouraged him to consider applying for the priesthood.

“I said no way, it’s impossible. Look at my age,” he recalls. “You have to retire at 75 and I’m coming in when I’m 80? It’s nonsense.”

Last summer, Lafreniere applied, expecting Archbishop Terrence Prendergast to turn down the octogenarian, who has worked with 27 priests in his three decades as a deacon.

“I figured I had nothing to lose. If he says no, he says no and that’s it. But he said yes,” said Lafreniere of the archbishop’s approval.

As one of seven children growing up with his parents on a farm in Plaisance, Que., Lafreniere figures he was “about nine or 10” when he told his mother that he wanted to be a priest.

The family attended Mass “constantly, even during the week,” recalls Lafreniere.

He attended a junior seminary in Ottawa, but was forced to leave when he was 14. Lafreniere said he had a mental breakdown from the pressure he put on himself to succeed.

Lafreniere went on to marry his wife Gisele and work in the insurance business for 25 years. The couple had a son, Georges, 45, who now lives with his father.

The Archdiocese of Ottawa has ordained nine men to the priesthood since 2000. This year, the archdiocese will ordain Lafreniere — who will be appointed assistant pastor at the francophone Orleans church where he’s served for three decades — and a man in his 30s, who is now finishing his studies at a Toronto seminary.

At his ordination, Lafreniere will receive the ecclesiatic powers to celebrate the Eucharist and other church sacraments.

He will also promise obedience to his bishop and “remain a widower,” a variation on the traditional celibacy promise.

Blessings and best wishes to Fr. Lafreniere. Ad multos annos!

PHOTO: Gerard Lafreniere, 80, stands in Saint-Joseph Parish in Orleans, Ont., Monday, March 23, 2009. Photo by Darren Brown/Sun Media.