Adrien Arcand, the Roman Catholic fascist / Adrien Arcand, le fasciste catholique romain
Foreword
Adrien Arcand’s only possessions were his love for God and his devotion to His Church, the only two subjects of his Last Will and Testament.
David Rajotte of Library and Archives Canada, in his valuable article, “L’État canadien contre le Parti de l’unité nationale et Adrien Arcand”,1 effectively summarizes Arcand’s material wealth as it stood, assessed by the Canadian State upon his internment without trial in 1940. Says Rajotte:
|
Les ennemis du Canada durant la guerre voyaient leurs avoirs saisis et administrés par le Bureau du séquestre des biens ennemis (BSBE).  Aucun interné n’y a échappé. Dans les archives du BSBE, il existe de fait des dossiers sur tous les membres du PUNC qui ont été arrêtés, à l’exception d’Arthur Lebrun, de Cornwall. La plupart avaient peu de possessions et n’ont pas eu à transiger longuement avec le Bureau. Quelques cas ressortent quand même du lot. Albert Abdelahad était un vendeur itinérant et a dû céder tout son inventaire. Le BSBE a recherché les personnes à qui il avait fait crédit et les a fait payer. Hugues Clément était pour sa part copropriétaire d’une compagnie d’assurances fondée par son père . Le BSBE est devenu gestionnaire de ses actions. La situation a été plus simple pour Adrien Arcand. Un comptable a examiné ses possessions. Il a finalement expliqué qu’il n’avait rien de valeur. Dans une entrevue d’après-guerre, Arcand a raconté que sa femme a pu passer à travers le conflit en bonne partie grâce à l’aide d’amis. Elphège Deaudelin, propriétaire d’épiceries, lui fournissait des aliments. Le fils aîné d’Arcand a aussi rejoint l’armée en 1944. On peut donc supposer que la famille du chef fasciste n’a pas vécu la guerre dans la misère la plus totale. Il reste quand même que la vie des proches des internés a été difficile. |
Canada’s enemies during the war saw their assets seized and administered by the Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property (OCEP). No internees escaped this. In the OCEP archives, there are in fact records of all the NUPC members arrested, with the exception of Arthur Lebrun of Cornwall. Most had few possessions and did not have to deal for long with the Office. A few cases stand out. Albert Abdelahad was a traveling salesman and had to yield up his entire inventory. The OCEP looked for those people who had credit with him and made them pay. Hugues Clément was co-owner of an insurance company founded by his father. The OCEP became the manager of his shares. The situation was easier for Adrien Arcand. An accountant3 examined his possessions. He finally explained that there was nothing of value. In a post-war interview, Arcand said that his wife was able to get through the conflict largely thanks to the help of friends. Elphège Deaudelin, a grocery store owner, provided her with food. Arcand’s eldest son also joined the army in 1944. We can therefore assume that the fascist leader’s family did not live out the war in total misery. |
Obviously, those things of real value were not considered by the accountant.
The best presentation of the Last Will and Testament of Adrien Arcand that I can find is the following words, by his own political party, in a short biography of Arcand’s life.2
|
Cet homme racé, d’une énergie débordante, d’une intelligence rare et d’une culture prodigieuse, a servi son idéal jusqu’au bout, malgré sa santé défaillante durant les dernières années, et en dépit de toutes les persécutions et des attentats perpétrés contre sa personne. Les biens terrestres ne l’intéressaient pas, et ce détachement sublime demeure vraiment, selon tous ceux qu’il a si hautement inspirés, la preuve la plus tangible de sa sincérité, en ce monde dépravé par l’amour de l’argent. Proclamer à la face de l’univers ce renoncement extraordinaire est bien le plus grand hommage que ses disciples et amis puissent lui rendre. |
This thoroughbred of a man, overflowing with energy, of rare intelligence and prodigious culture, served his ideal until the end, despite his failing health in the final years, and in spite of all the persecutions and attacks perpetrated against his person. Earthly goods were of no interest to him, and therefore sublime detachment really remains the most tangible proof of his sincerity, according to all those whom he greatly inspired in this world depraved by the love of money. To proclaim in the face of the universe this extraordinary renunciation is really the greatest homage that his disciples and his friends could pay to him. |
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ADRIEN ARCAND
For the First Time, in English
My holograph will
Lanoraie, Berthier County,
September 9, 1960,
Having undergone a serious surgical operation this year and knowing that at my age I will have to appear before my Creator and Judge before long, here are my last wishes:
I surrender to my God, Father-Son-Holy Spirit, my soul and all that He had the generosity to lend me for my earthly life (body, talent, faculties, etc.), submitting myself totally and without reservation to His divine Will-Law, hoping that His infinite Mercy will have forgiven my sins, my shortcomings, my omissions which I deeply repent of mainly because they struck the nails and thorns driven into the flesh of my Savior Jesus;
I want to die in complete and unreserved adherence to all the teachings of my Mother the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church, which I consider infallible and the sole depositary of true Revelation.
Adrien Arcand
Last Will and Testament of Adrien Arcand, 9 September 1960 / Les dernières volontés et testament d’Adrien Arcand, 9 septembre 19604
LES DERNIÈRES VOLONTÉS ET TESTAMENT D’ADRIEN ARCAND
Mon testament olographe
Lanoraie, Comté de Berthier,
9 septembre 1960,
Ayant subi, cette année, une opération chirurgicale grave et sachant qu’à mon âge je devrai avant longtemps comparaître devant mon Créateur et Juge, voici mes dernières volontés :
Je remets à mon Dieu, Père-Fils-Saint-Esprit, mon âme et toutes qu’Il a eu la générosité à me prêter pour ma vie terrestre (corps, talent, facultés, etc.), me soumettant totalement et sans réservés à Sa divine Volonté-Loi, espérant que Son infinit Miséricorde aura pardonné mes péchés, mes manquements, mes omissions dont je me repens profondément surtout parce qu’ils ont frappé les clous et les épines enfoncés dans la chair de mon Sauveur Jésus;
Je veux mourir dans l’adhésion complète et sans réserve à tous les enseignements de ma Mère l’Eglise Catholique, Apostolique Romaine, que je considère infaillible et seule dépositaire de la vraie Révélation.
Adrien Arcand
__________
1. Rajotte, D. (2018). “L’État canadien contre le Parti de l’uniténationale et Adrien Arcand.” Bulletin d’histoire politique, 26(3), 189–211. doi:10.7202/1046920ar The title of the article if given in English would be: “The Canadian State Versus The National Unity Party and Adrien Arcand”.
2. Exclusive English Translation for Adrien Arcand Books, from Section 1 of Adrien Arcand devant le tribunal de l’histoire : Scandale à la société Radio-Canada (Scandal at CBC Radio-Canada) circa 1983 by Arcand’s then still existing National Unity Party of Canada. See our free ebook, A Short Study of the Life of Adrien Arcand, comprising the whole text of Section 1.
3. Nor, just to clarify, was Adrien Arcand an “enemy of Canada”; he was framed and libeled by his government. But I won’t go into that here, I’ll have to save it for the Memorandum and Request eBook that I still owe you. I will however say that it would be fully correct to call Mackenzie-King (“our American Prime Minister” as cartooned in the Goglu) an enemy of Canada, for he planned this country’s end in supporting world government.
4. The source of Arcand’s handwritten Will is Jean Côté’s 1994 book, Adrien Arcand : une grande figure de notre temps, published at Outremont, Quebec, 227 p.: 23 cm.
Down With Hate! 