Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
- Bishop George Edward Marskell, SFM
- Marskell, Jorge
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Born on November 8, 1935, in Hamilton to working-class parents, he was raised and educated in the Catholic faith. After graduation from high school, he became a priest and missionary with the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society and in 1961 was assigned to serve in Brazil.
Within three years of his arrival in Amazonas, George became fluent in Portuguese and began to understand as well the culture and ways of the cabocolo – the peasant farmers and fishers of the interior of Brazil. Later, as their bishop, he became a strong voice for their rights, opposing those who would drive them off their lands or overfish the resources of the Amazon river. In 1975 the bishops of Brazil formed a Land Pastoral Commission which received the Right to Livelihood Award, often called the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize, in 1991. As National Vice-President of the commission, Bishop George traveled to Stockholm, Sweden, to receive this honour.
Bishop George Marskell passed away on July 2, 1998 in the city of Itacoatiara, Amazonas, Brazil. He chose to return to Brazil and not undertake chemotherapy after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer while in Canada. In 1984 he had written in his will, “I want to be buried in the cemetery amongst the people I was called by God, in His love, to serve.” As he wished, he was laid to rest in the cathedral cemetery, in a simple crypt prepared by the people.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Related entity
Identifier of related entity
Category of relationship
Dates of relationship
Description of relationship
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Created by F Rousselle, 10 Dec 2024.
Revised by F Rousselle June 27, 2025.
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Adapted from the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society Book of Life