Venerable William Gagnon, O.H. was born on May 16, 1905, in Dover, New Hampshire as the third of twelve children. Intrigued by a newspaper column about St. John of God and the community of brothers he founded to care for the sick all over the world, Gagnon entered the Hospitallers order and took his vows in Montreal in 1935. Brother William then spent the first 20 years of his vocation directing schools as well as hospitals in Montreal and Quebec City as well as serving as Provincial Superior at the first Chapter of the Canadian Province in Montreal before following the dream that originally drew him to the Hospitallers, to serve overseas as a missionary.
 
In 1952 Brother William was assigned to be the prior of his order’s new foundation and hospital in Vietnam in Bui-Chu (North Vietnam). The Hospital du Sacre-Coeur de Bui-Chu and its dispensary served victims of war, ranging from children suffering malnutrition to adults wounded by the fighting. As refugees of war flocked to the hospital, Brother William relied on his deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as he was a person of deep reflection and prayer. These devotions helped steady him as he and his brothers cared for everyone who came through their doors. On occasion they would have to leave the mission for their own safety since they cared for soldiers on both sides of the conflict and that sometimes put them in harm’s way. During his first year in Bui-Chu a bomb fell on the hospital’s roof although, fortunately, nobody was injured. Eventually, the Brothers were forced Southward to continue to care for the refugees of the Vietnam conflict.
 
As the stream of refugees moved from the South out of North Vietnam, the Brothers relocated to Bien-Hoa near Saigon which became the Vietnamese province of the Brothers Hospitallers. Here, Brother William continued his leadership work in the hospital but also became the novice master, training those seeking a vocation with the Brothers in Vietnam. A true servant leader, beside his administrative work and his efforts with the novices, Brother William had a hand in every task of the mission — general contractor, fundraiser, social worker, nurse, and spiritual leader.
 
Brother Gagnon served his community in Vietnam until dying of heart failure in Saigon in 1972. Pope Francis recognized his heroic virtues and proclaimed him Venerable on December 14, 2015.