Newsletter for Alumni of The Abbey School Mt. St. Benedict , Trinidad and Tobago
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Dear Friends,
I am very happy today as yesterday my son Ladislao, got married. I am enclosing a photo of the couple.
It has been sometime that I wanted to sending you this photo and finally I have the names of most of the clergy in the photo, taken in the great hall at the back of the Monastery. I know that most of you never met some of the clergy in the photo, but it is a good photo with lots of people.As you can imagine, there was always someone anywhere we went. Hope that one day at least half as many gather for a photo session.
So here are the names:
Fr. Christopher sent me this list, hope you agree as to the attempt to identify the monks on the photo, taken during the Golden Jubilee Year 1962.
1 Br. Camillus Culley
2 Br. Michael Thomas
3 Br. Crispin Millet
4 Br. Robert John
5 Br. Christopher Theunissen
6 Fr. Eugene Gibbs
7 Br. Bruno Schrama
8 Br. George Ettienne
9 Br. Rupert Alexis
10 Br.
11 Br. Charles Hoskins
12 Fr. Berbard Vlaar
13 Br. Hildebrand Greene
14 Br.
15 Br.
16 Br. Oswald Gomes
17 Br.
18 Fr. Anselm van der Heijdt
19 Br.
20 Fr. Gregory Kloeg
21 Fr. Martin van Enschot
22 Br. Joseph Perez
23 Br.
24 Fr. Ignatius Oudshoorn
25 Fr. Simeon Campbell
26 Fr. Cuthbert van de Sande
27 Fr. Retreatmaster (missing name)
28 Fr. Augustine Schreurs
29 Abbot Adelbert van Duin
30 Fr. Paul van den Eijnden
31 Prior Hugh van der Sanden
32 Fr. Chrysostom Lee Singh
33 Fr. Bede Theunissen
34 Fr. Leo van Leeuwen
35 Fr. Andrew Brugman
36 Fr. William Boers
37 Fr. John Verdijk
38 Fr. Basil Matthews
39 Br. Conrad
40 Br. Brendan Christian
41 Br.
42 Br.
43 Br. Felix Dorset
44 Br. Anthony Murray
45 Fr. Ildefons Schroots
For further clarifications and some omissions you may perhaps contact the monks at the Mount. Especially Br. Gerard (formerly Br. Rupert) is very good at identifying persons.
God bless.
Fr. Christopher Theunissen
PS We have just received news that Fr. Cornelius Verburg is very sick, terminal with cancer. Some may remember him as art teacher at the Abbey School
Some of the brothers got to Priesthood, but the list is from 1962
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Now a sad event, as recounted by the Catholic News.
Fr Francis Friesen
Abbot John Pereira and the monks of Mount St Benedict report the sad news of the passing away of Fr Francis Friesen in Berchmanianum, Holland
(Berchmanianum is a home for retired and infirmed priests and male religious).
He had suffered a massive heart attack the night before.
Fr Francis may best be remembered for his extraordinary grasp of Holy Scripture and his appreciation of the new wave of biblical criticism which he imparted with great enthusiasm to many novices and seminarians in the aftermath of the second Vatican Council.
Born on May 1, 1921 , he was looking forward to the celebration of his 85th birthday later this year.
He professed his vows at Mount St Benedict on October 5, 1947 and was ordained to the priesthood on May 10, 1950 .
As a young priest he was sent to Louvain University in Belgium
Later Fr Francis received the Diploma in Bible Studies and Biblical Archaeology from the Dominican Bible Institute in Jerusalem
He then went to the Benedictine College in Rome
At Mount St Benedict, his life was centred on the formation of the young monks and seminarians who were then under the charge of the Benedictines.
He was Rector of Studies for the monastery and the seminary.
He also did yeoman service in the building up of the monastery library and later the seminary library.
Fr Francis also did tremendous work in Jamaica
He taught Scripture at St Michael's Seminary there and was also involved in parochial activity.
He worked in the parish of Seaford Town
In 1978 he established a Vocational School as a Church-State venture, the money coming from the Bishops of Germany.
There was an arrangement between the Diocese and the Government.
The Government paid the salaries of the teachers and the diocese provided the land.
The German Bishops sponsored the buildings.
The Jamaican Government regarded the infrastructure development (access roads, electricity, water pipes, etc.) as a model for the rest of Jamaica
At the Episcopal Conference of 1967, in Montego Bay , Fr Francis Friesen was one of the secretaries, serving especially the Dutch-speaking bishops who needed help with translation into English.
The name of the school was Seaford Town Industrial Training Centre, but later the name was change to St Boniface Vocational School, bringing out the Benedictine connection.
The English Benedictine, St Boniface was the apostle of Germany
A few years later another venture was launched, this time in the medical field.
This was called Sacred Heart Clinic to care for a large section of the people in the interior of Western Jamaica .
This was also on the property of the Church and built by the German bishops.
All this time, Fr Francis had hoped that this would be the beginning of a new Benedictine foundation outside Trinidad .
A museum was also established between the rectory and the church, showing the background of the people in the mission.
There was always a stream of visitors, local and foreign.
It was also a welcome source of income for the mission.
In May 1986 Fr Francis had a breakdown and was hospitalised in Montego Bay .
He went completely blind in two days time.
He then resigned from the mission and Bishop Clarke gave him the last sacraments.
Friends insisted that he should go to Holland
His niece came from Holland to fetch him and travelled with him to Holland where he was hospitalised in the Harbour Hospital in Rotterdam
He remained totally blind in one eye and partially in the other.
He then found refuge in Berchmanianum on September 1, 1986.
One of his disappointments in life was the non-establishment of a Benedictine foundation from Trinidad in Jamaica
His hopes came to an end when the Benedictines chose to establish a monastic foundation in Guyana
Although living away from the monastery of Mount St Benedict for several years (first in Jamaica and then in Holland
While in Jamaica he received several monks from Trinidad as co-workers in his mission there and as friends.
In Berchmanianum, he continued his correspondence with the Abbey in Trinidad and would often receive monks from Trinidad on their trips to Europe .
He kept up with all the happenings at the Abbey in Trinidad and was an avid reader of the Catholic News.
He read up to his last days assisted by a device specially designed for the visually challenged.
His mind was sharp to the end and he had a great sense of humour.
We will all miss his wonderful personality and ready wit.
The Abbot and monks request the prayers of the faithful.
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REMEMBER TO PAY YOUR DUE, 50 WORDS PER YEAR, OR SEND A CHECK preferably from any U.S. Bank, to my address,: sorry but under the new laws of Venezuela, I cannot receive or send foreign currency, if caught I can be placed in jail for 3 years on the first offence, so please sent it direct to the Bank of America account of Ladislao Kertesz 02181 09151, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
For those that prefer this way to cooperate with the Circular and the expense that this generates. It is 52 issues per year.
God Bless
Ladislao
Photo in this issue:
52UN0001CLEGRP, Photo of clergy taken from 1962 Jubilee invitation. Those who would like a larger version, please write.
04UN0001FFREST, Fr. Francis at restaurant
1st Kertesz Family.
Would you like to collaborate with photos?? Send them to kertesz11@yahoo.com,
Look us up at http://www.theabbeyschool.com, an all class msb web site.
Look at www.paxabbey.com, for information on the Monastery, Mt St. Benedict .
Look up for great TT photos at: Web Site: http://jgioannettiphotography.com/
For those that want to communicate with the web use, webmaster@theabbeyschool.com/
Send information to: kertesz11@yahoo.com, if you would like to be in the circular’s mailing list or any old boy that you would like to include. Telf. 0 (212) 263.5346 Caracas
Please note: you may have missed some of the circulars, if you have not received one every week, do not hesitate to ask for the missing number to idmitch@anguillanet.com,
For those that would like to contact me here I include my telephones:
Telf.Office: 58 (212) 263.5346, 267.2416, From: 11:00GMT to 22:00GMT
FAX: 58 (212) 261.0829,
Home: 58 (212) 238.4084. From: 00:00 GMT to 04:00 GMT
Cellphone: +58 (0416) 612.5695
Remember that Venezuela ’s time is the same as Trinidad ’s, -04:00 GMT.
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