Benedictine Bridges, pt. 1

Mon, Sep 19th 2016, 09:49 AM

"Through their works, you will know that they are My disciples" - John 13:35

During a visit to Saint John's University (SJU) in Collegeville, Minnesota, this past week, I visited Fr. Magnus Wenninger, my math teacher at St. Augustine's College (SAC) many years ago, and Fr. Finton Bomenshenkel, who served at St. Augustine's Monastery, also during my youth.

These Minnesotans who called The Bahamas home for many years are both approaching their centennial birthdays.

I also visited Fr. Mel Taylor who was the last Minnesota Benedictine to return to Saint John's a few years ago.

While at SJU last week, I also met with several Bahamian students, including Ramond Mitchell, who has soared to stratospheric summits at SJU, following in lockstep behind many great Bahamians who excelled during their college careers at SJU.

Ramond is the first Bahamian to be elected by his fellow SJU schoolmates to the office of senate president. We will have much more to say about Ramond in next week's column.

As I departed from the Saint John's Homecoming football game on Saturday evening, I reflected deeply on the extraordinarily progressive decades-long contributions that the Catholic Church has made in The Bahamas.

Therefore, this week, we would like to Consider this ... What were some of the key factors that built Benedictine bridges to The Bahamas?

The historical record
A comprehensive history of the Catholic Church in The Bahamas was chronicled in Fr. Colman Barry's 1973 seminal work "Upon These Rocks".

Fr. Barry, a noted historian and professor, served as president of Saint John's University's from 1964 to 1971 and as dean of religious studies at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., from 1973 to 1978.

The Catholic Church's history was updated by Patricia Glinton-Meicholas in her book "From the Void to the Wonderful: A History of the Roman Catholic Church in The Bahamas," from which I have quoted in this column.

The Benedictine bridge for Bahamians began construction in 1891, when Fr. Chrysostom Schreiner, then the vice president of Saint John's University in Minnesota, was appointed the first permanent Catholic priest in The Bahamas. When he arrived here, there were only 70 members in the congregation of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.

Fr. Chrysostom, whose tenure in The Bahamas spanned from 1891 to 1925, was resourceful, industrious and enterprising. He was credited with many advances including the Out Island missions and the purchase of "The Priory" which became the first rectory of St. Francis Catholic Church. He established the Annual Catholic Bazaar and built Bungalow Dunmore to house visiting clergy.

The bridge expands - St. Augustine's Monastery & College
Catholic pioneers in the early years of the 20th century "took on the roles of architects, builders, doctors, dentists, technical advisers and teachers." That period witnessed the meteoric growth in Bahamian religious vocations - by both men and women - and the explosive escalation in the erection of churches and schools throughout the country.

The first Bahamian to be ordained to the Catholic priesthood was Monsignor Carl Albury who started his studies at Saint John's University but was ultimately ordained in Canada in 1932. He was the first in a long line of Bahamian priests, many of whom were ordained in the 1950s and 1960s.

It was recognized that "if the Bahamianization of the local church was to proceed in an orderly and timely fashion, the church would need to make higher education accessible to more Bahamians."

Fr. Frederick Frey arrived in The Bahamas in 1935 and was central to the construction of St. Augustine's Monastery and College, the latter established on January 1, 1945.

Initially an all-boys school, it was an incubator for young Bahamian men wishing to pursue religious or other studies at Saint John's University in Minnesota.

In the meantime, many priests from Saint John's Abbey taught at SAC and others performed parish duties throughout the country. Their contributions to the personal, spiritual, educational, athletic and familial growth and development in the Bahamian society are incalculable.

Those Minnesota, SJU-educated priests greatly contributed to the development of Bahamian priests, including such notables as Fathers Charles Coakley, the "first native Bahamian priest of the Diocese of Nassau", Boswell Davis, Leander Thompson, Bonaventure Dean, Cletus Edgecombe, Prosper Burrows, Monsignor Preston Moss and Remy David, all of whom were trained at Saint John's University and Abbey in Minnesota.

The bridge that connected The Bahamas to Saint John's was a natural one that rapidly expanded during the 20th Century.

In like manner, that century witnessed the enormous growth of women, most notably the nuns of St. Martin's Monastery on Nassau Street.

They, too, provided teachers and administrators in the parochial school system as well as vocations for young women in search of a spiritually-cloistered, life-time commitment to the church and country. Many of those nuns were educated at the College of Saint Benedict before returning to The Bahamas.  Their contributions, too, are equally immeasurable.

Saint John's University
Since its founding in Collegeville in 1857, Saint John's University has been intimately and intrinsically involved in Bahamian society.

Approximately 1,300 Bahamian students were educated at SJU and its sister institution, the College of Saint Benedict (CSB), in St. Joseph, Minnesota.

The latter is an all-girls, liberal arts, residential college that became a co-institutional partner of SJU. Of that total, approximately 700 Bahamian "Bennies" and 600 Bahamian "Johnnies" have matriculated at those institutions.

Currently, there are nearly 50 students at both campuses, nearly evenly distributed.

Over the years, there have been many outstanding Bahamian SJU graduates. Some of the notable graduates include Sir Etienne Dupuch, the former editor of The Tribune, and his brother, Eugene Dupuch who is memorialized in the SJU's fight song that he wrote and that is still sung at all sporting events in which SJU competes.

The late John Dean, who adopted the name Fr. Bonaventure, was the first Bahamian prior and headmaster of St. Augustine's Monastery and College, respectively.

Monsignor Preston Moss, one of the most iconic, humble, socially-minded and respected graduates, has recently celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest. He served most of those years in various Bahamian parishes.

Leviticus "Uncle Lou" Adderley was a wrestling and tennis champion at SJU and returned to The Bahamas where he taught at and headed St. Augustine's College for many years before becoming a Catholic deacon.

Andrew Curry, a graduate of SAC and SJU, became the first Bahamian principal at Aquinas College.

There are others, like Basil Christie, who chaired the Special Olympics for 25 years, accentuating the incredibly awesome athletic talents of physically challenged Bahamians.

Christie has also established the largest, life-saving blood drive in The Bahamas.

Noted public servants include the late Arthur Barnett, father of our former Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett, Luther Smith and Creswell Sturrup, who currently serve in the highest public offices in the Bahamian bureaucracy.

Justice Neville Adderley has served with distinction as both a justice in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.

Dr. Rodney Smith, president of The College of The Bahamas, soon to achieve university status, is also a graduate of SAC and SJU.

In the area of sports, we recognize the outstanding contributions that have been made by SAC and SJU graduates like Sharon Storr, Martin Lundy and Alpheus Finlayson,

We also note the continued contribution of people like Prince Wallace, a Bahamian who attended SAC and SJU, who chose to remain in Minnesota, along with his spouse, Sandra, to raise an exceptionally close family and build several successful businesses.

Prince and Sandra have remained a constant bridge for Bahamian SJU and CSB students by continually supporting them in ways too numerous to mention over the past 50 years. Prince was also the first Bahamian to serve on the SJU Board of Trustees.

There are many other Bahamians in diverse fields of endeavor who have actively continued to build bridges for Bahamian students at SJU and CSB.

Conclusion
Undoubtedly, the Catholic Church in general and Saint John's Abbey and University, in tandem with the College of Saint Benedict, in particular, have positively impacted national development.

This influence was not manifested through any direct interference in the body politic or by dictating the development of public policy, but through its commitment to the development of people who are guided by the moral and spiritual teachings and conduct of their pastoral leaders.

Catholic social teaching continues to motivate and drive the work of those Benedictines who built and continue to sustain the bridge to the future for Bahamians at those institutions.

To those who have labored in erecting and maintaining this bridge, we are certain that the master will approvingly assert that: "Through their works, you will know that they are my disciples."

o Philip C. Galanis is the managing partner of HLB Galanis and Co., Chartered Accountants, Forensic & Litigation Support Services. He served 15 years in Parliament. Please send your comments to pgalanis@gmail.com.

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