"We build too many walls and not enough bridges." - Isaac Newton
Last week in part one of this series, we recounted the immensely impactful influence of the Benedictines from Saint John's University (SJU) in Collegeville, Minnesota on the Bahamian society. The Benedictine bridge for Bahamians began in 1891, when Fr. Chrysostom Schreiner of SJU was appointed the first permanent Catholic priest in The Bahamas.
We recalled that Fr. Frederick Frey arrived in The Bahamas in 1935 and commenced construction of St. Augustine's Monastery and College, the latter established on January 1, 1945. Initially an all-boys high school, it was an incubator for young Bahamian men wishing to pursue religious or other studies at SJU.
We highlighted many Bahamian SJU graduates, clerical and secular, who, over the decades, made significant contributions to national development.
This week, we would like to Consider this... who were some of the outstanding Bahamians SJU graduates whose superlative successes continued to build Benedictine bridges in The Bahamas?
A diverse lot indeed!
There are many Bahamians from diverse backgrounds who have actively contributed to building bridges whose foundations are deeply cemented in the Benedictines at Saint John's. This week we will review the bridges that were built by an amazingly astounding advocate and an exceptionally gifted prior and headmaster: Eugene Dupuch and the late Fr. Bonaventure Dean, respectively. Next week we will highlight two other extraordinary Bahamians: Leviticus "Uncle Lou" Adderley and Ramond Mitchell, a superlatively successful SJU student.
Eugene Dupuch, CBE, QC
Eugene Dupuch was born December 7, 1912 and was the brother of Sir Etienne Dupuch, the former editor of The Tribune. Eugene studied English and philosophy and minored in political science while at SJU and helped put himself through university by playing in a college dance band. While studying at SJU, Eugene Dupuch wrote the university's fight song, which was ranked among America's top 10 university songs. He has left a lasting legacy at SJU and the fight song is still sung at all sporting events in which SJU competes.
Eugene Dupuch began his career as a journalist, serving as a reporter at the infamous Harry Oakes murder trial and turning his accounts of the trial into perhaps the most authoritative book on that event. While serving as assistant editor of The Tribune, Dupuch also wrote a column called "Smokey Joe Says" narrated by a character he described "as someone who had an elemental philosophy, a little earthy, [who] has a staunch loyalty to things Bahamian without the shallowness of stupid sentimentality. He possesses the happy faculty of hoping for the best, but not being surprised at anything that may happen in a world of paradox and error". "Smokey Joe Says" was also broadcast every Tuesday evening on ZNS Radio.
At the age of 32, Dupuch entered the University of Toronto Law School and was called to the Bahamas Bar in January 1949, where he served until his death in 1981 at age 68.
Dupuch served in the House of Assembly for more than 15 years, first as an independent candidate and later as a member of the United Bahamian Party. He also served three years in the Senate. Dupuch made tremendous strides during his political career, tirelessly working to end racial discrimination in The Bahamas.
According to the 2004 Bahamas Handbook, "His main focus was to help establish The Bahamas as a strong, independent nation with a legal and political system that gave all of the country's citizens a fair chance to succeed.
"Dupuch wore many hats - newspaper editor, politician, author, statesman, radio commentator, satirist and musician with a sense of humor that appeared contrary to his seemingly serious disposition. Perhaps the hat that fit him best was that of advocate - he impressed crowds with his quick wit and brilliant defense in the courts and became a mentor to a generation of The Bahamas' top lawyers."
In 1998, the Eugene Dupuch Law School was established in The Bahamas in his honor.
John Dean, aka Fr. Bonaventure
John Dean, born in Nassau on January 15, 1936, attended St. Augustine's College (SAC) and Saint John's University in Minnesota. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1963, adopting the name of his patron, St. Bonaventure. After his ordination, Bonaventure returned to The Bahamas where he entered St. Augustine's Monastery and College.
His meteoric rise at both those institutions is legendary. Initially the disciplinarian at SAC, where he was affectionately called "the Bon", he was an intolerant and uncompromising disciplinarian.
Bonaventure became the headmaster of SAC in 1967 and shortly thereafter became the prior of the monastery - the first Bahamian to simultaneously hold both positions.
Bonaventure possessed a towering physique and was articulate, charismatic, disarmingly charming and powerfully intellectual. His commanding baritone voice was uniquely, but unmistakably, authoritarian and was perhaps exceeded only by the thoughts and ideas that emanated from one whose brilliance was self-evident. He possessed a presence that was striking and sometimes like an apparition: before you saw him, you could sense his presence.
During his tenure as headmaster, SAC merged with Xavier's College - then an all-girls high school - radically and forever-transforming SAC's preeminence as an all-boys school into a superbly successful co-educational institution.
To ensure that no student was left behind or prevented from developing his or her unique skills, Bonaventure ensured that SAC taught not only the core subjects, including Latin, French and Spanish, but also offered courses in bookkeeping, typing and shorthand.
He celebrated excellence and rewarded both scholastic and sporting achievements. He was a visionary educator, who realized how important it was to shape tender, impressionable, fertile minds that could forever be handicapped if they were not properly nurtured during their formative high school years.
Also during his tenure, Bonaventure initiated a massive capital projects program, which witnessed the expansion of the campus, the construction of a first-class library and a science and a reading lab. SAC was one of the first high schools in The Bahamas with a competitive-size swimming pool.
To guarantee that all students received a holistic education, every student had to participate in some kind of sporting activity. Bonaventure insisted that if a competitive sporting event was held at SAC with another visiting school, no one could leave the campus until the game was finished. He inculcated a depth of school spirit in the students, which, even today, accounts for SAC's enormous sporting successes.
Bonaventure continued to build Benedictine bridges for Bahamians by encouraging SJU to award scholarships to deserving SAC students. Because of his brilliance, Bonaventure's counsel was sought out by many, including the then Bahamian prime minister.
While all the changes that were taking place at SAC, fundamental metamorphoses were also transforming the Roman Catholic Church in general and in St. Augustine's Monastery in particular. Some of those changes were life-altering and directly affected the high school. Over a period of a few years, many Bahamian priests, most of whom had graduated from SJU and taught at SAC, left the Catholic priesthood.
In 1971, Bonaventure also left the priesthood, St. Augustine's College, the monastery and The Bahamas. He passed away at his home in Canada on May 16, 2011.
Conclusion
These two men truly exemplify how the Benedictines and their influence nurtured brilliant minds and created exceptional Bahamian people who would, in turn, influence generations of Bahamians and the nation they lived in. The bridge building by both of these men who were guided by the Benedictines is being continued today by all those whose lives they touched.
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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