The Apostle of South Africa

X.

 Years of Struggle

Defending the Monastery in Turbulent Times

Although relations with the Franciscans had much improved, Prior Francis had to remind the sons of Saint Francis time and again that he owed his appointment to Rome and not to their bishop. Peace was restored only when he agreed to a written declaration, stating that:

1 the Trappists will not make any foundation without the approval of the local ordinary (Franciscan);

2 the Trappists submit to episcopal regulations in all matters pertaining to the Sacrament of Confession;

3 the Trappists will not collect alms without the bishop’s approval;

4 the Prior will not publish anything that may prove detrimental to the Bosnian Church;

5 the Trappists will confine themselves to a life of contemplation, manual work and the cultivation of the spiritual life;

6 the Trappists, in deference to the explicit wish of the bishop, will not encourage the faithful to attend Mass at their monastery.

The Prior and his monks pledged to honour this agreement out of obedience and for the sake of peace. Even so, Fr. Franz could not help thinking that the Poverello of Assisi would probably have been much more hospitable and accommodating of Mariastern than his Bosnian sons.

Hop and Malt God-Sustaining

(Toast: Much good may it do you!)

It took a great deal of labour before Mariastern was fully established. The Prior administered his community mainly by example. At the same time he was constantly on the look-out for more rational ways of doing things, unafraid to experiment or give new inventions a try. For example, he studied professional literature on breweries and brewing. When he could not find what he was looking for he visited several breweries in Austria to study the matter on the spot. Once he had made himself knowledgeable, he implemented what he had learned.

Abbot Francis:

“Our brewery was so designed as to provide space for storing grain under the attic. Our horses took the barley up to attic level where it could easily be offloaded. From storage it was poured down through three openings on to three interconnected malting floors and then emptied into tubs to soak. The necessary water was pumped up from the river to all sectors: tubs, brewing copper and beer cellars. The fully germinated barley fell from the malting floor into the first drying kiln and from there to the second floor. Finally, the finished malt poured out through an opening in the bottom of the last kiln. From there it was taken to ice stores which we built into the hill, one for each cellar.”

The Great Gospodin

It was not just the beer the Trappists brewed or the flower and saw mills they operated, nor even the range of workshops they maintained which earned them recognition. The reputation Mariastern enjoyed was owed in the first place to the popularity of its Prior. He was known to lead his monks in prayer and work. He never asked of others, including the hired hands, what he did not do himself. Mention must also be made of the name he had gained for himself as a natural health practitioner.

Abbot Francis:

“The favourite name they gave me was

velik hedschim

, the great doctor. They brought their sick from all over the country, transporting them on horseback, ox cart or sleigh. Those who came from Dalmatia and Herzegovina sometimes spent several days on the road before they knocked on our door. Sick people were transported to Mariastern from as far as Austrian Croatia! When I traveled through Bosnia I always made sure I carried my homeopathic kit.”

His own health, as we have noticed, had never been robust. After all, it was for reasons of ill health that he had to interrupt his seminary studies and renounce his wish to go to the North American missions. As parish priest in Haselstauden he had purchased a burial site because he expected to die young. Finally, he had entered Mariawald precisely to prepare for death. Even though, God had other plans. Fr. Franciscus, as his fellow monks at Mariawald called him, recovered, thriving, as he said, on the frugal Trappist diet and work in the fresh air. After four years he was judged fit to make a new foundation in the Balkans. He did remain vulnerable, though, for the rest of his life. He could not travel at sea without becoming seasick. He contracted malaria in the Roman

campagna

 and in Croatia and Bosnia frequently suffered from bouts of fever. Personal health issues led him to take a keen interest in the sufferings of others and in natural cures. Having only little confidence in school medicine, he became a staunch advocate of homeopathy. In Bosnia, he was able to help many people who could not afford a doctor any more than the Trappists could. In time, he made the acquaintance of Pastor Sebastian Kneipp of Woerishofen (Germany), for whose natural health methods he had the highest regard.

There were other reasons why the Prior of Mariastern created a stir. He himself once overheard a Turk say to another: “You can learn more from these monks than in Vienna. I have spent several days in Vienna but did not see so many extraordinary things as I see here.” Another time a Turkish friend asked quite seriously if the Prior’s head was not bursting from all the things it absorbed and remembered. But more astounding than his vast knowledge and various skills was the sight of him working with his own hands. People could not trust their eyes when they spied him bending over a laundry tub with his sleeves rolled up, or, armed with chopper, axe or pick, helping to lay a road. “A

Gospodin

 (boss, lord) does not work!” they objected. “A

Gospodin

 has others to work for him!”

Abbot Francis:

“The sheer size and beauty of our monastery (compared with the hovels in which they themselves lived) impressed people, especially when the sun dipped our many windows in the bright light reflected across the valley. Strangers believed that Mariastern was the residence of a great and powerful

Gospodin

. Perhaps it hoarded a precious and inaccessible treasure! Sometimes it happened that when these people wanted to know from our hired hands where I was, they did not believe when they were told that I was the one working with the Brothers or Bosnian labourers. “

A ti radis

 (you work also)?’ The Turks do not think highly of manual labour particularly when it means working with soil or doing some menial job … – Later, when the Pasha had become more approachable he also began to wonder about our lifestyle – work, diet, celibacy, etc. Once he asked me quite seriously: ‘What profit will all this be to you when you die?’ I answered him with another question: ‘Look at your self. You now cling to wives and money! When you die, you will have to part with everything you possess. What reward will you have then? We are not attached to anything in this world but renounce many goods before we die. Therefore we die easy.’ He preferred not to answer but stared into space. Only God knows what went on in his mind.”

Thunderclouds over the Balkans

Serbs and Turks continued to clash. Bosnia was in a state of permanent turmoil or emergency. The Catholic Church in Banjaluka had been burnt down, not so much out of hatred for religion but from resentment against the hated Pasha. Mariastern was spared and for the time being its monks were safe. For one, they had a powerful protector:

“St. Joseph holds his hand over us, but we also do our part to avoid dangerous situations. For example, when we drive the long distance to the border to meet new postulants we always take armed guards with us. Until now no one has come to harm.”

The frequent political skirmishes were one thing to worry about; malaria was another. The Prior went several weeks at a time to Meran or Bozen in Tyrol to recuperate, but even then he was busy with soliciting vocations. At one time he recruited twelve candidates. He instructed them to wait for him in Agram on their way to Mariastern; he would meet them to take them safely across the border. By the late 1870’s, Mariastern had developed to such an extent that it could have become an abbey even then.

1877 was a turbulent year for the Balkans. Russia declared war on the Turks while Bulgaria was made a Principality and placed under Russian protection. Though Mariastern was not directly affected by these power shifts, the general political unrest hovered like a dark cloud also over the monastery. But thanks to God’s blessing and St. Joseph’s continued protection the monks carried it off well. As their institutions flourished, their reputation spread. Self-reliance and sustainability were top priorities. Several additions were made to the monastery complex: a bone (and flint) mill to make meal for fodder and manure; a new kiln in a location where better clay for brickmaking was available; a row of six houses, built as shelters for farmhands and timber men along the road to the woods. The Trappists of Mariastern were the first to plant the potato, known in Bosnia by its Frankish name “Krummbirn”. (crooked pear). Occasionally, they received aid from outside, for example when Vienna sent – at a hint from the Prior – a shipment of young fruit trees: “compliments of the ministry of foreign affairs”.

Abbot Francis:

“I don’t know where I took the time to oversee so many departments and projects! Again and again it happened that I remembered only at lunch that I had missed breakfast or that I had lunch only in the evening. My correspondence grew out of all proportion, its sheer volume awe-inspiring. Thank God, we had vocations but we also lost quite a few men to malaria. Death snatched the best. Two young managers, pillars of the monastery both of them, were unexpectedly taken from us! One suffered a brain stroke as a result of overextension; the other drowned when the fully loaded ferry on which he was traveling, was swept off course by the raging Vrbas. The rope snapped and the ferry – wagon, horses and men – was swept down-stream. The animals swam ashore and, with God’s help, superhuman effort and a lot of luck two Brothers were also able to save themselves.”

Second Visitation

The next visitator to come to Mariastern was Abbot Jerome Guenat, the new Trappist procurator general in Rome, successor to Francis Regis. He chided the Prior for what he called “too many new-fangled ideas”. Why did he give his monks whole rye bread besides the usual black variety? Why did he have two brands of beer brewed, small beer and the common one? Such innovations were undesirable. The hermitage, too, which he had built in the woods above the monastery, was a violation of the strict Trappist observance!

Abbot Francis:

“I had introduced the extra bread and beer for no other reason than the better health of my hard working men, while the hermitage was only fifteen minutes away from the monastery. It was meant for monks who did not have time for their eight-day spiritual exercises during the summer. It consisted of a room for prayer and a bedroom which, during winter, could be heated by a small stove. Every occupant had to chop his own firewood. A small garden was attached to the house to provide exercise to those who needed it. Regular meals had to be fetched from the monastery kitchen. No ‘hermit’ was allowed to leave the premises. I myself stayed at the hermitage one winter for an eightday retreat.”

Visitator Jerome had another objection: Brothers ought not to be allowed to take off their habits when they had malaria. However, before he left Mariastern, even Jerome had words of recognition and encouragement: “Continue, beloved Brothers! You need not fear that God will abandon this house. On the contrary, he will continue to shower his blessings upon it.”

Military Occupation

The peace accord reached between Russia and Turkey in March 1878 filled the western powers with apprehension. Vienna had hoped that with the decline of the Ottoman Empire the bigger part of Bosnia and Herzegovina would fall to Austria. But that did not happen. England was displeased for its own reasons. Finally, some balance of power was restored when at the Berlin Congress, convened in 1878 by the German “Iron Chancellor” Otto von Bismarck, boundaries were re-drawn in Austria’s favour. Thus, with more unrest threatening the region, Andrassy advised Prior Francis to take his monks to safety across the border, until such time when Austrian troops were able to occupy the entire region. But the Vorarlberger did not think of vacating Mariastern:

“How could eighty people escape without arousing suspicion? If we had followed the minister’s advice, surely all our buildings would have been ransacked and burnt to the ground the very next day. So we went by the ancient counsel:

Fortes fortuna juvat

 – fortune favours the brave! Putting our trust in God and St. Joseph, by whose help we had overcome hundreds of obstacles in the past, we remained where we were but ready to defend ourselves to the blood. Even the Pasha could not have protected us from the excesses which were soon perpetrated everywhere … – The day the Austrians, our compatriots and brothers in the Faith, marched into Bosnia was a red-letter day for us. I was at the head of those welcoming them and had the honour of riding next to the Duke of Wuerttemberg, commander-in-chief of this military action! Although the capital had already fallen to the Austrians, a fanatical Turk in our area did not stop inciting an uprising against them. It was rumoured that he and his hordes would take Banjaluka by lightning attack. But because everything remained calm, these rumours were not taken seriously. Two weeks had already elapsed since the beginning of the occupation and everything seemed to be quiet. But unknown to us, the country was seething. We found this out on the eve of the Assumption of Our Lady.”

Around four o’clock in the morning the bell rang at the monastery entrance. Puffing and panting Franciscans asked for asylum. They had fled from a band of rebels. Listening to their report, Prior Francis acted immediately by ordering the most capable Brothers to barricade doors and windows and carry stones and bricks to the first floor. Already the first townspeople were flocking into the monastery. Anticipating a raid, the cattle had been driven into the woods and now the Prior ordered that the teachers take the orphans to the woods as well. Soon Mariastern resembled a military camp. Fr. Francis asked a desperate man who was carrying a bundle of flails where he was taking them. The man pointed to the church and explained: “If the Turks try to climb in through those tall windows, the flails come in handy for bashing their heads!” The Prior chuckled: “At least here was someone who used his head to think!” Before long, the Franciscan convent in Banjaluka went up in flames, the roof truss blazing away furiously.

Abbot Francis:

“None of us had the slightest doubt as to what the Turks would do to us if we fell into their hands alive. Nothing could save us from their vengeance. But then, out of the blue, the Austrians marched in. The sound of their drums and trumpets put the rebels to flight, many of them escaping to the woods, never to be seen again. The following day, I and the young Franciscan parish priest of Banjaluka, a friend of mine, rode together to the outskirts of town. It broke my heart to see the huts of so many poor Christians burnt to cinders!”

The Austrian general imposed martial law on Banjaluka. Every day, hundreds of rebels were dragged before the tribunal and dozens were executed, while others tried to escape execution by calling on “Father Franz”. He was able to save many. When the commander in chief ordered an outdoor Mass to be said and the Pasha invited, the Prior celebrated it in appreciation of what the commander had done to restore peace and reconciliation among the different ethnic and religious groups in the Balkans.

XI.

 The Eve of an Unknown Future

Austrian Occupation. German Settlers. Visit to a Harem

For a long time the aftermath of the August 1878 uprising hung over the region like a dark cloud. However, not all was lost. Though the revolt had taken a heavy toll it had not been purely destructive; neither were prospects altogether dismal. For example, after five hundred years of oppression the Christian minority saw a new future dawning for them. The Trappists began to enjoy their newly won freedom. At last they were able to carry out some of the projects they had laid on ice until peaceful times returned. Seizing the first opportunity, they constructed a road from the monastery to the railway station. But very soon they were made to realize that the occupation was not an unmixed blessing. Most of the officials appointed by the military government were Greek Orthodox for whom Catholics and, above all, Trappists were a thorn in the flesh. The Prior found that it had been easier to do business with the Turks than with the Greek officialdom. Making the best of the situation, he was able to expand Mariastern by replacing the old trade shops for the wainwright, carpenter and cooper with new ones and turning the old into lodges for hired labour. Rather unusual for a Trappist monastery, he had a halfway house built close to the station, “where newly arriving postulants and guests could find accommodation for the night”. A tenant innkeeper was employed and instructed to put up anyone who at nightfall was still bound for Mariastern. – Much later, but in the same spot, a fine public guest-house was opened. It has served “Trappist Beer” ever since.

German Settlers for Bosnia

The Austrian occupation enabled the enterprising Prior to carry out a long cherished plan: to invite folks from other countries to settle in some of Bosnia’s remoter regions to make them habitable. He appealed to Catholics in Germany and Austria. In a brochure he provided useful information about the country and its people, the nature of the soil and climate, in short, everything a prospective settler would want to know before emigrating. It proved such a practical and timely guide that in only a few months it went into a second and third printing. What prospective settlers seemed to appreciate most was the honesty with which the Prior pointed out not only the advantages they might enjoy in Bosnia but also some of the less favourable conditions and certain pitfalls newcomers had to guard against. For example, he warned that they should not expect to find the same amenities and facilities with which they were familiar in their home country:

“In Bosnia, clinics and pharmacies are the exception. That is why people who live near Mariastern bring their patients to the Trappists. Newcomers will face malaria and draught especially in the Sava Valley; it follows that they must clean the wells and find and save drinking water but also make it their business to drain wetlands. Regarding taxes and other duties, we have petitioned the government to exempt all settlers for the first five years and dispense young men from military services. But even if settlers may expect to be granted certain privileges, Bosnia is not a land of milk and honey; everyone has to put his shoulder to the wheel!”

The Prior had sound advice: The prospect of becoming rich should not be the driving force for anyone coming to Bosnia. Rather, prospective settlers should take the word of Scripture to heart: “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”. (Mt 16 : 26) – His counsel, disseminated in print, fell on fertile ground. Applications, especially of young people, poured in from every corner. Many came. The majority chose to settle on level ground rather than in the hillsides. Wherever, the Prior was a much sought out intermediary and adviser especially when the newcomers wanted to finalize a land deal or were summoned to appear before the officials.

Prior Francis also introduced Sisters to Bosnia. Two congregations accepted his invitation, The Mercy Sisters of Agram und the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood of Gurtweil, Baden. The latter had been expelled from Germany during the Kulturkampf and found refuge at Feldkirch in Vorarlberg. They opened a convent just outside Banjaluka.

A Trappist priest heard Confession and gave religious instruction to the children whom the Sisters taught in a primitive school. Rome asked the Prior to be their superior. His responsibility was mainly to help them settle by sending his Brothers to do the heavier work for them at a minimal charge.

Abbot Francis:

“Although the former bishop of Bosnia

21

 called me a

perpetuum mobile

, I presume that the new bishop whom Rome sent to Banjaluka soon after the Austrian takeover, will be happy to reside among three religious communities.”

The steadily growing correspondence that fell to the Prior on behalf of Mariastern and, to an even greater extent, on behalf of the Bosnian Catholics made the acquisition of some mechanical printing aid necessary. A small press “for private use only” would fill this need and also the growing demand for prayer cards and holy pictures. Therefore he repeatedly petitioned the authorities for the necessary licence but, much to his chagrin, his application was turned down each time. As a result he was even more disappointed in the Austrian military government. “We had hoped that we would be granted the assistance we needed to help people, for example, by importing, duty free, better stock, stud horses, trees, seeds, and clothes for the orphans, etc., but no such assistance was given. We were treated like any Turk!”

Trappist in a Harem

During the eleven years Fr. Franz lived in Bosnia, the Pasha of Banjaluka was transferred four times. The first one, although a regular headache to begin with, did change with time and in the end became a friend.

Abbot Francis:

“One day, this Pasha sent a Safdia (policeman) to summon me to his residence. I threw myself on my Fox and rode to him. He most graciously came out to meet me, saying that he had a problem. His plan was to travel after four days but one of his wives was ill. Could I please do something for her? He mentioned some of the symptoms he had observed, but I told him that unless I saw her I could not make a diagnosis. I knew very well, of course, that his religion forbade him to let me enter his private quarters and that I would therefore not be able to assist. He replied: ‘If I give you permission you can enter my harem!’ I was surprised. However, seeing that he was serious, I followed him along several labyrinthine passages with doors on either side. It was something I was familiar with from a randomly built old Capuchin monastery in Tyrol. Finally he reached for a clasp and opened a door to a room that seemed to be empty. In the dim light seeping in through closed curtains I could barely make out a figure bundled up on a divan. I understood that this was his sick wife. An old Christian woman, probably a maid, stood beside her. The patient was wrapped in several layers of clothes. I asked the attendant to tell me something about her condition and began my diagnosis by ordering her to show me her tongue. She opened her mouth. Surprise! This bundle of misery spoke Bosnian to me: ‘My tongue is clean!’ From her determined voice I gathered that she did not wish to put out her tongue. But when the Pasha, raising his hand, cried:

Allah! Allah!

 she put it out, a tiny thin tongue. When next I wished to feel her pulse she refused again until the Pasha ordered her once more by invoking Allah. Obediently, she pulled out a little hand from underneath the tangle of clothes. I asked her age, because judging from her tongue and hand she seemed to be just a child. The Pasha, a man in his sixties, answered for her: ‘She could be sixteen.’ I left the harem, rode home with the Safdia, gave him medicine (for bloating) and sent him back.”

A Case for Natural Medicine

Prior Francis was convinced that every person must take responsibility for his/​her own health. He attempted to dispel some of the wrong notions people had about Trappists by explaining their lifestyle in a brochure:

“Most people think that in order to become a Trappist one must be completely healthy, in top physical condition and as strong as an elephant. Wrong! Let me tell you that I deliberately admit weak and sickly candidates together with healthy ones in order to make the weak ones strong again. I favour people who suffer from a lung condition, because in the monastery they stand a chance to recover on a meatless diet and by not drinking coffee or alcohol. How many people, who come to us suffering from haemorrhoids, a sick liver, rashes, stomach disorders, chronic colds, rheumatism, cold feet, etc., have not recovered! We work with natural remedies, have our own water and sun bath facilities and tell patients to move and breathe in the fresh air to strengthen their immune system! If someone does not get better we do not send him away, because not every Trappist needs to chop wood or do heavy work on the farm or threshing floor. There are other things to do like sweeping the house, plucking wool, cleaning vegetables, knitting, writing, painting, glazing, serving at table, washing dishes, etc. Besides, who would mind our geese if we only admitted masters of a trade or men as strong as a Goliath? As for the right age to enter, no one is too old to live the penitential life of a Trappist. No special skills or tricks are required. Indispensable, however, are determination and perseverance! Unsteady characters or weathervanes do not persevere in a monastery … Experience shows that weak individuals in whom at first no one placed any hope did well and became strong. Why? Because they were determined to get better! I myself am a case in point. Not a giant by nature but rather short and slight, I had weak lungs; some thought I had TB. So for several years I spent all my money on whey and water cures. In vein! I only became more debilitated. For example, I was not allowed to preach for a year. I constantly suffered from colds, hoarseness and rheumatism and I also developed a hernia. My bishop spoke to my doctor and then treated me like an invalid. He had little use for me in his diocese. In short, from the age of twenty-six I was ailing and at thirty-eight, I felt like dying. One of the reasons why I became a Trappist was to prepare for death. But lo and behold: after only fourteen days in the monastery I was able to throw off the cat skin I had worn for years and together with it I rid myself of every discomfort and ailment, except rheumatism. Working a lot in the open air, I developed a gargantuan appetite. My blood was renewed and my lungs restored.”

As a Trappist, Fr. Francis became a strict vegetarian, his diet consisting mainly of graham bread, honey, sauerkraut, vegetables, salad, fruit and similar foods, all unsalted. He learned much from the priest and homeopath Sebastian Kneipp of Woerishofen. He slept with his window open and walked barefoot or in sandal