The Apostle of South Africa

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.

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