Death of a Marist Brother

New Zealand Tablet, Volume 27, Issue 21, 27 May 1909, Page 831

Death of a Marist Brother

(From an occasional correspondent.) News has reached the Dominion of the death of the Rev. Brother Berillus 1 , -an Assistant-General of the Marist Brothers, in the provincial house of their Order in Spain, on March 22. The deceased, who had attained the age of 69 years, had labored for 55 years /in the Society, which now suffers greatly by his demise, but. which owes much of its development, extension, and prosperity to his zeal, tireless effort, and great ability. He joined the Brothers when only a boy of fourteen. At that time their numbers were few, their means slender, and the sphere- of their labors limited. The ardor and industry that characterised his riper' years, showed themselves in his boyhood studies, and, being the favored possessor of uncommon talent' knowledge came rapidly, and wiEh it a judgment keen and sound, which gave early promise of his brilliant future. He soon attracted the attention of his superiors, who employed him first at ordinary duties, which he always performed with great earnestness, then at "higher functions in which his tact had greater scope for action, and eventually he was entrusted with positions which as occasion required he proved himself an able teacher, a capable administrator, and a prudent director. It was evidently but a matter of time when he would be included in the General Council over which the General presides, and to which is confided the. organisation and administration' of the entire congregation. This distinction became his at the unusually early age of forty, and during the last thirty years he acquitted himself of the duties of his assistantship with a zeal that never abated, an energy that seemed untiring, and a .success without a parallel. In the opinion

of many who were cognizant of his capacity, he was regarded as a probable successor to the late Superior-General, Brother Theophane, but the choice of the General Chapter proved to be the present General, Brother Stratonique. The portion of the Order over which Brother Berillus had immediate control was the province of St. Paul-Trois Chauteaux, a district that embraced the South of France, from the Alps to the Pyrenees. Owing to his ceaseless toil, power of organisation, and desire of extension, colonies of his Brothers soon found a field for their labors in Spain, from which in a short time communities were, in demand and were supplied to Columbia, South America ; then houses were established through the length and breadth of Mexico, and the last conquest of his apostolic zeal has been the Argentine Republic, where before death closed his eyes he saw a flourishing sub-district of his province. The number of Brothers under his immediate control could not be far short of 2000; and with these by correspondence and visits he kept in constant touch unaided by a secretary. His duties, though multifarious, were comparatively light before the operation of the iniquitous Law of Associations, which closed the Mother House in France, and drove him and his confreres of the Council into exile. There innumerable difficulties arose, embarrassments cropped up, and hardships supervened which needed more than human effort to encounter and overcome. All was faced, however, with courage and hope by him and his fellow-exiles; but sad to relate, though they succeeded in safeguarding the befet' interests of the Order, a good many of them have perished at their posts. The ; inconveniences they suffered and the discomforts attendant on make-shift residences in a foreign soil among strangers, added to many anxieties, have created a -sad havoc in their ranks; for in the short space of three years the Superior-General and four of his Assistants have passed to their reward. The late Brother Berillus was taken ill while on a visit to Spain, The long years of arduous toil had at last toil upon his vigorous frame and ardent nature. The sword had worn out the scabbard, and so on reaching the provincial house at Barcelona, an illness which had been giving trouble for some time grew so acute as to confine him to his bed; the best medical skill proved unavailing to check the growth of the malady, and the kindest care and most affectionate sympathy' of his Brothers did but little to assuage his long suffering which he bore with a patience that was always edifying and a resignation that knew no murmur, until it pleased God to call him to his reward. — R.I.P.

For Chronic Chest Complaints, Woods' Great Peppermint Cure, 1/6 and 2/6