This week the monastic community remembers Fathers Bede Lebbe, Cornelius Doherty and Kevin Healy, three of our confrères whose anniversaries occur at this time.
Today we remember in particular Father Bede on the 75th anniversary of his death. Born in Belgium on 10th January 1879, he made profession in Mardesous on 20th March 1898 and was ordained on 30th August 1903.
Father Bede came from a devout Catholic family. His brother Frédéric–Vincent was a renowned missionary priest in China who was eventually arrested by the Communists and died in captivity in 1940.
Arriving at Glenstal in 1934, Father Bede became the second Prior of Glenstal in succession to the founding Prior, Father Gérard François, who returned to Belgium. In addition to assuming the office of Prior, Father Bede became Headmaster of Glenstal School, an office he held until May 1937 when this responsibility was assumed by Father Matthew Dillon, the uncle of our present-day guest master and former Abbot, Father Christopher Dillon.
During Father Bede’s leadership of Glenstal Priory, the monks transferred from the castle buildings – now needed for the expanding school – to what had been the stable-bock. This was made possible by the building of a guesthouse (now incorporated into today’s reception and shop) and the provision of rooms for monks over the present-day refectory in what is still called ‘the Father’s Wing.’
Father Bede was a classical scholar and philologist, the latter quality inspiring an interest in all things Irish. He was particularly interested in providing texts for the offices of the main Irish saints, Patrick, Bridget and Columba. In addition to occasional scholarly contributions to learned journals, he published some books which were more accessible to the non-specialist reader such as The Mass: an historical commentary in 1947.
He was instrumental in facilitating the reception at Glenstal of Miss Mary Martin and her future Medical Missionaries of Mary and their grounding in Benedictine spirituality. In October 1938, having been plagued through his time in Ireland by asthma, Father Bede was succeeded as Prior by Father Idesbald Ryelandt.
Unable to return to Belgium because of the Second World War, Father Bede finally returned to Mardesous in 1946. He died there on 2nd August 1948.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.