Abbey Notes

St. Fiacre Gets a Face Lift

For many years, a statue of St. Fiacre, the patron saint of gardeners, stood under an arbor in the abbey orchard. Abbot Brian Clarke maintained this little shrine until close to the end of his life. After Abbot Brian’s passing, poor St. Fiacre had no one to look after him. Eventually the arbor collapsed in the winter of 2019. This spring, Br. Paul decided to rectify the situation. St. Fiacre was taken to the monastery for a good cleaning to remove the grime that had accumulated on the statue. Once cleaned, St. Fiacre returned to his rightful place in the orchard, where he now stands under a brand-new arbor.

In addition to being the patron saint of gardeners, St. Fiacre is also the patron of taxi drivers. What is the connection, you might ask? The small French horsedrawn cab derives its name from him. The Hôtel de St-Fiacre, in the Rue St-Martin, Paris, in the middle of the seventeenth century first let these coaches on hire. The sign of the inn was an image of the saint, and the coaches, in time, came to be called by his name, fiacre. The same name, fiaker, was adopted for carriages in Vienna.

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Summer Travels

This past summer, Br. Finnbar McEvoy, O.S.B. traveled to visit brother monks in St. Vincent's Archabbey and St. Anselm's Abbey. In the summers, the Congregation usually organizes Junior Camp, a retreat at a house in the congregation where the simply professed members of the community can gather for retreat and fellowship. Due to COVID-19, no junior camp was organized, but Br. Finnbar took some time to visit two communities within driving distance.

Of his visits, Br. Finnbar said, "Both visits were encouraging and helped renew that excitement for monastic life. Visiting other houses and gathering with other monks at similar points in their lives strengthened our monastic fraternity across the congregation. I look forward to returning their hospitality with their own visits to St. Mary's Abbey in the future." Brs. William McMillan and Finnbar have enjoyed time in prayer and fellowship with the nearby Newark Abbey community as well, as well as a meeting over Zoom with members of the community in Atchison, KS.

Men With Hope to Bring

On Saturday, September 25th, Br. William and Br. Finnbar assisted at the Raising Hope Walk with Delbarton School. The Walk aims to remove the stigma attached to mental illness and raise awareness of the issues surrounding suicide. Br. Finnbar offered a reflection on the Holy Family and how Jesus continues to join us “wherever two or three are gathered”0 offering hope and consolation whenever we reach out for help. Br. William led the community in petitions and a prayer to begin the walk. They then joined the over 250 members of the community for a walk through Jockey Hollow park. Names were collected and a Mass was offered by Fr. Michael Tidd, for the intentions of those gathered at the walk.

Let Us Remember “If we believe that Jesus died and rose, God will bring forth with Him from the dead those who also have fallen asleep believing in Him.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14

John Beasley ’63

Joseph R. Bezzone, Sr, father of Joseph Bezzone Jr. ’83 and Robert Bezzone ’86, P’19; grandfather of Nicholas Bezzone ‘19 Samuel F. Champi, father of Sam F. Champi, Jr ’86 and William R. Champi ’88 Ed Collins, former faculty member (1982-1985) Raymond Donovan, uncle of admissions Dean Dr David Donovan; grandfather of Matt Donovan ’06 Frederick Coombs III, father-in-law of former Assistant Headmaster John Kowalk P’13,’16; grandfather of Jack Kowalik ’13 and Mark Kowalik ’16

Charles Eggert, Jr. ’64

James Paul Fittin, III ’58, father of Very Rev. Edward Seton Fittin ’82 and Advancement Office staff member Alexandra Fittin; brother of Chris Fittin '72 and Peter Fittin '75 James J. Golden, father of James Golden ’91 Francis Vincent Goodwin, former President of Delbarton Fathers & Friends; father of Michael Goodwin ’77, Matthew Goodwin ’78 and Damon Goodwin ’86 Claire T. Harty, mother of Stephen Harty ’69, Daniel J. Harty ’71, Peter F. Harty ’75 and David T. Harty ’82 Victor Khubani, grandfather of Jaedon Khubani ’19 and Dylan Khubani ’21 Anita McKeon, grandmother of A.J. McKeon ’14 and Matt McKeon ’17 Joseph R. McLaughlin ’07, brother of Timothy McLaughlin ’03 and Jeffrey McLaughlin ’10 Lauren Mulcahy, mother of Matthew Mulcahy ’10, Aunt of Robert H. Mulcahy ’17, Andrew Mulcahy ’20: Sister-in-law of: Robert J. Mulcahy ’80, Daughter in law of Robert E. Mulcahy III Tina Puleo, mother of Joe Puelo ’79, Lou Puelo ’82; Aunt of Joe Puleo ’78 F. Brian Reilly ’98, brother of Patrick Reilly ’03 Peter R. Vermylen, husband of former DMG President Cathy Vermylen P’95,’99,’01, father of Michael Vermylen ’95, Tom Vermylen ’99 and John Vermylen ’01; brother of Director of Marketing & Communications Jessica Fiddes P’03,’05,’08; uncle of John Fiddes ’03, Hugh Fiddes ’05, Cameron Fiddes ’08, James Vermylen ’14, Mark Vermylen ’14, Teddy Vermylen ’17 and Harry Vermylen ’20 John Donald Tierney ’76, brother of Chris Tierney ’95; cousin of Frank Lynch ’76, Michael Lynch ’78, Lex Crane ’92 and Ryan Crane ’95 Fern Yanofski, mother-in-law of Associate Director of Marketing & Communications Jared Lowy Kathleen Wetzel, mother of Matt Wetzel ’03

Charles Wry ’51

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