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A BB E Y S C HO OL PORTSMOUTH ABBE Y SCHOOL
Family Day 2016 Saturday April 30, 2016 from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. Parents, Grandparents, Siblings and Friends All are welcome to come and share the day with our Abbey Community. Enjoy a BBQ, watch games and performances, and attend special events. For more information on the event or how to get involved, please contact Meghan Fonts, director of parent relations at mfonts@portsmouthabbey.org or 401-643-1246.
WINTER ALUMNI BULLETIN 2016
T H E PA R E NTS’ A SSO C I AT I O N I N VI T E S YO U TO
ENGAGE IN OUR COMMUNITY . . . ENHANCE YOUR ABBEY EXPERIENCE! WINTER ALUMNI BULLETIN 2016
MISSION STATEMENT The aim of Portsmouth Abbey School is to help young men and women grow in knowledge and grace. Grounded in the Catholic faith and 1,500-year-old Benedictine intellectual tradition, the School fosters: Reverence for God and the human person Respect for learning and order Responsibility for the shared experience of community life
PORTSM OUT H ABB E Y SCHOOL Annual Fund 2015-16 The aim of Portsmouth Abbey School is to help young men and women grow in knowledge and grace.
BOARD OF REGENTS Right Rev. Dom Caedmon Holmes, O.S.B. Abbot and Chancellor Portsmouth, RI Mr. W. Christopher Behnke ’81, P ’12, ’15 Chairman Chicago, IL Dom Joseph Byron, O.S.B. Portsmouth, RI Mr. Creighton O. Condon ’74, P ’07, ’10 Jamestown, RI Sr. Suzanne Cooke, R.S.C.J. Washington, D.C. Dom Francis Crowley, O.S.B. Portsmouth, RI Mrs. Kathleen Cunningham P ’08,’09,’11,’14 Dedham, MA Mr. Peter Ferry ’75, P ’16, ‘17 Republic of Singapore Mrs. Frances Fisher P ’15 San Francisco, CA Dr. Timothy P. Flanigan ’75, P ’06, ’09, ’11,’19 Tiverton, RI Mr. Peter S. Forker ’69 Chicago, IL
Mr. Patrick Gallagher ’81, P ’15 Providence, RI
Mr. Shane O’Neil ‘65 Bedford, MA
Mrs. Margaret S. Healey P ’91 New Vernon, NJ
Mr. John Perreira P ’05 Portsmouth, RI
Mr. Denis Hector ’70 Miami, FL
Mr. Peter J. Romatowski ’68 McLean, VA
Dr. Gregory Hornig ’68, P’ 01 Prairie Village, KS
Right Rev. Dom Matthew Stark, O.S.B. Prior Portsmouth, RI
Rev. Dom Damian Kearney, O.S.B. ’45 Portsmouth, RI Mr. Peter Kennedy ’64, P ’07, ’08, ’15 Big Horn, WY Mr. William Keogh ’78, P ’13 Litchfield, CT Dr. Mary Beth Klee P ’04 Hanover, NH Ms. Devin McShane P ’09, ’11 Providence, RI Rev. Dom Gregory Mohrman, O.S.B. St. Louis, MO Mr. Philip V. Moyles, Jr. ’82 Annual Fund Chair Rye, NY
Mr. Rowan G.P. Taylor P ’13, ’18 New Canaan, CT Mr. William Winterer ’87 Boston, MA
Emeritus Mr. Peter Flanigan R ’41, P ’75, ’83, GP ’06, ’09, ’11 Purchase, NY Mr. Thomas Healey ’60, P ’91 New Vernon, NJ Mr. William Howenstein R ’52, P ’87, GP ’10 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI R
deceased
Mr. and Mrs. Emmett O’Connell P ’16, ’17 Co-Chairs, Parents’ Association Stowe, VT
Front cover: (Bristol County, Mass.) Deputy District Attorney William McCauley’79 at the Fall River Justice Center. See Bill’s alumni profile on page 18. All photographs of Bill McCauley ’79, including cover, by David Hansen.
Reverence
Respect
Responsibility
Our profound and unique mission statement places Portsmouth Abbey School in an important position in academia. The search for both intellectual and spiritual Truth is the hallmark of an Abbey education. Guided by the Benedictine tradition, our dedicated faculty live out our mission every day as they help our students grow in knowledge and grace. For our students, this growth is a lifelong pursuit that begins in the classrooms, houses, and on the fields at Portsmouth Abbey. Your gifts to the Annual Fund go to work immediately to support our students directly and to secure the strength of our mission. Make a gift today at www.portsmouthabbey.org/makeagift. Please contact Amanda Lazarus, director of the annual fund, at alazarus@portsmouthabbey.org or (401) 643-1204 with any questions about the Annual Fund.
From the office of the Headmaster Following are remarks delivered by Headmaster Daniel McDonough on Parents’ Weekend 2015:
Thank you for sharing your wonderful children with us. After only two days, you have seen how much is going on here inside and outside the classroom as your children grow in knowledge and grace. You’ve seen classes taught by our extraordinary faculty that live and work here with your children, and while you may not be ready to suit up for athletics yourself today, you have a rich afternoon ahead of you. Meanwhile, we’ve had a marvelous start to the school year, including an event that brought the school together on the first Thursday of class, September 17. That afternoon while many of us were heading to Boston for a School reception, our Head Girl, Sydney Welch, and Head Boy, Liam Kelly, summoned the student body to the wind turbine to pose for a photo as part of a school spirit contest sponsored by Hollister on Instagram. That’s nice, I thought. Get everyone together and have some fun. Then I forgot all about it until I received an email two weeks later from Hollister, telling me that they had over 1,400 schools enter the contest and had picked us as the winner, and that later this fall they would be shipping us a
free Hollister-designed Portsmouth Abbey hoodie for every student. How’s that for starting the school year? But perhaps the most exciting news is that at last year’s final meeting of the Board of Regents, the Board identified a new science building as our next capital priority. With the McGuire Fine Arts Building having opened about 15 years ago, and the Burden Classroom Building about 35 years ago, and the Science Building nearly 50 years ago, the time is right for a new academic building for a school that has more than doubled its population since the Science Building was constructed, and gone up another 25 percent since the Classroom Building was opened. While this will be a multi-year process, we are very excited by what lies ahead for our academic program. And by now I think you have realized that executing this academic program is done by very special people who have chosen to work at a boarding school. To be able to show patience in the classroom, on the playing fields, and then in the Houses in the evening is no easy task for one day, let alone every day. Some of you have occasionally reached out to me to let me know that you wish
WINTER Alumni BULLETIN 2016
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a particular teacher would have let you know sooner about your child’s struggles. But part of what makes a person a successful boarding school teacher is an unquenchable sense of optimism about a child’s potential, a feeling that success is just around the corner. It just so happens that the Gospel at today’s Mass illustrated our belief that time is on our side. From the Gospel of Luke: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For THREE years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’” Speaking very seriously for a moment, many of us chose this life to help students find their way for four years, even when there isn’t always as much fruit as we might like during the first three years. Yes, this is an era of infinite opportunity. But it is hard to make choices when you have infinite opportunity, and so it is also a time of incredible anxiety. Yes, we parents may have had some peer pressure when we were in high school, but we have to admit that we had it comparatively easy compared to our children. Much of that anxiety flows from their peer group as they try to construct perfect lives on social media. But some of it comes from parents, too. Parents that rightly want the best for their children, but sometimes don’t realize how that comes across to them. Now, I am not here to chastise my captive audience. I am here to tell you that you can be the antidote for the bombardment your children receive from social media. You can be the antidote because your children love you. But they often have the idea that you made a plan when you were 14, and executed it successfully with no detours or mistakes along the way. They don’t always know about your journey.
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We want to spare them our journey, but all we can do is be there for them while they make theirs. So here’s how you can be the antidote: tell them the truth. Tell them, when you feel the time is right, that for the most part you had no idea when you were their age what you were going to be today. Tell them that you made mistakes, and that while sometimes you wish you could do some things over again, the fact is you’re glad you can’t, because your children are in your lives now, and maybe they wouldn’t have been in your lives in some other scenario. Tell them you weren’t always sure how things would work out, but that despite your mistakes, things did work out, sometimes in amazing ways that took you years to realize. I am sure many of you do this already, but I can tell you in my 32nd year of living with teenagers that they often need to hear everything multiple times before they remember it – or believe it. Thank you again for your support of our endeavor to live our mission through reverence for God and the human person, respect for learning and order, and responsibility for the shared experience of community life.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Stay Connected To keep up with general news and information about Portsmouth Abbey School, we encourage you to bookmark the www.portsmouthabbey.org website. Check our our listing of upcoming alumni events here on campus and around the country. And please remember to update your contact information on our Alumni Community pages, where you can find out more about Reunion 2016, our Annual Golf Scholarship Tournament, and share news and search for fellow alumni around the world: www.portsmouthabbey.org/page/alumni. If you would like to receive our e-newsletter, Musings, please make sure we have your email address (send to: info@portsmouthabbey.org). To submit class notes and photos (1-5 MB), please email: classnotes@portsmouthabbey.org or mail to Portsmouth Abbey Office of Development and Alumni Affairs, 285 Cory’s Lane, Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871.
CONTENTS From the Office of the Headmaster
1
Pope Francis’ Visit to the USA
4
by Abbot Caedmon Holmes, O.S.B. Why Courage?
6
by Christopher Fisher, Executive Director, Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture 8
Reunion 2015 Wrap-up Parent Engagement at Portsmouth Abbey
16
Alumni Profile: William McCauley ’79
18
by James J. Gillis Alumni Headline Fall Lecture Series: Tom Payne ’80 and Dr. Jake Kurtis ’85
23
On the Nightstand: What Our Faculty Is Reading
26
Lourdes and the Legacy of “Uncle Hugo” Markey ’40
29
by Joe Michaud ’90 The Portsmouth Abbey Alumni Bulletin is published bi-annually for alumni, parents and friends by Portsmouth Abbey School, a Catholic Benedictine preparatory school for young men and women in Forms III-VI (grades 9-12) in Portsmouth, RI. If you have opinions or comments on the articles contained in our Bulletin, please email: communications @ portsmouthabbey.org or write to the Office of Communications, Portsmouth Abbey School, 285 Cory’s Lane, Portsmouth, RI 02871 Please include your name and phone number.
Portsmouth’s Debt to England and the EBC Houses
32
by Dom Damian Kearney ’45, O.S.B. 38
Building a Community by Director of Admission, Steven Pietraszek ’96 Fall 2015 Athletics
40
Intentionality & Transformation on the Bay
42
by Kale Zelden, Summer Program Director
The editors reserve the right to edit articles for content, length, grammar, magazine style, and suitabilty to the mission of Portsmouth Abbey School.
Milestones: Weddings, Births, Retirement, Necrology
Headmaster: Daniel McDonough
Fr. Tim Collins ’48; David Randal McCarthy; Fr. Benjamin Reese ’76
Director of Development: Matthew Walter
Class Notes
44
In Memoriam: Bernardo “Hugh” Tovar ’41; Bernard Hugh Markey ’40; 50
56
Editors: Kathy Heydt, Katherine Giblin Stark Art Director: Kathy Heydt
Stay Connected!
Photography: Jez Coulson, Louis Walker, David Hansen, Andrea Hansen, Marianne Lee, Katherine Giblin Stark, Kathy Heydt, Kale Zelden
Visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
Individual photos found in alumni profiles have been supplied courtesy of the respective alumni.
Shop online at the Abbey Bookstore: www.portsmouthabbey.org/page/bookstore
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Pope Francis’ Visit to the USA by Abbot Caedmon Holmes, O.S.B.
On September 22, 2015, I traveled to Washington, D.C., where I would avail myself of the hospitality of Portsmouth’s sister abbey, St. Anselm’s, so as to be present for some of Pope Francis’ visit to our capital city. That same day, the Pope arrived in the United States from Cuba. (The following week, after returning to Rome, he interpreted this itinerary as “an emblematic passage: a bridge which, thanks be to God, is being rebuilt. God always wants to build bridges; it is we who build walls. And the walls collapse, always!”)
periphery of the crowd. (Pope Francis likes to greet the congregation before the Mass by going among them in the Pope-mobile. But during the actual procession into the service, and during the liturgy itself, unlike his predecessors, he is very grave and serious-looking, clearly concentrated on what is happening and avoiding eye contact with individuals in the crowd.)
Late in the afternoon of his first full day in the United States, September 23rd, a warm, sunny afternoon, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the campus of The Catholic University of America, I had the privilege of concelebrating with Pope Francis (and several hundred other priests and bishops) the canonization Mass of Junipero Serra. This Franciscan friar founded nine missions in California in the middle of the 18th century, including those which have become the modern cities of San Diego and San Francisco. The abbots who were present were invited to process and sit among the bishops. So I had a seat in the fourth row back from the outdoor altar in front of the east portico of the basilica, a favorable vantage point for observing the Pope during the Mass. We had processed out to our assigned places nearly an hour before Mass was set to begin, at 4:15 p.m. After a while, as we were sitting waiting, we heard frenzied cheering and shouting from far behind us in the crowd; and when we stood up, turned around, and craned to look, we could just barely make out the Pope-mobile driving along on the
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The canonization ceremony took place at the very beginning of the Mass, which was celebrated in Spanish. First the hymn “Veni Creator Spiritus” was sung to implore the support of the Holy Spirit. Then after Cardinal Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, formally requested the Pope to canonize Blessed Junipero, a summary account of his life was read out. Next the Pope asked the whole congregation to pray for the intercession of all the saints, and the Litany of the Saints was chanted (including the names of other American saints, such as Elizabeth Ann Seton, Katherine Drexel, and Kateri Tekakwitha). Only then did the Pope, wearing the miter, holding the crozier, and sitting on his chair, proclaim, by the authority of God and of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and by his own authority, that Junipero Serra is a saint and is to be honored as such by
Photo: Abbot Caedmon Holmes in the crypt of the Basilica, waiting for the bishops to arrive for the procession to Mass. Here he took the opportunity to pose for a photo with Pope Francis (or at least a cardboard version of the Pope).
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
the whole Church. There followed a hymn of thanksgiving while a Native American, wearing a cape of feathers, carried forward the relics of the newly canonized saint and set them in a place of honor in the sanctuary. Finally, Cardinal Wuerl thanked the Pope in the name of the Church and asked him to order the publication of the canonization decree, which he said he so ordered. Then the Mass continued in the usual way with the singing of the Gloria. In his homily, Pope Francis spoke about preaching the Gospel, evangelizing, the joyous duty of the Church, and he recalled how the new saint had so exemplified it, with his motto, “Siempre adelante!” Always forward! The event ended in a joyous atmosphere, with evening drawing on in a turquoise-colored sky and orange clouds. As I struggled through the crowd to make my way on foot back to St. Anselm’s, I had the pleasant surprise of running into Frank Loughran ’15, who is studying at The Catholic University and so was fortunately placed to witness a piece of Pope Francis’s historic visit. After his return to Rome, Pope Francis had this to say: “In Washington I met with political authorities, with the general public, with bishops, priests, and religious, with the poorest and most marginalized. I recalled that the greatest wealth of that land and its people consists in its spiritual and ethical heritage. So I sought to encourage them to carry forward the building of society in faithfulness to their fundamental principle, namely, that all men are created by God equal, and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These values, shared by all, find their fulfillment in the Gospel, as was clearly shown at the canonization of Franciscan Brother Junipero Serra, the great evangelizer of California. St. Junipero shows us the path of joy: to go forward and share with others the love of Christ. This is the way of the Christian, as well as of everyone who has known love: not to keep it to yourself but to share it with others. It was on this religious and moral foundation that the United States was born and grew, and it is on this foundation that it can continue to be a land of liberty and welcome, and work toward a world that is more just and fraternal.” The following day, I watched on television at St. Anselm’s the Pope’s speech to Congress. The reporters said that the
Speaker of the House, who had arranged the visit, had instructed the members of Congress ahead of time that this should not be treated as an ordinary visit of a head of state or eminent politician, so applause would not be appropriate. But when the Pope came in and made his way through the standing assembly to the podium, and had greeted the Vice President and the Speaker, he began by saying, in heavily accented English, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am most grateful for the invitation to address this joint session of Congress in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.” At this, the assembly exploded into the first round of a standing ovation, which would be repeated something like 40 times during the ensuing address. Afterwards, he was led out through Statuary Hall of the Capitol, where he was shown the statue of St. Junipero Serra, which has stood there since 1931 representing the State of California. From there he stepped out onto the Speaker’s Balcony to be greeted by thousands who were standing on the Capitol Lawn and down the Mall, waiting to see him. Having just come from addressing a joint session of the Congress of the United States, the Secretary of State and other members of the President’s Cabinet, the Chief Justice and three other Justices of the Supreme Court, and several members of the diplomatic corps, the Pope, speaking in Spanish, thanked the crowd for their welcome and their presence. Then, after being interrupted by a burst of applause, he looked down at the front of the crowd, and said, “And I thank the most important persons here: the children.” He proceeded to pray for them. The speech to Congress, of course, had been prepared and read, but this greeting to the crowd was completely off the cuff. There is no reason to think that he had rehearsed calling the young people in the crowd los personajes mas importantes. (Pope Francis is a mystic, I would say: he has taken the Gospel so completely into his heart that he has no need to calculate much what he will say or what he will do: all he has to do is follow his heart. His whole behavior is of a piece: total coherence of thought, word, and gesture.) Needless to say, his entire visit to our country was a great success, and I am grateful to have participated in one part of it, which I will not soon forget.
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Why Courage?
By Christopher Fisher Executive Director, Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture
“The message of the church is the message of frankness and Christian courage.” – Pope Francis When Saul of Tarsus, a notorious persecutor of the first Christians, encountered the divine light of Christ on the road to Damascus, he was compelled to accept in his heart the truth of the risen Christ. Saint Paul the Apostle, as Saul would later be known, demonstrates in his own conversion and in his prolific writings that this intellectual acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God is the basis of Christian faith. We Christians get this. We know that in order to be Christians we must first accept in our minds and hearts that Jesus is indeed the Christ and the Son of God. This is no small feat. To believe in something so mysterious as God made man, God crucified, and God resurrected demands something extraordinary of us. But in the pressure of daily living, we often end up taking this faith for granted. That’s because faith alone, as a disposition of the intellect towards God, is by nature firstly an internal act. And when other (albeit worthy) priorities take center-stage in our lives, it becomes easy to relegate faith to simply an act of the mind, divorced from any external expression. And there we sometimes leave it, like an old trinket tucked away on the highest shelf, not the centerpiece of our daily lives. This internalization of faith is magnified, even encouraged, in our secular culture. Despite language of religious freedom and tolerance, the reality is that to be a Christian in the public square can be perilous act. In movies, television, literature, fashion, and education, secular culture demands of us a privatization of our faith. Attempts to express our faith in the workplace, in government, in schools, among friends, even around the family dinner table, may be treated with suspicion, mockery, or even contempt. But as Saint Paul tells us, this should not stop us from courageously expressing our faith and bringing others to the light of Christ. Indeed, in his Letter to the Corinthians, Paul recounts the dangers he faced in sharing the Gospel: “Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dan-
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gers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” (2 Cor 11:24-27) And Christ Himself tells us, “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (Jn 15:18-20) What Jesus and Paul are telling us is that against the pressures of the world, faith without courage will falter. But conversely, courage itself can only be achieved in abiding and practiced faith – not faith kept on the shelf, but faith constantly practiced. Faith without works is indeed dead. And works demand courage. Courage, then, is a necessary companion to faith. And in our current age, against “the principalities and powers” of secular culture, it is the virtue of Christian courage that is perhaps most needed. That is why the Portsmouth Institute’s 2016 Summer Conference will explore the topic Christian Courage in a Secular Age. We will seek answers to questions like, how do we courageously raise Catholic families? How should Christianity influence public discourse? How are we to understand and support the plight of persecuted Christians around the world, especially in the Middle East? As religious liberty becomes more narrowly defined, how do we continue to live as both Americans and Christians? How do we emulate the courage of the saints? These are necessary questions that demand answers. And the answers will demand courage. We hope you will join us at Portsmouth Abbey on June 10-12, 2016, for a weekend of stimulating content, engaging conversation, and faithful fellowship as we seek to understand the meaning of courage and live the faith courageously in our daily lives. Register online at www.portsmouthinstitute.org, or feel free to contact me at 401.643.1255 or institute@portsmouthabbey.org.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Chido Onyiuke ’10 takes a quick break from the festivities to pose for the camera.
Friends from the Class of ’10, Bobby Savoie and Catherine Stern share a hug.
The last weekend of September delivered perfect autumn weather as well as alumni from near and far for Reunion Weekend 2015. Portsmouth Abbey classes ending in ’0 and ’5, as well as a few attendees from neighboring classes, made their way back to Cory’s Lane for a weekend full of revelry and reminiscence. With a record number of over 300 attendees returning to campus, we celebrated with our fellow Ravens all weekend long. The festivities began Friday morning, with 47 alumni putting their skills to the test by hitting the links at the Carnegie Abbey Club. Others sat in on a moving Dom Luke Childs Lecture given by Tom Payne ’80, followed by “Back to the Classroom” visits and a tour of the St. Thomas More library to peruse the impressive display of books by alumni authors. Friday evening, multiple class dinners were held at various off-campus locations on and around Aquidneck Island. Saturday presented a bounty of activity for our Reunion-goers. Many started with Mass, followed by a delicious breakfast prepared by the dedicated staff at Stillman Dining Hall. More alums went “Back to the Classroom” before enjoying a conversation with Headmaster Dan McDonough, who discussed the impressive state of the School and the many exciting happenings on campus. Alumni had the chance to catch up with old friends and introduce their families to each other at the New England-style clambake while swaying to the tunes of Jim Coyle ‘79 and the Americana Swing Band. With full bellies and happy hearts, guests then made their way to the several athletics contests taking place on campus to show their Raven spirit.
Saturday activities for the children, and a New England lobster boil combine for a perfect fall day.
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After a full day, dusk fell and guests returned to the elegantly transformed Reunion tent on Saturday evening for a sit-down dinner featuring surf ’n turf. Diners were led in a blessing by Abbot Caedmon Holmes. While revelers dined, they heard remarks from Dan McDonough and Director of Development Matthew Walter, with special recognition for the Class of ’65
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
REUNION 2015 Dom Ambrose receives hugs from 15 of his former glee club students, spanning 28 years, who performed at his Golden Jubilee on Sunday of Reunion weekend.
2015
PORTSMOUTH ABBEY
on its 50th Reunion and the Class of ’90 on its 25th Reunion. The evening continued with party-goers spilling onto the dance floor with friends old and new. Sunday morning began with a very special Jubilee Mass at the Church of St. Gregory the Great honoring Father Julian Stead ’43 and Brother Joseph Byron on the occasion of their 70th and 25th anniversaries, respectively, of their monastic professions, and the Golden Jubilee of Father Ambrose Wolverton’s ordination. A brunch immediately followed at which diners were entertained by a special surprise Glee Club Reunion performance, coordinated by Director of Music Jeff Kerr, in honor of and dedicated to Father Ambrose. Fifteen of Fr. Ambrose’s former glee club students, from classes spanning 28 years, serenaded Fr. Ambrose and the audience. A great weekend was enjoyed by all as alumni reminisced about their shared history of Portsmouth Abbey School and all the things that make it such a very special place to live, learn and grow in knowledge and grace.
d
Planning has begun for Reunion 2016, which will be held September 30-October 2, 2016. All classes, particularly those ending in ’1 or ’6 and members of the Diman Club, are encouraged to mark your calendars and make your plans to join us. For questions, please contact Director of Special Events Patty Gibbons at 401643-1281 or email at pgibbons@ portsmouthabbey.org. portsmouthabbey.org
THE WOLVERTON CHAIR IN PERFORMING ARTS d The Wolverton Chair in Performing Arts was first introduced during the Growing in Knowledge and Grace campaign in January of 2012. As an endowed fund, the Wolverton Chair provides perpetual salary support for the chair-holder as well as funds for program innovation and enhancement across the spectrum of the Performing Arts at Portsmouth Abbey. Jay Bragan, English teacher and head of performing arts, is the first holder of the Wolverton Chair. The goal for the Chair’s endowment is $1 million. As of December 2015, the Wolverton Chair’s fund balance was just over $480,000 with an additional $107,500 of pledges receivable, representing almost 60% of our goal. If you are interested in learning more about or supporting this perpetual endowment that honors Dom Ambrose, our teacher, mentor, leader and friend, while providing vital funding for today’s performing arts programming, please contact Andrew Rose in the Alumni and Development Office at 401.643.1280 or arose@portsmouthabbey.org.
Headmaster Dan McDonough
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REUNION 2015
Above right: John Power ’80 and daughter Paulina ’16, spend time catching up with Tom Payne ’80 and Fr. Paschal Scotti. Left top: Members of the Class of 1965 met on Friday night at Sardella’s restaurant in Newport and spent the evening catching up on old times and new. Left middle: Old friends Bill Maher and John Melia, from the Class of 1970, enjoying the weekend. Left bottom: Andrew Stancioff ’55 and his wife, Randall Chanler, enjoy a laugh with Abbot Caedmon. Below right: Cliff Hobbins shares his passion for history with our visiting alumni.
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P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Brian O’Reilly’95’s wife, Kiana, enjoys the crisp fall day with sons Tucker and Whit.
Members of the Class of 2010 show off their moves on the dance floor.
❘ ❘ ❘ ❘ ❘ ❘ ❘ ❘ ❘ ❘ ❘ ❘ ❘ ❘
Fr. Jonathan DeFelice ’65 shares memories with a friend.
Save the Date!
REUNION 2016 September 30 - October 2 Classes ending in 6 and 1 – this is your reunion year! We especially welcome back members of the Diman Club – alumni from all classes prior to 1966! Visit www.portsmouthabbey.org/reunion for more information regarding the schedule, alumni golf, class dinners, accommodations, babysitting and more! Questions? Contact Patty Gibbons at 401-643-1281 or pgibbons@portsmouthabbey.org
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REUNION 2015 DIMAN CLUB
Back Row: (left to right) Thomas F. Weld ’55, Robert L. Sain ’60, James D. Bell ’55, Andrew S. Stancioff ’55, William O. Melvin ’55 Front Row: Roger H. Moriarity ’50, Henry O. Robinson ’50, David Q. Kearney ’50, Dom Damian Kearney, O.S.B. ’45
Class of 1965
Back Row: (left to right) Charles Casgrain, Gregory Dray, James Minor, Shane O’Neil, John Fisher, Nicholas Keefe, Oren Root Front Row L to R: James Sturdevant, Carroll Delaney, Matthew Flynn, Dom Damien Kearney, Joseph Wagner, Fr. Jonathan DeFelice
TRAVELED THE FARTHEST:
Frank DiMenno ‘75 (left) and Henry “Harry”Hamrock ‘75. Harry was recognized for “greatest distance traveled,” coming all the way from Hong Kong.
Class of 1980
Back Row: (left to right) Dan Sexton,Tom Payne, John White, John Power, Mark Godfrey Front Row: Brian Scanlan, Chris Goldie, Bede McComack, John Phelan PAGE 12
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Class of 1985
Back Row: (left to right) David Groff, Matthew Cunningham, Kevin Stevens, Michael Nannini, Ted English, Gerard Watson, Laureano Batista, Christopher Coxon, Jon Rocha, John McCormick, Manny Rionda, Francisco Elizalde, Petro Piaseckyj Middle Row: Matthew Reyhan, David Lyons, John Stankard, George Carter, Ted McHugh Front Row: Sean Driscoll, Brendan Curley, Matthew Tassell, Sean Mullen, Mark O’Connor, Jonathan Kuyper, Robert Kossick
Class of 1990
Back Row: (left to right) Edward Cahill, Kevin McDermott, Daniel Payet, Kevin MacMillan, Ross Murray, P.J. O’Donnell, John Hinrichsen Front Row: Chris Galloway, John Bird, Marco Raad, Robert Poirier, Juan Jose Cebrian
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REUNION 2015
Class of 1995
Back Row: (left to right) Marliese Palank-Zafiropoulos, Kathleen B. Stevens, John Anselmi, Andrew Sacchetti, Thomas Paull Front Row: Elizabeth Hickey, Brian O’Reilly, Monique Singer, Maura Walsh Dyson, Kathleen A. Burke-Finn
Class of 2000
(Left to right) Vincent Kierulf, Mary Comerford, Julia Campagna Feeley, Meredith Clark Puzio, Matthew Waine, Patrick Hewett
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P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Class of 2005
Back Row: (left to right) Garrett Thompson, Alex Fernandez, Susan Ferrara, Jack Keating, Keith Hoffman, Katherine Dennis, Jennifer Hubbard, Craig Bazarsky, Amanda McDonnell Front Row: Tom Gleason, Kim Thomas, Bridget Royer, Josh Parks, Jessica Gabeler, John J. Rok, Rachel Jastrebsky
Class of 2010
Back Row: (left to right) Jay Wagner, Ryan Silva, Quent Dickmann, Shayne Coleman, Tim Fowler, Chido Onyiuke, Makonnen Jackmann, Evan Sylvia, Daniel Caplin, Sebastian Clarkin, Robert (Bobby) Savoie, Charles Glew Middle Row: Catherine Stern, Spencer Lambrecht, Luke Gleason, James Baylor, Frank Pagliaro, Leo Makowski, Cam Shirley, Ethan DaPonte, Jean LeComte, Pat Hannon, Laura Mederios, Cameron Hadfield, Casey Hogan Front Row: Grace Popham, Cat Malkemus, Cindy Ruiz, Salome Wilfred, Kathleen Timmons, Amelia Bradley, Ryan Lohuis, Pat Lohuis, Christopher Larson, Henry Harries, Tessa Condon
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F R O M T H E O F F I C E O F D E V E L O P M E N T & A L U M N I A F FA I R S
PARENT ENGAGEMENT AT PORTSMOUTH ABBEY
This school year Headmaster Dan McDonough established the Director of Parents Relations position as an important new role in the development office to serve as the principal liaison for parent engagement. Mr. McDonough tapped Meghan Fonts to fill this new position following her 14 years of service in the admission office, the last seven of which were as its director. A major goal of this newly created position is to provide Abbey parents with guidance and resources to ensure the best possible Abbey experience for their student. The School welcomes the responsibility and opportunity to partner with our parents as their children grow in knowledge and grace, and it is through this partnership that parent engagement is cultivated, whether a family is living one town over or one continent away from campus.
“Stay Connected” on the Portsmouth Abbey Parents’ website pages
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The first step in establishing this parent-school relationship involved reaffirming the School’s commitment to the Parents’ Association, which has recently expanded its activities and programming. By the start of the 2015-16 school year, a document was created to guide our Parents’ Association by outlining the mission and the purpose of its work. The duty of the Portsmouth Abbey School Parents’ Association is to serve and support the School’s mission.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
Headmaster Dan McDonough with Judy and Emmett O’Connell, P ’16, ’17
The association engages parents to share their talents and resources to enhance the goals of the School while strengthening the experience of the students. Every Abbey parent is automatically a member of this association and has a voice in its programming. This year Judy and Emmett O’Connell, parents of Dante ’16 and Emmett ’17, serve as the chairs of the association, along with individual Form Chairs Chris and Jean Rooney (VI), Keith and Kathy Longson (V), Chris and Deb Falvey (IV), and Thomas and Julie Kelly (III). Their leadership and commitment to the School, through “time, talent and treasure,” makes the association inviting, active and thriving. The second step in developing the parentschool relationship involved increasing and simplifying the engagement process by enhancing the parent section of the website (www.portsmouthabbey.org/ welcomeparents). Thanks to a redesign
Director of Development & Alumni Affairs Matt Walter P ’18, and Meghan Jannotta P ’15, ’16,’18 greet parents as they arrive for the weekend.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES • Annual Fund • Parents’ Weekend
Welcome Table
• Christmas Open House • Host a Reception • Family Day • Admissions of these pages, parents now have a portal to their students” experiences. If parents have questions, there are resources; if parents want to sign up to volunteer, there is a form at their fingertips; if parents want to see photos, there is a link to follow the School via several social media outlets; and if parents have suggestions or ideas, there is a specific person to take the initial request.
the parent of an alum, please think about how you can be an active participant in the Abbey experience – the opportunities are endless.
• International Student Host • Parents’ Auction • Support the Arts
The School invites our parents to engage in any of the following ways: attend oncampus activities; promote the School in their respective communities; host offcampus events; assist with fundraising; or offer suggestions to enhance the School. By becoming an active member of our community, it is our hope that our parents recognize how the mission of the School is integrated into their child’s experience, and, in so doing, they will appreciate the spirit of the work we do as a school in the Benedictine tradition. Portsmouth Abbey School benefits from an active parents’ association. Our parents can make diverse and significant contributions to our community and are an integral aspect of the overall Abbey experience for current and future students today. Whether you are a current parent or
From left: Kurt Carter P ’16, ’17, ’19, Emmett O’Connell P ’16, ’17, and Julie and Thomas Kelly P ’16, ’17, ’19 at the Saturday football game during Parents’ Weekend 2015.
WINTER Alumni BULLETIN 2016
For more information, please contact Meghan Fonts, Director of Parent Relations, at mfonts@portsmouthabbey.org
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WILLIAM MCCAULEY ‘79 by James J. Gillis It’s a gray, drizzly day in gritty Fall River, Mass., and Deputy District Attorney William McCauley ’79 and his team are working a cold case. McCauley, co-prosecutor Brian Griffin and Fall River Lt. Michael Smith are gearing up for the murder trial of a career killer named Daniel Tavares, who broke into the racket by killing his mother more than 20 years ago. The prosecution trio huddles in a cubby of a room inside the Fall River court building, “Law and Order” style. They scribble on a white story board, which features a list of potential witnesses and a plot line of facts. The only furniture in the spartan prep room is a cluttered table and a 1970s love seat with psychedelic Peter Max-style upholstery. After Tavares killed his mother, he served 16 years and was released in a controversial decision that generated headlines. If a judge had sentenced Tavares to lethal injection, Tavares’ father said he would have plunged in the needle himself. Tavares moved to Washington State, where he murdered a married couple who lived next door to him. He’s serving two life terms there. This time around, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is trying Tavares in the 1988 killing of Gayle Botelho, the result of an alleged cocaine debt. The case faded for everyone except Botelho’s friends and family—and the meticulous McCauley.
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WILLIAM MCCAULEY ‘79
“A witness came forward,” McCauley says. “We received new information. There are no cold cases. We always think we can solve them.”
McCauley settled there. The Abbey was all-boys in his time. McCauley entered in eighth grade, as a Second Former. His brothers, Peter ’76
Win or lose, Tavares is spending his remaining years behind bars. “But you want to win the trial for the sake of the family,” McCauley says. “And we like to close the book on what took place.”
and Michael ’81, also attended the Abbey. “I feel my experience at the Abbey (and my mom and dad) shaped my faith, my desire to pursue a career in public service and my work ethic, and prepared me well for the
Griffin, who’s worked with McCauley since 1993, said, “Bill loves these kinds of cases. He’ll find angles other people never see. He will go all out.”
challenges of working as a prosecutor.” McCauley attended Northfield Mount Hermon for a postgraduate year. He then earned an appointment to West
William McCauley graduated from Portsmouth Abbey in 1979, having run track and played basketball, also briefly playing football for his father, John McCauley, football coach, teacher and athletic director.
Point. He stayed two years: “I realized I was looking in a different
McCauley was born in Boston, lived a few years in West
direction, away from
Point, N.Y., then in Portsmouth, when John and Gerry
Without his time at Portsmouth Abbey, Bill McCauley might never have entered a courtroom. “It was at the Abbey that I was first exposed to a criminal trial,” he recalled. He was a Third Former when he spent a day at Providence Superior Court. He sat in on a homicide case and an armed robbery case. “I was enthralled and I knew this was the type of work I wanted to pursue,” he said. The notion of public service germinated in the young Bill McCauley then. The Abbey harvested it. “Although I use many of the skills I first learned at the Abbey, either in my writing or in making presentations in court, the greatest
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influence the Abbey had on me in making this decision was to open my eyes to the idea of working for others – in my case, as an advocate for victims of crime. But it went beyond just winning convictions. The Abbey also shaped his philosophy of the need for punishment and redemption for those who seek it. A case in point: The man whom McCauley recently helped convict of murder had three previous murders under his belt, and was already serving two life sentences. But McCauley wanted justice for the slain woman and her loved ones. An old case need not be a cold case. And justice is justice no matter how long it takes.
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McCauley considered a career in teaching, because he saw how rewarding his dad, an Abbey teacher and coach, found it. His favorite teacher? Well, excluding his father, that was Father Ambrose Wolverton, who taught English. His kindness and patience were legendary, and McCauley was a beneficiary. “I know I gave him more than a couple of reasons to give up on me. He never did, and I’ve always remembered that.”
a military career. I’m grateful for my time there. It just wasn’t
“Bill will sift through cold cases, calling up police
for me.”
departments to reignite interest,” Griffin says. “Every so
From there he transferred to Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., with a vague notion to pursue law. First he dabbled in real estate in Newport and Boston (his mother sold real estate in Newport, where his parents now live). He flipped houses, before anyone knew the term.
often, they’d find something he could use.” McCauley is tall, lean and angular, with only his baldness hinting at his 54 years. He leans forward when questioning witnesses. And his colleague Griffin says McCauley excels at the start of cases. “He thinks of possibilities that others overlook,” Griffin says, “He’ll suggest talking to this person
“But I’ve always been fascinated by the law, by prosecution,”
or that person, someone we never considered. He’s always
he says. “I think I always knew I’d end up in law school. I
well prepared.”
love the excitement of trials, the sense of obtaining justice for victims.”
McCauley and Griffin are an odd tag team at a glance. The tall McCauley moves as if he guzzles Red Bull, wired and
He entered Suffolk University Law School, first at night, then
uber-organized, as if his thoughts run wind sprints. Griffin is
as a day student. The program included a prosecution track,
stocky, an Irish storyteller who seems as if a joke is always
and McCauley cemented his specialty there.
brewing.
“I loved the program,” he says. “It was great preparation.
McCauley left Plymouth County and worked in private
Nothing gives you experience like a courtroom day in and
practice for a few years. He and his wife started a family,
day out, but this was a great program. It prepared me well
and the money was better.
for this line of work.”
But contracts and white collar cases were bloodless
When McCauley graduated law school and passed the
compared to DA work. When his friend Sam Sutter became
Massachusetts Bar, he celebrated with a bike ride...from the
District Attorney in Bristol County (Mass.) in 2006, he
West Coast to the East Coast.
brought in McCauley as a top assistant.
“I was 31,” he recalls. “It you’re going to do something like
And McCauley took on murder cases. And while he can
that, you need to do it when you’re young. You’ll never
heat up a cold case, he’s encountered no hotter case than
do it later. It was amazing experience, strenuous at times,
in early 2015.
climbing the Cascades. My wife (Lynne) joined me for a week, some friends rode with me here and there. Most of the time, I was alone, and it got lonely at some stretches. But I also met some great people along the way. It was a great
For several months, McCauley appeared on the TV news nearly every night, courtroom snippets and sound bites, again and again, inching toward a verdict.
experience, two months. What way to see the country. And I
McCauley prosecuted Aaron Hernandez, the former New
was in the best shape of my life.”
England Patriots tight end charged with gunning down
After law school he joined the Plymouth County (Mass.)
friend Odin Lloyd in North Attleboro, Mass.
District Attorney’s office, often handling child abuse cases.
McCauley and Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh
Griffin worked in the same office, and he marvels at how
clashed in a previous case, and McCauley asked her to
McCauley cleaned up tough cases.
recuse herself. No dice, and they tangled in the Hernandez trial as well about allowable evidence.
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WILLIAM MCCAULEY ‘79
In the end, the jury convicted
in social work and wants
Hernandez, and the conviction
to work with abuse victims,
is up for appeal.
which heartens her father: “The jury is out on the
The prosecution and defense toiled under the watch of a packed press gallery and crowded spectator seats. “It’s the biggest case in terms of coverage and interest in my career,” McCauley says. “I’ve tried murder cases where no one showed up, for the defendant or the victim.” McCauley is reluctant to discuss the case for that reason. Plus, Hernandez is accused of killing two men in Boston. Why, many wonder, would Hernandez kiss away a $45 million football contract in exchange for life in a cramped cell?
boys.” As 2015 winds down, McCauley has shifted his focus from tight end Hernandez to tight-lipped Tavares, who never takes the stand. Tavares is more obscure but just as dangerous. With gray hair swept back and glasses, the lean Tavares looks 10 years older than his 49 years. Except for neck tattoos, he could pass for a fidgety accountant. But when the jury walks in with a guilty verdict, the accountant leaves and the killer arrives, the remorseless Tavares laughs and taunts Botelho’s family, calling them
McCauley, a Patriots fan, has never spoken to Hernandez (not unusual in such cases) but knows plenty about a man with gang ties dragging in the wake of his violent life.
“clowns.” McCauley is satisfied that Botelho’s murderer is convicted, even if it means just a third life sentence. McCauley likes the
“I think sometimes we believe we know celebrities,”
white hats to win. And defense lawyers say he can be tough
McCauley says. “The truth is, we probably never know them
to strike a deal with.
at all.”
“I don’t keep track of wins and losses,” McCauley says. “I
Some felt the state would fail because all the evidence was circumstantial. But McCauley says circumstantial cases are easier to manage (“like a movie director”), to construct a firm foundation of evidence. “Sometimes eyewitnesses can fall apart when they see the defendant face to face in court,” he says.
think I’ve done well.” But Griffin chuckles and thinks McCauley is unduly modest: “Bill wins a lot, always has.” Griffin thought the Hernandez case might kill his friend, as McCauley sometimes slept on an office floor. “I guarantee you this,” Griffin says. “No one will ever outwork him. No
McCauley tries to balance a rigorous court schedule with
one. I’ve seen it for years.”
family life. He and his wife have three children, Madelynne,
≈
20, a college student, and sons Will, 19, and Cole, 16, both in high school. He would love to see them follow him into public service. The work, he says, is so rewarding. His daughter is majoring
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James J. Gillis was a reporter and columnist at The Newport Daily News for nearly 33 years. He has been a freelance journalist since 2013.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
ALUMNI Headline Fall Lecture Series Portsmouth Abbey School had the good fortune to host two compelling alumni lecturers during the Fall Term, Tom Payne ’80 and Jonathan Kurtis, M.D, Ph.D. ’85. Both talks were part of the Dom Luke Childs (DLC) Lecture Series, which was established in memory of the late Rev. Dom Luke Childs ’57, a popular figure on campus who taught history and Christian Doctrine, and was head of Development and Alumni Affairs, before dying unexpectedly in 1976 at the age of 36. The year’s first speaker, Tom Payne, had also returned to campus – his first visit in a number of years – to celebrate his 35th reunion. Tom, an award-winning writer of fiction (whose nom de plume is “Tom Paine”) and an associate professor of English in the MFA program at the University of New Hampshire, shared his journey from Portsmouth to becoming a writer which, by his own admission, was painful. A top student at the Abbey, Tom went to Princeton anticipating a career in medicine, like his father, all the while yearning to be a writer. After a period of unfulfilling jobs, unhappiness and soul-searching, he was fortuitously offered a job editing a newspaper on the Caribbean Island of St. John, which cemented his career path.
Tom’s award-winning works include his short story collection, Scar Vegas, a New York Times “Notable Book of the Year” selection; The Pearl of Kuwait, a novel featured on public radio, reviewed nationally, and recently optioned to be made into a movie; and
his newest collection of stories, A Boy’s Book of Nervous Breakdowns. He has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award, and his stories have been published in highly regarded national publications including The New Yorker, Harper’s and Zoetrope and included in award anthologies such as the O. Henry Awards and The Pushcart Prize. The second DLC lecture was given by Dr. Jonathan “Jake” Kurtis, of the Class of 1985, during which Jake shared with students and faculty the vital research he is conducting to find a vaccine for malaria, which, he said, is the most important single-agent killer of children on the planet and “a very difficult parasite to study.” The lethal disease accounts for two million deaths each year, including one child every 15 seconds. Despite the staggering death toll caused by malaria, however, Jake said the study of male-pattern baldness, among many other medical issues, receives more U.S. funding. He added that “vaccines are the single-most important health intervention on the planet.” He shared that he first became interested in malaria when he contracted the disease as a college student while studying in Kenya.
Above, Dr. Jake Kurtis ’85 (right) with Science Department Head Robert Sahms, who first inspired Jake to pursue a career in the sciences Left, Tom Payne ’80 speaks with students following his lecture about the challenges of becoming a writer
Jake conducts his work, considered among the most promising in the world in the field of infectious diseases, through the Center for International Health Research at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University, of which he is the director. He received his B.A. (1989), Ph.D. (1995) and M.D. (1996) from Brown. Jake said his love of science was first ignited in his Abbey Biology class taught by Mr. Robert Sahms. View the video (www.portsmouthabbey.org/ page/Kurtisvideo) of Jake’s lecture, entitled, “Vaccine Development for Pediatric Falciparum Malaria.” cont’d.
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FA L L L E C T U R E S E R I E S
Rose McGowan, but the Green family said they’d cut off their son if he married her.
Tom Payne ’80 and Zoe Butler ’16 following the lecture. Tom then attended English classes to give his thoughts and advice.
We hated the WASPs. We wanted to be WASPs. Both my parents are now Republican, as are my three siblings. And I am not Catholic. But I am an Abbey Boy. Why? Because I want to save the world.
Tom Payne ’80 reflected on his recent return to Portsmouth Abbey, his first in many years, for his 35th reunion and to give the first Dom Luke Childs lecture of the 2015-16 school year. It was such an honor be invited back to the Abbey to give the Dom Luke Childs lecture this fall. That it coincided with my 35th (!) reunion made it all the more deeply memorable. I love the Abbey. As my girlfriend from Lincoln School circa 1978 called me recently, I am an “Abbey Boy.” What does that mean, “Abbey Boy?” Let’s be frank: I’m an outsider. I’m not a WASP. A White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant. Walking around campus on reunion weekend and attending classes, I saw Irish and Italian and all sorts of beautiful faces ‘other’ than those of Abercrombie and Fitch. We are not Andover or St. Paul’s. We are the others. And I say: “GOOD!” I love the Abbey, and will die an Abbey Boy. My grandmother was Irish and lied her way across the Atlantic. Don’t ask! Everyone was a Catholic Democrat in my family, and ‘pulled the dem lever at elections’. Another great-grandmother was a maid for Governor TF Green, of Rhode Island airport fame. TF Green’s son fell in love with the maid
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Because I love the soul, and fear for the beautiful world’s ecological soul. Because the Abbey made it okay to be soul-full. I went up for Vespers during reunion weekend, and was invited to sing with the monks. I felt so sad looking at their glowing, aging faces, and thought: I could never do this! I’d be so bored! But I loved them for their iron commitment to the light. For steadfastly praying over the decades I have been out in the world, floundering and hoping and writing, and in my own way, praying via my art. It gave my soul energy over the years, to know the monks were there, at prayer in Portsmouth, daily, resolutely. (Not to mention, one of those dear monks, Father Damian, taught me to write by scribbling all over my essays with his mad, florid red pen!). It is a delightfully kinder, gentler place, this new co-ed Abbey. The Head Girl, Sydney Welch, sat with me and talked for an hour. So smart and earnest and soulful. The English classes led by Jay Bragan and Laureen Bonin were full of intellectual and creative energy, as were the art classes with their soulful teachers Joney Swift and Kevin Calisto. I wanted a redo: to come back and as a seventeen year old Abbey Boy again. (What a selfish, grade-grubbing clown I was then! How I wasted the Abbey and all it offered!) But all the years since 1980, as I was drifting and writing, the monks kept praying!
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I am an Abbey Boy. I have a vocal soul. The monks spoke to that young soul, even if I wasn’t listening. But I was listening. They were there and I was there and it seeped into my soul that there is a soul. WASP schools don’t speak openly of the mystic soul. Thank god for the Abbey. As I got in my car to depart after reunion weekend, my final image of the Abbey was a strange one: the cross of a giant windmill spinning slowly over the campus, even above the static cross on the church. A few months ago a monk made worldwide news sitting up there. For me, that’s what I hope for the Abbey: a cross in motion, fusing the soul with a deeper recognition that the ecological world is near apocalypse, and we all need to “Say Something”, as the following story asks us to do… We need more monks riding windmills into the future, and female monks, too! We need more committed souls on the frontline of the climate change battle. I want the Abbey’s girls and boys to center on saving the sacred green world. But who am I? Just an Abbey Boy. An Abbey Boy who wrote the following story, praying, like the monks, for the sacred light to descend into a (WASP) rich guy’s barren soul. This story could only have been written by an Abbey Boy.
Editor’s Note: We have, with Tom’s permission, reprinted a short sample here of his most well-known short story, “Will You Say Something, Monsieur Eliot?”
After the eye passed over, the shivering Concordia Yawl Bliss was picked up and tossed sideways down into a trough. For a moment in the dark that had been a brilliant noon two hours earlier Eliot saw a light on the horizon and knew it was the light at the top of his own mast. The light flickered and went black, and there was nothing but the white noise of the storm. The wooden yawl shuddered deep in her timbers, and Eliot was catapulted from the cockpit and landed chin first on the deck and heard his molars shatter. Weightless for a moment as Bliss dropped, Eliot again cracked down against the deck like a fish. The bow rose up the face of a mountain of water, and Eliot fell head first toward the wheel. His heavy arms locked in the spokes, and his Adam’s apple crunched on mahogany, and he was upside-down, bare feet to the sky. Bliss paused at rest before her bow came down hard, hurtling Eliot backward through the companionway and down onto the teak floor below, where he rolled in a soup of seawater and motor oil and caulking. The creaking of the hull planks rose to a moan and subsided and rose again. The garboard plank was wrenching away from the keel, and the sea overwhelming the pumps. Eliot caught his breath and lifted his head. The storm paused. In the pause Eliot heard a distant plink, the single sharp piano plink of the lower shroud snapping, and then the crack of the main mast as it folded at its midsection into the sea. Bliss rose and twisted against the storm. The seaborne mast was buffeted, still wired to the hull. Eliot was braced against the sink in the galley reaching for the bolt cutters when the mast rammed through the after-hull. He crawled behind the companionway toward the hole with a red flotation cushion for a potential patch and a broken paddle for a wedge. The sea poured in against his knees. The mast broke through again, and Eliot was driven backward on a river, into the cabin. He crawled to his feet and slid an orange life jacket over his head, and Bliss was thrown from the sea into the air and turned turtle and the sea rushed into the cabin and she righted again. Climbing up the companionway, Eliot saw in the west the vaporous glow of the end of the storm working toward him. He thrust his arms through the wheel and watched the light grow, and a rogue wave dropped from the heavens and drove Bliss down into the sea. Eliot’s shoulders and head bobbed in the sea like a red bottle. He was shirtless and stripped of his life jacket, and his face was bloated from twenty-four hours of exposure and oozing from cuts and abrasions. His eyes were swollen half shut. The sharp nubs of his broken teeth lanced at this tongue, and Eliot counted six – three to starboard and three to port. Once a dolphin flew out of the sea not far from Eliot, but it didn’t come again, and the sea was mute. Eliot’s lips fissured and the fissures spread red and raw. At night he watched the sky for a shooting star but he didn’t ask to be saved when he saw the first one, one there were dozens, as if every star in the sky were thrown down. He floated on his back all night and missed Bliss more than anyone because Bliss was perfection. Eliot exhaled and sank under, down to his blistered lips and nose, and when he filled his lungs the white island of his belly emerged, breaking the black surface, and he let the breath go in a gasp and sank down again and then pulled the night again into his lungs.... To read the story in its entirety, please visit the Abbey website page: www.portsmouthabbey.org/page/Payne
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O N T H E N I G H T S TA N D FA L L 2 0 1 5
What Our Faculty is Reading Rick Barron Director of Studies English Department
Ellen Eggeman Chief Financial Officer
Mindset, by Carol Dweck Dweck’s book comes out of her extensive research in the field of psychology. She looks at how our mindset determines our potential to grow and excel in the midst of life’s challenges. She breaks mindset down into two categories: a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. If one can embrace the growth mindset, then any of life’s challenges (could be academic struggles, failed relationships, injuries, or otherwise) become learning opportunities, rather than setbacks. Wallace Barron Associate Director of Admission/Financial Aid Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn I read this book during our honeymoon. The nature of the mystery proved to be a bizarre book for honeymoon reading. Nonetheless, I couldn’t put it down! Michael Bonin Chair, English Department Dom Damian Kearney Chair in English Assistant Director of College Counseling I’ve been reading Christopher Buckley ’70’s collection But Enough About You: Essay. Buckley isn’t just entertaining – I learn a lot about writing from his sentences. Like all great comic writers, he makes it look easy. It ain’t. By way of contrast, I’m also re-reading Henry Adams’ autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams. Born with the awesome advantages and impossible burdens of being descended from Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Quincy Adams, Henry found his 18th-Century sensibility ill-equipped to deal with the approaching 20th Century. His sentences are so balanced that reading him is like being on an immensely dignified teeter-totter. Jay Bragan English Department Head of Performing Arts Dom Ambrose Wolverton Chair in Performing Arts Flower & Hand, a collection of poems from 1977-1983, by W.S. Merwin Merwin always been one of my favorite poets, and it’s a pleasure to read and re-read him over the years.
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By the Numbers and Beyond, Independent School Business Operations, by the National Business Officers Association Looking forward to something more exciting…! Chris Fisher Humanities Department Executive Director, Portsmouth Institute The Democratic Soul, by Wilson Carey McWilliams A posthumous collection of essays written by one of America’s most insightful political philosophers of the last half-century. McWilliams presents a vision of American democracy concerned with more than just elections, but one which cultivates a “democratic soul through vigorous civic, religious, and social engagement.” The Demcoratic Soul is at once progressive and conservative, communitarian and patriotic, historically-grounded yet profoundly future-oriented. Portsmouth Abbey graduate E.J. Dionne ’69 hails McWilliams as a “seer, a small-‘d’ democrat, an artist who valued eloquent prose, and one of the shrewdest students of American politics.” Everything that Rises Must Converge, by Flannery O’Connor I really love Flannery O’Connor. This is a volume of some of O’Connor’s most celebrated short stories, including “Greenleaf,” Judgment Day,” and the eponymous story, which derives its name from the work of the controversial Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Roberto Guerenabarrena Modern Language Department Paula, by Isabel Allende. Paula is an autobiography in which Isabel Allende writes a letter to her daughter, Paula, who lies in a coma at a hospital in Madrid. The touching letter is an intimate
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memoir of Allende’s family, their travels around the world, and the events that shaped all of their lives. Fr. Gregory Havill, O.S.B. Christian Doctrine School Chaplain Evagruis Ponticus: Ad Monachos, by Evagruis and Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B. Evagruis Ponticus was the theologian who first applied Greek philosophy and methodology into the earliest prayer life of the desert Fathers. “Spiritual exercises,” an invention of Greek philosophy, entered Christianity with his writings – a millennium before the first Jesuits. Very thought- and prayer-provoking. John Huynh Christian Doctrine Spiritual Life Associate Summa of the Summa, by Peter Kreeft This book combines selected essential philosophical passages from Saint Thomas Aquinas’ “Summa Theologica” with footnotes and explanations by Kreeft, a popular Thomist teacher and writer. The Trinity: How Not to Be a Heretic, by Stephen Bullivant This book helps readers embrace the teachings of the Trinity; its central idea is that, contrary to popular assumption, the Trinity is a very simple doctrine which consists of just three short, deeply scriptural convictions. Dom Damian Kearney ’45, O.S.B. Director of Oblates The Wright Brothers, by David McCullough A riveting tale told with gusto and objectivity that we can expect of this popular and prolific writer. The conquest of the air was the most important discovery of the 20th century and well worth the precise documentation that the author bestows on Orville and Wilbur Wright, as over years of trial and error, courage and patience, they construct the first glider and then the successful flying machine, which gained them worldwide recognition and change the course of
modern history. Seeds of Contemplation, by Thomas Merton Thomas Merton, born 100 years ago, became the most celebrated monk of the 20th century through The Seven-Storey Mountain (1948), the account of his spiritual quest from religious indifference to unswerving faith in God. Seeds of Contemplation, a treatment of contemplative prayer based on his Trappist commitment, is a fit sequel to the story of his journey and remains a remarkably fresh legacy of his spirituality, a book that Clare Booth Luce, a recent convert to Catholicism and the leading feminist of her time, referred to as her “spiritual nightcap.” Corie McDermott-Fazzino Director of College Counseling English Department Family Life, by Akhil Sharma. Mr. Sharma spoke as the opener for the David Sedaris reading my husband, Chris, and I just attended at the Providence Performing Arts Center. It is fiction, but just barely; it draws heavily on Sharma’s life, his strange (and, entertaining parents), and his experience as the son of an immigrant. It is wry, touching, and thoughtful. The other one, Missoula, by Jon Krakauer, is about the rape epidemic on college campuses. Krakuer’s examines a series of case studies on a particular campus. It’s horrifying– and indicates that perhaps the problem stems from a heavy drinking culture affiliated with big-school athletics. It’s ugly, and tough to read. Frank Pagliaro Humanities Department Drama I just finished GK Chesterton’s Manalive, which I bought at the Portsmouth Institute last summer. In this light-hearted but utterly serious crime thriller, the main character, Innocent Smith, embodies truly Chestertonian paradoxes: that we must break convention to uphold tradition, that love must be forgotten to be known, and that sometimes the simplest and most direct way home is by circumnavigation of the entire world. Andrew Rose Senior Development Officer War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies by James McPherson A terrific account of the building and operation of the Union and Confederate naval forces by arguably the greatest Civil War historian.
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O N T H E N I G H T S TA N D FA L L 2 0 1 5
Christ Stopped at Eboli – The Story of a Year, by Carlo Levi The first-person account by Levi, a native of Turin and political prisoner of Mussolini’s, of his year exiled to desolate Lucania in southern Italy because of his opposition to the 1935 war in Eritrea (Ethiopia). Robert Sahms Chairman, Science Department Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life, by Eric Metaxas Some people believe God only performed miracles in the Bible and then stopped. With modern examples, Metaxas shows us that God is still performing miracles today. All the Places to Go . . . How Will You Know? Participant’s Guide: God Has Placed before You an Open Door. What Will You Do? by John Ortberg God opens and closes doors for us. How we respond to those doors helps to determine who we are. Kate Smith English Department College Counselor H is for Hawk, by Helen MacDonald It’s a memoir written by a Cambridge scholar and experienced falconer who struggles to train a goshawk as a way to come to terms with the sudden death of her beloved father. MacDonald uses as a training manual T.H. White’s The Goshawk, itself a wonderful memoir written in the fifties by the author of The Once and Future King. It’s a surprisingly textured and moving book. Roberta Stevens Library Director I read many mystery series and just finished a cute series by Julia Hyzy, of eight books in the White House chef mysteries series—State of the Onion, Fonduing Fathers, etc. The head chef unexpectedly becomes involved in each incident protecting the fictional first families as she observes hidden bombs, thwarts
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kidnappings, etc., but cannot receive any true credit because of the level of secrecy involved. She is a highly keen observer of her surroundings, so the Secret Service somewhat resents her intrusions and questions but is grateful when she provides lifesaving results. She works long hours in the White House kitchen, preparing state dinners and events as her relaxation, and we learn details of the inner workings of the White House staff positions. I have also recently read the latest in a series by Louise Penny entitled The Nature of the Beast (the 11th in this series), which features now-retired Montreal Chef Inspector Armand Gamache, who lives in idyllic Three Pines, Canada. When a young boy is found dead in a ditch, Gamache feels guilty about ignoring the boy’s tall tale about an earth monster in the forest, until his suspicion about the death involves declaring it murder. It is a multilayered historical plot featuring a great sense of place. While it can be read alone, this author has such a well-developed sense of her characters throughout the series that learning about them all from the first title is a pleasure. Each book is better than the next and all are also excellent mysteries. Stephen Zins Science Department Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest is the magnum opus by the late David Foster Wallace, examining the role of addiction, entertainment, and rigid structure in a dystopian American future where time is subsidized by corporate entities and the entire Northeast has been annexed by Canada! Endzone: The rise, fall, and return of Michigan Football, by John U. Bacon Endzone retells the incredible history of Michigan football through the lens of its recent struggles and the hire of native son Jim Harbaugh as its current head football coach. The book posits that this hire will return Michigan to its former glory as leader of the Big Ten Conference.
Lourdes and the Legacy of “Uncle Hugo” Markey ’40 by Joe Michaud ’90 One of the most important lessons I learned from Hugh Markey ’40 was to say, “Thank you!” A number of years ago, Hugh wrote an article about how he was first called to Lourdes, France, the people who influenced him there, and how he went about thanking God for all the blessings he had received over the years. One expression of his gratitude was to bring Portsmouth Abbey students to Lourdes to serve the sick, disabled, and the elderly. Over the course of almost 40 years, Hugh made it possible for more than 400 Portsmouth students, chaperones, nurses, monks, and other religious to join the Ampleforth Lourdes Pilgrimage each summer. I was one of the those students Hugh invited to go to Lourdes on pilgrimage almost 30 years ago – a journey I am still on today. The experience touched me very deeply. It provided me with great perspective and a strong spiritual foundation; it changed how I looked at the world.
The author, Joe Michaud ’90 (left), with “Uncle Hugo” Markey ’40 and Blake Billings ’77 (right)
Like so many high school students, I found traditional prayer hard (despite Hugh’s efforts). However, in Lourdes, I was exposed to the power of service as a form of prayer – to give of oneself unconditionally. Hugh challenged us to pray more, live better, and incorporate the message of Lourdes into our everyday lives. Fundamentally, he preached
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LOURDES AND THE LEGACY OF HUGH MARKEY ‘40
Upon returning from any trip, many travelers are asked: “How was it? What did you do? Why were you there?” Normally, these questions are simple to answer, but upon returning from my trip to Lourdes, I had trouble answering. I finally found myself saying, “I can’t explain it,” and “You had to be there to understand.” The entire time in Lourdes, you have your arm around someone or someone has their arm around you. Lourdes changed the way I look at people, and the way I see myself. The most important thing I realized is that we are all the same; maybe some of our bodies are different or broken, or even damaged, but our spirits are similar, and when you allow yourself to see everyone as the same, something really incredible happens. – Sydney Welch ‘16
Through the first couple days of fatigue and jet lag, I thought that my time in Lourdes would be the worst week of my life. But I came to the realization that this trip was not about me, but rather about the assisted pilgrims (APs). The APs come to Lourdes for a week, and we were there to make them feel like kings and queens and give them the best time of their lives. This was their week to feel like normal human beings; the other 51 weeks of the year they are looked at as patients or persons with disabilities. Whether it was pushing them down to church in a voiture (a chair-like carriage), having lunch, or going shopping, everyone helped out to provide maximum comfort for the APs. Throughout the week, I worried if I was living up to my potential of trying to give the pilgrims an enjoyable experience. Toward the final days, an AP named Veronica, with whom I became close throughout the week, gave me a beautiful rosary bracelet. As if the gift was not enough, she proceeded to say, “Thank you for taking care of me this week.” In that moment, not only did my heart melt, it reassured me why God had brought me to Lourdes in the first place. He brought me to meet people like Veronica to remind me not to look at any person differently. A human being is a human being, despite whatever disability they may have. The memories I now have of Lourdes and the people I met there will remain with me forever. – Katrina Nueva ‘16
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living the Gospel through our actions: think of others first; love thy neighbor; and serve those in need. At the end of every pilgrimage, Hugh loved to encourage the students by saying, “Keep the faith, but don’t keep it to yourself.” To those who knew him, Hugh was a man of strong convictions; you always knew where you stood with him. Among his many accomplishments, Hugh was a successful businessman and took his vocation as Our Lady’s Travel Agent (“OLTA”) as seriously as he might if running a multinational corporation. He was not one to take “no” lightly, and he had little patience for bureaucracy, tardiness, or lost luggage. He had long ago given up trying to learn French, but would delight in barking, “Allez, Allez, Allez,” when ushering a group of pilgrims through a crowd or an airport security line. Generous to a fault, introducing Portsmouth students to Lourdes was one of Hugh’s ways of saying thank you. As OLTA, Hugh answered “the call,” and he encouraged all of us to do the same. The American students participating in the Ampleforth Lourdes Pilgrimage each summer stood shoulder-to-shoulder with students from Ampleforth and other schools in England to provide personal care for the brave hospital pilgrims needing assistance – making it possible for them to go on pilgrimage to Lourdes. The Ampleforth Pilgrimage requires a considerable amount of hard and, at times, intimate work and prayer, and of course some old-fashioned fun. The students on pilgrimage are asked to think about the needs of others before their own, which, for many high school students, is a tremendous responsibility. Some are asked to assume leadership roles. All are asked to participate with an open heart and eager disposi-
Left, the Portsmouth Abbey Ampleforth Lourdes particpants in 2015
tion, and the personal and spiritual growth is often moving to witness. The American students are able to socialize with the English students; their shared experiences often give rise to life-long friendships. They are also able to witness first-hand the tens of thousands – millions each year – of Catholics from around the world celebrating their shared faith. Lourdes is a place where faith comes alive. And it happens to be located in a beautiful setting, nestled in a picturesque little village in the Pyrenees Mountains. However, it is so much more. As Hugh used to say, “Don’t take my word for it, come and see for yourself.” “Uncle Hugo,” the nickname given to him by Mother Theresa, inspired thousands. He taught all of us by example, and he had a wonderful collection of aphorisms to keep us all on task. I remember fondly when Hugh was deep in a story or “lecture” he would often rub or tap his belly. Hugh liked to punctuate a story with one of those now-famous “Hughisms” that he delivered with a wry smile; Fr. James McCurry shared a few during his homily at Hugh’s funeral: “He would say, ‘Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil; it has no point.’ Or he would ask us the question, ‘Do you know what is the one investment that never fails?’ His answer: ‘Goodness!’ And probably most importantly, ‘With God, nothing is impossible!’” Hugh inspired me and taught me numerous life lessons. He wrote, “Many of us do not receive the graces of God because we do not thank Him for the graces He has already given us.” Hugh taught me to say, “Thank you.”
During the Lourdes pilgrimage, each group of pilgrims is given a half-day off from volunteering to go on a retreat and reflect on their experiences. I thought of the life I had back home, the blessings I had been given, and how I was going to be able to spread them to others here. Each day we would bring assisted pilgrims to and from events, take them out to cafes, and just chat with them. Some pilgrims were of advanced age; others possessed serious mental and physical handicaps. As volunteers, we helped them in every way we could with everyday activities while getting to know them and becoming their friends. What I found particularly fascinating were the stories many of them had to tell. Listening as assisted pilgrims recounted stories of their careers, families, and adventures reminded me of the magic of spreading a good story from an older generation to the present one. The trip put my life into perspective. I’ve realized my everyday issues are really nothing compared to what others have to face or what I myself may have to face one day. Seeing so many people all drawn to the same holy place showed me the power of the faith and its ability to spiritually heal others. While a pilgrimage to Lourdes is made with the hope of miraculous healing, the spiritual healing that takes place there is what brings people back year after year. – Brandt Matthews ‘16
So, thank you, Hugh! Thank you for all those you brought to Lourdes over the years. And thank you for my faith! I have had the privilege to get to know many of the students who have gone on the Lourdes Pilgrimage over the last 30 or so years, and their stories and their friendship continue to inspire me. Daniel Phelan ‘82, who first went on the Pilgrimage in 1981, came back this year with his two sons, Alex and Ignacio, as helpers – a wonderful testament to Hugh’s life’s work. If you joined us on the Ampleforth Pilgrimage in past, please write to us and let us know what you are up to (joe.michaud@gmail.com). For those interested in learning more about the Pilgrimage to Lourdes, please drop me a note. Hugh’s work may continue to be supported; donations may be made in his memory to “The Portsmouth Abbey School Lourdes Fund.”
Brandt, with umbrella, assisting at Lourdes in 2015
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PORTSMOUTH’S DEBT
TO ENGLAND AND THE EBC HOUSES Downside, Fort Augustus, Belmont, Ampleforth By Dom Damian Kearney, O.S.B.’45
Nearly all the monasteries in the English Benedictine Congregation (EBC) have contributed in significant ways to the foundation and development of Portsmouth over a period of many decades. Dom Leonard Sargent, a member of the Anglican Order of the Holy Cross, was received into the Church at Downside in 1909. Here he first conceived the idea of establishing a monastery similar to Downside in the United States, and
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after his ordination to the priesthood, set about finding ways of realizing his dream. He, therefore, returned to Downside, was allowed to enter the novitiate with the understanding that he would return to America, enlist the help of friends, decide on a location, and find candidates. Abbot Cuthbert Butler encouraged Dom Leonard, but made it clear that the enterprise was to be entirely American in its staffing and financing; applicants would be received and undergo their formation at Downside, and then return to the United States.
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Dom Leonard Sargent, O.S.B., founder of the Portsmouth monastery
Through this sponsorship the foundation could become a domus religiosa, which it did in 1919 when Dom Leonard, having acquired a suitable estate, took up permanent residence in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, exercising authority, (to use Dom Cuthbert’s phrase), “ad instar prioris” and receiving the blessing of Pope Benedict XV the following year. What Portsmouth gained from Downside under Father Leonard was its name, the new priory being under the patronage of Saint Gregory the Great. Although a school was not envisioned, he wanted his foundation to reflect the same spirit and sense of tradition that he had experienced at Downside, emphasizing learning, liturgy, monastic observance, and hospitality, providing a place for reflection in an atmosphere of peace, remote in its rural seclusion, but still accessible to the world. At the end of seven years, however, it was evident that the venture would not succeed, and Downside welcomed the offer of Fort Augustus to take over the monastery and establish a second house in America, having begun Saint Anselm’s in Washington, D.C., in 1924. Dom Leonard did not join the new community, preferring to
Abbot Cuthbert Butler of Downside Abbey
retain his ties to Downside, to which he returned periodically until he finally settled at Portsmouth, where he died in 1944 after a long and fruitful life, both as an Anglican and as a convert to Roman Catholicism. Several factors made the Portsmouth foundation attractive to Fort Augustus. The location was ideal for founding a monastery in a rural setting, with a school providing a traditional ministry and a means of support. A distinguished headmaster was available in Dom Hugh Diman, one of the newly professed American monks at Saint Anselm’s. And most importantly, Dom Wulstan Knowles, a highly qualified superior, with two years’ experience in helping in establish a priory in an urban environment, could be transferred to Rhode Island and do for Portsmouth what he done so efficiently in Washington. Abbot Joseph MacDonald, therefore, appointed Dom Wulstan the first prior of Portsmouth to be assisted by Dom Hugh as headmaster and founder of a second boarding school. Over the next 10 years Fort Augustus supported both the dependent houses with the manpower needed to assure survival, strength and stability through the generous loan of highly qualified monks. Some of the customs of the mother abbey, alien to the other EBC monasteries, were retained for the period of Portsmouth’s status as a dependent priory. One notable practice was the prostration of the whole community in choir at Christmas Prime for the solemn proclamation of the birth of Jesus,
Fort Augustus Monastery
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Pope Benedict XV
attracting a number of curious visitors. This and other “alien customs” were abrogated when a superior from Ampleforth was appointed. At this time, too, the daily reading of the Rule from the translation of Dom Hunter-Blair was replaced by the less literary version of Dom Justin McCann. Dom Wulstan spent three-and-a-half crucial years at Portsmouth as prior, dealing tirelessly with the problems of transforming a gentleman’s country estate into a workable monastery and school, converting a caretaker cottage into a chapel, erecting prefabricated buildings into what were envisioned to be temporary quarters, laying out playing fields and changing a large carriage house into a gymnasium. In April of 1926, before the School opened the following September, his first major act was to engage the leading architectural firm of Maginnis and Walsh of Boston to design an impressive neo-Gothic abbey church and monastery. Attached to the cloister was to be the first unit of a house to accommodate 40 boys in the Tudor Gothic style. Because of the decade of the Great Depression beginning in 1929, followed by the Second World War, this ambitious plan was not to be realized, except for the large dormitory, named Saint Benet’s after the patron of the mother abbey in Scotland. During his tenure as prior, Dom Wulstan worked closely with Dom Hugh, providing him with the example needed to take over the monastic leadership when he would return to Fort Augustus. In 1929 Dom Joseph MacDonald was appointed archbishop of Edinburgh, and Dom Wulstan was chosen by the community to succeed him as abbot. He in turn appointed Dom Hugh the new Prior. Over the next 20 years, Abbot Wulstan observed the growth of Portsmouth with keen interest, making frequent visits and taking satisfaction in witnessing the independence of Portsmouth in 1949. Recently, Portsmouth received a portrait of Dom Wulstan as abbot of Fort Augustus from Dame Andrea Savage, abbess of Stanbrook, where he had spent his last years as chaplain.
Dom Wulstan Knowles, first Prior of Portsmouth
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Now in his sixties, Dom Hugh felt the need of assistance in running the School. Help came from England through engaging Dr. G. C. Bateman, who assumed the direction of the School from 1931 until 1935, adding a more distinctively English flavor, instituting the House system, the appointment of praeposters, adding prize days, creating school colors reflected in the blazor and official tie, starting a variety of clubs, forming musical and lecture programs, and inaugurating a disciplinary system which included a short-lived experiment in caning. The academic program was strengthened, plays were performed in Latin and French, and
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Left: Dr. G. C. Bateman, who assisted Dom Hugh Diman in running the School from 1931-1935
a course in Phonetics taught by the headmaster. When he returned to England after four years, Dr. Bateman left the School stronger in every way, facilitating Dom Hugh’s resumption of the headmastership. In the space of four years, he had solidified the School’s reputation among the leading New England preparatory schools.
Below: Dom Aidan Williams, abbot of Belmont
The outbreak of war in 1939 brought a change in the composition of the student body, with children of refugees arriving in 1939 and 1940, giving the School an international character, with Europe well represented by students, often titled, (but never alluded to), from Poland, Hungary, France, Bulgaria, and Belgium, but chiefly from England and from the Benedictine schools in particular: notably Ampleforth, Gilling Castle, Downside, and Douai. Some of the boys wore kilts on special occasions, while others brandished cricket bats, contributing an exotic flavour. At the end of two years most of the boys returned to England and resumed their careers at the schools they had left. Among the boys who remained at the School were the sons of the best-selling author, A.J. Cronin, with Vincent, the elder boy becoming a critically acclaimed writer and, the younger, Patrick, pursuing his father’s earlier career as a medical doctor. An important contribution to both School and Monastery in the late forties came in the person of Dom Aidan Williams, whose term of office as abbot of Belmont ended in 1948. His impact was immediate and profound. In the school he was responsible for inaugurating soccer as a competitive sport, acting as coach and utilizing the superior skills of a contingent of Latin American students, whose experience produced instant championship teams. As an instructor, he excelled in teaching a course in ethics to the Sixth Form, but more importantly, it was in the Monastery that his services proved invaluable. His training at Sant Anselmo under the celebrated Thomist philosopher, Dom Joseph Gredt, enabled him to become head of monastic studies as well as novice master. His appointment in 1954 as procurator in curia left a noticeable gap in the community. In 1951 Dom Herbert Byrne, abbot of Ampleforth, sent Dom Aelred Graham to become the superior of Portsmouth, to take
John Byron Diman as a young man before taking vows as Reverend Dom John Hugh Diman, O.S.B.
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Ampleforth College and Abbey
the place of Prior Gregory Borgstedt, who had resigned in order to help in the foundation of a contemplative monastery, Mount Saviour in Elmira, New York. Dom Aelred was a noted scholar and controversialist, who soon became well known in the United States for an article in the Atlantic Monthly magazine, critical of Thomas Merton, whom he labeled ”a young man in a hurry.” Subsequently, he and Merton became friends, finding a mutual interest in Zen Buddhism and exchanging books and articles as they were published. Dom Aelred’s enthusiasm for Buddhism resulted in the creation of a monastic Zen garden for his meditation, and at the end of his term as Prior, he made a pilgrimage to Tibet where he had conversations with the Dalai Lama, on whom he made a profound impression, so much so that the Dalai Lama reciprocated by making a
special journey to Ampleforth to see Dom Aelred before he died. During his 16 years as prior, Dom Aelred oversaw the planning and building of the Church and Monastery, heading a campaign for the construction of several school buildings and changing the architectural direction from neo-Gothic to contemporary modern by engaging Pietro Belluschi, an architect from Italy with an international reputation and an impressive list of buildings on the West and East Coasts of the United States. The abbey church, the year-long restoration of which has recently been completed, is recognized as an outstanding example of ecclesiastical architecture, and has exerted a significant impact on many churches nationally, but especially in Rhode Island.
Above: After forging a friendship with Dom Aelred, the Dalai Lama made a special journey to Ampleforth to see him before he died. Inset: The Zen Garden outside the monastery at Portsmouth, 1962
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Dom Aelred, recognizing the need for a reliable associate headmaster, to assist in the running of the School, looked to Ampleforth to secure one of its most popular teachers, Cecil J. Acheson, to fill this position. For the next 20 years Mr. Acheson repeated the success of the earlier Dr. Bateman, reinforcing some of the best traditions of the English public school and becoming a legendary figure in the annals of Portsmouth. During his long term of office, Dom Aelred continued to be not only a forceful superior, but a well-known lecturer, retreat master and ecumenist, anticipating some of the initiatives promoted by the Second Vatican Council. It was though his leadership that Portsmouth gained the necessary maturity to become a truly independent monastery, electing a monk, Dom Matthew Stark, from its own ranks to become Portsmouth’s first abbot in 1969.
Above: Dom Aelred Graham, recognizing the need for a reliable associate headmaster to assist in the running of the School, looked to Ampleforth to secure one of its most popular teachers, Cecil J. Acheson, to fill this position.
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A final influence on Portsmouth came about in 1987, when Portsmouth was in need of a monk to fill the position of headmaster for Dom Leo van Winkle, who had been diagnosed with cancer, which had been contracted in the early 1940s when he was working on the atomic bomb project in New Mexico. He now required an associate, and since no one in the community had the experience, it was necessary to look elsewhere for a suitable Benedictine. Providentially, a monk who had been formerly headmaster at Fort Augustus, Dom Francis Davidson, possessed just the right qualifications for this responsibility, and received the generous approval of his abbot, Dom Mark Dilworth, to respond to this need. In the four years of his tenure, Dom Francis transformed the School from a single-sex to a coeducational institution, gradually integrating day girls into the enrollment before constructing buildings to house boarding girls. In addition to planning and raising funds for girls’ accommodations, he was also able to help in the completion of the School and Monastic libraries, the former named by the donor in honor of Saint Thomas More. In order to attract talented students, he began an innovative, albeit costly, “merit scholarship program,” which has proved an outstanding success, raising academic standards and extending the national reputation of the School. It goes without saying that from 1949, when the General Chapter granted Portsmouth independence, the community has consistently benefited from the wise counsel and personal attention by each of the abbot presidents, whose visitations and frequent, informal visits have been sources of inspiration and encouragement.
Where are you now? Where are you going? How will you get there? The monks of Portsmouth Abbey have found answers to these questions in the Rule of St. Benedict . . . Could this be the answer for you? We invite you to experience a week of prayer, work, rest, and recreation in our Monastic Life Experience Program for single, college - educated, Catholic men who wish to consider a call to monastic life. The program is “open-ended” and will be scheduled to suit you – you may spend a few days or a week or more at the Abbey, experiencing the life of the monk – Ora et Labora – including daily Mass, common prayer, lectio divina, manual labor, and conferences on monastic history or spirituality, with opportunity for exercise and rest on our 500 acres on Narragansett Bay. The Monastic Life Experience Program is an opportunity to familiarize yourself with monastic life and consider the possibility that This Call May Be For You. For more information, or to request a visit, please call 401-643-1213 or visit our website: www.portsmouthabbeymonastery.org 285 Cory’s Lane Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
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BUILDING A by Steve Pietraszek ’96, Director of Admission Max Bogan ’16 (left) and David Brower ’16
The role of the admission office has been described as both a science and an art. The science behind admissions deals with the data-driven approach of outreach, statistics, and metrics involved in managing a pool of prospective students through the application and decision-making processes. The art behind admissions is finding the best mix of students who will benefit from the mission of the School and forge a community here on Cory’s Lane. In addition to academic achievement, the community should represent different backgrounds, ideas, and experiences to foster critical thinking, collaboration, and leadership skills among our students. Many families ask what the admission office is looking for and how we evaluate applications. We look for the traits common in students who thrive at Portsmouth Abbey. While there is no secret formula that gets you in, the admission office does have a rating system applied to each applicant. We rate students on their academic achievement, personal qualities, and interest in participating in co-curricular activities. This information is both quantitative and qualitative. We look at test scores, GPAs, years of participation in activities and levels achieved. In addition, qualitative information is used from a variety of sources to assess a student’s concern for others, honesty, confidence, maturity, responsibility, motivation, and leadership qualities. This method helps us determine which students possess the ability and potential to have a successful experience here at Portsmouth Abbey. Following are the admission profiles of two current students. These profiles highlight some of the qualities and accomplishments that made these students stand out in our applicant pool as well as the significant impact they have made on the Portsmouth Abbey community.
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Max Bogan completed her freshman year at the Classen School of Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City, OK. She was enrolled in the school’s International Baccalaureate Diploma program and submitted a PSAT score (as a ninth grader) that would have qualified her as a National Merit Finalist in Oklahoma. Max placed second in the state for the National History Day competition, was a counselor-in-training at a science camp, and was a member of the German Club. She played soccer and basketball and stated that she may be interested in being on the track & field team at the Abbey. One of her teachers wrote that Max “is an amazingly self-disciplined, mature, focused and well-rounded student. I promise if you take Max as a student, she will fit, she will work hard, and she will be everything you could hope for.” Now, as a Sixth Former, Max is taking post-Advanced Placement classes such as Number Theory and Advanced Topics in Physics. She is enrolled in Advanced Art to create a portfolio of work, and she is also a semifinalist in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program. Outside of the classroom, Max is an accomplished athlete. Last spring she won her second consecutive New England Division III javelin title, setting a School record with a throw of 104-11. Max manages to balance her rigorous courses and athletics schedule while
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COMMUNITY also serving as a prefect in St. Benet’s House and a captain of the girls’ varsity track team. David Brower applied as an eighth grader from St. John Neumann Catholic School in Lilburn, GA. He was an honor roll student, middle school peer group leader, school representative for the Archdiocese Leadership Conference, participated in the Georgia Math League, played travel ice hockey for nine years, was involved in numerous oration contests, served as an altar boy, and won the school’s citizenship award four times. One of his recommendation letters stated: “David’s work ethic is beyond reproach. He is more of a thinker than a talker, but to those who know him, the way he carries himself speaks volumes. He is confident,
focused, and determined.” Now, in his Sixth Form year, David is taking five Advanced Placement courses: Latin, Calculus BC, Chemistry, English Literature, and Art History. He was named a “Commended Student” by the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program and was acknowledged at Prize Day last May as the School winner for the National Latin Exam. He also received the Senator Claiborne Pell Medal for excellence in U.S. History and the Dartmouth College Book Award for his qualities of scholarship, leadership and achievement. David is also very busy outside of the classroom; he is a prefect in St. Hugh’s House, a Red Key head for the admission office, editor-in-chief of The Beacon, the student newspaper, a fouryear member of the varsity ice hockey team, and winner of the Most Improved Award for the varsity football team.
15th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament June 13, 2016, at the Carnegie Abbey Golf Club Our tournament’s mission is threefold: F To fund scholarship opportunities, supporting a Portsmouth Abbey
education for qualified students
F
To celebrate the excellent education that a Portsmouth Abbey School student receives during his/her tenure at the School
F
To have a fantastic day on the links with our Abbey family and friends
How can you help? F
Play in the tournament as an individual or register as a foursome
F
Become an individual or corporate sponsor of the event
F
Donate an auction item
F
Don’t play golf? Join us for the post-tournament reception
SAVE THE DATE and watch for your invitation this spring! Need more information? Contact Director of Special Events Patty Gibbons at 401-643-1281 or email her at pgibbons@portsmouthabbey.org. A portion of the registration fee is tax-deductible.
FALL 2015 ATHLETICS Boys’ Cross-Country Coaches Award: Jon Campau ‘16 MIP: Andrew Aubee ‘18 Captains-Elect: John Billings ‘17, Kevin Jiang ‘17 Overall Record: 8-5 EIL Record: 3-2, 3rd Place Girls’ Cross-Country Coaches Award: Johanna Appleton ‘17 MIP: Abbey Luth ‘18 Captains-Elect: Johanna Appleton, Annie O’Donnell ‘17 Overall Record: 9-6 EIL Record: 5-3, 6th Place
POST-SEASON HONORS
Field Hockey Field Hockey Trophy: Madison McCann ‘16 MIP: Caroline Villareal ‘17 Captains-Elect: Grace Benzal ‘17, Emily Bredin ‘17, Kaitlyn Doherty ‘17 Overall Record: 8-7 EIL Record: 7-4
EIL Honorable Mention: Kaitlyn Doherty ‘17, Faith Cournoyer ‘19
Football John M. Hogan Football Trophy: Kevin Ellicks ‘16 MIP: David Brower ‘16 Captains-Elect: Connor Baughan ‘17, Chase Carter ‘17, Will Ensign ‘17, Matt Plumb ‘17 Evergreen Bonnefond Record (League): 4-1, 2nd place Evergreen Overall Record: 5-3 Boys’ Soccer Williams Franklin Sands Memorial Soccer Trophy: Anthony Christian, Jr. ‘16 MIP: David DeMieri ‘17 Captain-Elect: Dom Cappadona ‘17 Overall Record: 7-10-2 EIL Record: 6-7-1
Boys’ Cross-Country EIL All-League: Jon Campau ‘16 EIL Honorable Mention: John Billings ‘17, Daniel Rodden ‘18 Girls’ Cross-Country EIL Honorable Mention: Diane McDonough ‘19 All-New England Girls’ Cross-Country Class C: Johanna Appleton ‘17 Field Hockey EIL All-League: Madison McCann ‘16, Felicity Taylor ‘18
Football Evergreen All-League: Bailey Carter ‘16, Kevin Ellicks ‘16, Seamus O’Connor ‘16, Chris Weiss ‘16 Evergreen Honorable Mention: William Ensign ‘17, Matthew Plumb ‘17, Thomas Winters ‘16 All-New England Football Class C: Kevin Ellicks ‘16, Chris Weiss ‘16 Evergreen Football League Lineman of the Year: Kevin Ellicks ‘16 Boys’ Golf EIL All-League: George Sturges ‘16, Stephen Vye ‘16 EIL Honorable Mention: Oliver Ferry ‘17, Davis Kline ‘17 EIL Individual Tournament: Oliver Ferry, 1st Place EIL Coach of the Year: Shane McCarthy Boys’ Soccer EIL All-League: Dom Cappadona ‘17, Anthony Christian Jr. ‘16 Honorable Mention: David DeMieri ‘17 New England Prep School All-Star Game: Anthony Christian Jr. ‘16 Girls’ Soccer
Girls’ Soccer Girls’ Soccer Trophy: Jenny Yates ‘16 MIP: Sarah Kim ‘16 Captain-Elect: Remy Chester ‘17 Overall Record: 4-9-1 EIL Record: 2-5-1
EIL All-League: Kate Hughes ‘18 Honorable Mention: Taylor Yates ‘18
Boys’ Golf Coaches Award: Stephen Vye ’16 MIP: Alex Sienkiewicz ’18 Captains-Elect: Oliver Ferry ‘17, Davis Kline ‘17 EIL Record: 11-1, EIL Champions
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LOUIS WALKER III (www.louiswalkerphotography.com/Sports)
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ANTHONY CHRISTIAN ’16
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
JOHANNA APPELTON ’17 LEADING THE GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
MADISON MCCANN ’16
STEPHEN VYE’16
FALL 2015 ATHLETICS MILESTONES Boys’ golf finished 11-1 and were champions in the EIL. Oliver Ferry was the champion at the EIL Individual Championship, and Mr. McCarthy was selected by his peers as the EIL Coach of the Year Varsity Football placed 2nd in the Evergreen South League with a 5-3 record. JON CAMPAU ’16
Chris Weiss and Kevin Ellicks were selected All-New England. Chris Weiss tied the School touchdown record with 27 this fall season. Kevin Ellicks was the Evergreen League Lineman of the Year. Field Hockey had a strong season, with a 7-4 record in the EIL. They defeated St. George’s and finished 8-8 overall. Anthony Christian, Jr., was selected and participated in the New England Prep School All Star Soccer Game. Johanna Appleton was selected All-New England in Girls’ XC, and Girls’ XC had a 9-6 record.
KEVIN ELLICKS ’16
Boys’ XC finished 3rd in the EIL and had a 8-5 record.
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&
INTENTIONALITY TRANSFORMATION I took over the Portsmouth Abbey Summer Program in April of last year, and we had a great month of July. I am eager to run the program this year from start to finish, continuing the great work of my predecessors who have run and shaped the program before me.
Living In Harmony
Robotics and Creative Lab
The program is geared toward rising 7th, 8th, and 9th graders, with a thoughtful balance between enrichment and recreation. I want the program to look, feel, and give the experience that is similar to our year-round program, but with a distinctively summer ethos. In other words, I want the Summer Program to feel like Portsmouth Abbey because I believe there is no better way to showcase our incredible School than through a monthlong stay on campus. To that end, I aim to have as many Abbey teachers as possible, along with several key veterans of the program. The Abbey teachers are the School for our current students, and by having them teach the courses in the summer, be it Creative Writing, Latin, Algebra or Public Speaking, our Summer Program students gain a unique sense of what school might be like during the rest of the year. We offer “meat-and-potato” courses in math (Pre-algebra, Algebra, and Geometry), English (Composition and Literature), ESL, and Latin. In addition to these core courses, the students can take electives in the sciences (Robotics and Creative Lab), the arts (Summer Sound Studio, Digital Art) and even innovative history courses (History in Film and Abraham Lincoln). One of our most popular courses is our “Living in Harmony” course that blends outdoor living skills with ecology and marine science. We are a Benedictine program, both in religious grounding and in the practical matter of how we order our days. We hope that predictability lends itself to freedom and learning. We start each day with an all-program assembly and prayer in the Regan Lecture Hall and then disperse for classes on the hour: 9:00-9:50 a.m., 10:00-10:50 a.m., and 11:00-11:50 a.m. The teachers bring the students up to the dining hall for lunch, and then they return to the houses for a siesta. Our prefects, all of whom are recently minted Abbey graduates, run the afternoon
Digital Art
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on the Bay program, which consists of three “rotations”: one week of marine and environmental field work, one week of outdoor landscape drawing and painting in the field, and either two weeks of sailing (through our Sail Newport partner) or two weeks of outdoor sports, out and about on our own extensive fields.
This is the shot I took the last night during our closing slideshow:
Rounding out our experiential program, we have weekend trips, including the Boston Freedom Trail, Martha’s Vineyard, Six Flags, and our local Newport beaches. These trips complement our coursework, and provide the students an opportunity to explore the local area together. We have put together an intentional program, designed to push and pull our students in ways that will be transformative. Surely the word “transformative” is bandied about so cheaply and thoughtlessly that it has lost some of its power. But each summer I am amazed at how close our kids grow to each other in the course of a short month. From that first awkward Sunday night, during which they cannot wait to crawl back into their smartphones, to the final evening in Tuck, hugging and dancing and enjoying their final night with each other, these children are returned to their parents different from when they were dropped off. I took this shot the first day of the program: Polite, awkward, nervous.
After serving in the program for a number of years, and now being entrusted to captain the ship, I can tell you first-hand that this program works. Our kids have a great time, and learn things about themselves that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to do. In short, they are transformed by a unity of experience and the shared commitment to community life. If you are looking for a quality academic and enrichment experience for your middle school-aged child at a place you know and trust, please give us a call. I’d love to discuss in more detail the exciting things we do during our Summer Program. – Kale Zelden, Summer Program Director
Save the Dates for 2016! Sunday, June 26-Saturday, July 23
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MILESTONES
Robert Rainwater Retires
the International Science and Engineering Fair. Bob was also faculty advisor to the School’s Future Problem-Solving Club, and he guided students as they participated in International Physics Olympiads. Bob’s father, James Rainwater, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975, and Bob delighted in bringing the Nobel medal in to school for students to see. Bob has also been known for the “Creative Dining” group he and other faculty members started that was held, with students, at lunch in the dining hall once a week to read aloud short works of literature. He has delighted in reading scary stories during lunchtime at Halloween, and his ever-hopeful annual proclamation in late winter – that spring was around the corner by announcing that the witch hazel was in bloom on campus – has thrilled students and faculty alike.
Longtime science teacher Robert Rainwater retired prior to the start of the 2015-16 school year after 30 years of service to Portsmouth Abbey. Described by his colleagues in the Science Department as a man who “simply loves teaching,” Bob came to Portsmouth in 1985 after 12 years in Connecticut schools. He earned his undergraduate degree in physics at Cornell University and his graduate degree in science teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. While at the Abbey, he taught Conceptual Physics and AP Physics, and he started Advanced Topics, a post-AP-level course in physics. He also, at various times, taught mathematics. He was instrumental in the Science Department switching the sequence of its curriculum to its current order (Physics-Chemistry-Biology). Of the lab equipment needed to teach his favorite subject, Bob has been known to say, “Physics has the best toys!” Well known for his annual Boat Contest in the Winter Garden, Bob has been the faculty advisor to the Astronomy Club and the Russian Club, and he enthusiastically served as the advisor to several students who entered and won Rhode Island State Science Fairs. One of his students, Brian D’Urso ’94, won first place at
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Until a few years ago, Bob put his fellow faculty members to shame by riding his bicycle to and from work from his home in Barrington – a 30-mile round trip! Bob says he is really enjoying his new-found “time with family, especially on weekends,” but allows, “I miss interacting with the students. I really enjoyed teaching.” Thank you, Bob, for your many years of dedication to your students. Enjoy your retirement!
d Left: Bob officiates at the annual Boat Contest in the Winter Garden, a campus favorite each year.
Above: Bob and his physics student, Seha “Sam” Choi ’16, at the Intel® International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles where Sam competed, having won “Best in Fair” at the Rhode Island Science and Engineering Fair.
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
IN MEMORIAM
Hugh (with ball) was captain of Portsmouth Priory’s first soccer team, 1940
BERNARDO “HUGH” TOVAR ’41 Bernardo “Hugh” Tovar passed away peacefully on June 27, 2015. Hugh, as he was known by his classmates, was born in Bogota, Colombia, in 1922 and began at Portsmouth as a Third-Form student in 1936. He spent a year in Colombia in 1937-38 and then returned to Portsmouth, where he graduated with the Class of 1941. After graduating from Harvard College (Class of 1945), he was recruited by the U.S. Army’s Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor of the CIA; as a second lieutenant, he parachuted into Laos, where he was active in the search for U.S. prisoners held by the Japanese during WWII. At the conclusion of the war, he was discharged from the Army and began graduate studies at Northwestern University in economics and political science. In 1948, he joined the CIA and embarked on a 30-year career with the agency. Notably, Hugh was chief of station in Laos during the Vietnam War, where he worked with Lao and Hmong allies to help keep Laos free from the Communists and protect American servicemen in South Vietnam by continuously engaging three divisions of highly trained North Vietnamese regular forces on the Plain of Jars. Hugh also served the CIA in the Philippines and as chief of station in Malaya, Indonesia, and Thailand. His career spanned some of the most tumultuous years in those countries, during which
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he earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues in the CIA, throughout the intelligence community and within the host countries. He was awarded three Distinguished Intelligence Medals from the CIA and was appointed Commander of the Order of the White Elephant by the King of Thailand. He also served as chief of the Covert Action Staff and chief of the Counterintelligence Staff at CIA Headquarters. Hugh retired from the CIA in 1978. In retirement, he continued to contribute his expertise and perspective to advance the dialogue within the intelligence community through his writing and editing for the National Strategy Information Center, as well as for the International Journal of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence, where he served on its Board. Hugh was also an active member of the Central Intelligence Retirees Association (CIRA), the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), and the OSS Society. Hugh maintained correspondence with friends and colleagues all over the world, visiting them in their countries when possible, and entertaining them as they passed through our country. He also devoted a great deal of his time and attention to assisting the Hmong and Lao refugees as they settled into the United States and integrated into American culture. Another of his lifetime pursuits was conducting genealogical research on both sides of his family, resulting in a compre-
P ORTSM O U T H A BB E Y S C HO OL
hensive history, The McManigal and Tovar Families. This work became the basis for launching the Casa Tovar y Buendia in Bogota, Colombia, which continues today to further research the Tovar family history in Colombia and Spain. Hugh was devoted to Portsmouth, the Benedictine monks and the extraordinary faculty who educated him. Despite his travels and adventures in life, he always returned to the Abbey to keep in touch with classmates, teachers and the monks who knew him well. His deep commitment to his Roman Catholic faith, nurtured by Portsmouth, was always present with him throughout his life. Hugh enjoyed immensely the opportunity to speak at Abbey forums when asked to do so. He attended as many alumni reunions and other Portsmouth functions as he could and hosted many visitors from the Portsmouth community at his home regardless of where he lived. He served as Class Agent for the Class of 1941 for many years. While a student at Portsmouth, he participated in many activities, including the camera, dramatics and glee clubs, serving as president of the Debating Club, captain of the soccer team and, Hugh’s favorite, chairman of the Dance Committee. Hugh graduated cum laude. Dom Julian Stead ’43 remembered Hugh fondly as a quickwitted and tenacious sparring partner when they both boxed for the Abbey varsity boxing team. Dom Damian Kearney ’45 shared the following: “Hugh was one of only six prefects in the school and was a highly respected authority figure, able to command instant respect, having
Hugh, doing what he loved most
been chosen for his maturity, poise, scholarship, leadership qualities and active engagement in many activities. I remember Hugh as a master debater and extremely knowledgeable in foreign affairs. “He was editor-in-chief of The Raven, which was especially important as there was at that time no school newspaper. His stories were frequent and betrayed a literary flair that marked the budding writer he became. His loyalty and support of the school were enormous; there could not have been a better ambassador, generous in the time he spent in promoting the school and monastery.” Hugh’s greatest love was for his family. He is survived by his devoted wife, Pamela Kay Balow, and his six children from his first marriage to the late Deborah McCarthy Tovar, five of whom attended Portsmouth: Gregory ’67, Peter ’72, Michael, Christopher ’76, and James ’79. The Portsmouth Abbey community mourns the passing of this leader, patriot and steadfast and generous supporter of the school and monastery, and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to the entire Tovar family and Hugh’s many friends.
Any classmates or friends who wish to make a contribution to Portsmouth in memory of Hugh can do so by making a gift to the Annual Fund and referencing the “Hugh Tovar Scholarship” with their gift. Hugh in 1961
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IN MEMORIAM BERNARD HUGH MARKEY ‘40 Hugh Markey ’40 died in Point Lookout, N.Y., on September 22, 2015, in his ninety-third year. After graduating from Portsmouth Priory, he studied at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, graduating in 1948, and did a stint in the U.S. Navy, serving as port director of Inchon, Korea, from 1945-1947. Although he wanted to become a priest, he acceded to his father’s wishes and joined the family company of R. Markey & Sons, Inc., of which he served as president from 1965 until his retirement in 1986. Space does not permit recounting his record as a ballroom dancer, golf and tennis player, and New York politician. Hugh was, in his own words, “very devoted to Our Lady,” and he told me the story of an incident during his Fifth Form year, which he saw as the awakening of his awareness of her special protection of him. He was living in Saint Benet’s. One night during a recess period from study hall, he and his roommate, James Finn, visited two other classmates in another room. “One of the occupants of that room was a boy whose father was a general in the Army, and he had a 35-inch shell that he used as a door-stop and to tap nails into the wall to hang pictures…I picked up the shell. I stood in the front of the bureau and announced that I could drop the shell closer to my foot than anyone in the room…I then dropped the shell, which landed about six inches from my right foot. I picked up the shell and announced I would try again---two out of three times. So I picked up the shell and dropped it again, and the shell exploded…A piece of the shrapnel cut the muscle in my roommate’s left leg; another piece of the shell cut the instep of one of the occupants of the room; still other shrapnel exited the entrance to the room and severely damaged the knee of a student in the hall; both sides of the bureau in front of which I was standing were ripped off by parts of the shell… and, I who was standing in front of the bureau, wasn’t touched at all by any shrapnel…Indeed, it was a miracle that I was not touched by any fragment of the shell that exploded just two inches from my right foot. Our Lady certainly knows how to get my attention and prayers!!!!” Beginning in 1970, Hugh began to make pilgrimages to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s shrine at Lourdes in France. Soon he began to sponsor pilgrimages to Lourdes (and later also to Fatima, in Portugal) for religious sisters, orphans, and strays. The annual Ampleforth Pilgrimage, with our sister Benedictine monastery in England, numbers a few hundred
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“Uncle Hugo” with Mother Teresa of Calcutta in 1983
pilgrims, including several dozen sick and disabled. The able-bodied pilgrims stay in hotels (Paris is the only place in France that has more hotels than Lourdes), while those who need care are quartered in “hospitals.” These are not hospitals in our sense but rather hostels, which provide no more than beds, linens, and food. The “hotel pilgrims” must make the beds, sweep the floors, serve the food, provide the “hospital pilgrims” with medical and nursing care, help them as needed with bathing and dressing, and convey them to and accompany them in the various religious activities of the shrine: Masses, processions, Eucharistic exposition, recitation of the Rosary, and bathing in the baths fed by water flowing from the spring uncovered in 1858 by St. Bernadette. During the 1970s, Hugh befriended the directors of the Ampleforth Pilgrimage and, finding that it was so well organized and respected in Lourdes, asked them to receive students from Portsmouth Abbey and also from the School of the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, CT. Joe Michaud ’90 has been participating in the pilgrimage every year since he went first as a Portsmouth student and has made lifelong friends among the English pilgrims (see Joe’s article about Hugh on page 29). In latter years Hugh was glad to depend on Joe to do much of the actual “leg work” of organizing and shepherding Portsmouth’s delegation to the pilgrimage. We are grateful to Joe for continuing today to render Portsmouth Abbey School this valuable service. In 1983, Hugh met the Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and became involved in supporting the work of her Mis-
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sionaries of Charity among the neediest and most forsaken. He provided her with millions of rosaries and Miraculous Medals for distribution. It was Mother Teresa who told Hugh that she and her sisters already had a Father in heaven and a Blessed Mother, so Hugh should become known among them as their uncle, “Uncle Hugo,” a title he treasured. Hugh served on the Historical Committee that supported the cause of Mother Teresa’s sainthood.
MONSIGNOR TIM COLLINS ‘48
Late in life Hugh liked to say, “I hope Our Lady will assist me in passing the final exam, which is not multiple-choice.” It was Hugh who trained Portsmouth Abbey’s attention on Our Lady of Lourdes, for which we are forever in his debt. He would have loved to be present for the dedication of Portsmouth Abbey’s Lourdes Grotto Shrine on May 4, 2012; but although he planned to be there, already his health was failing under the weight of years, and at the last minute the journey proved impossible for him.
Gil McManus ’52 remembers D. Stephen as a novice sneaking down to the football field and changing into his sweat clothes in the woods to help coach the team on fall afternoons. Tim himself never forgot Brother Basil Cunningham slipping him and the other novices $100 bills as they set off to their primitive summer retreat cabin in Maine. I have many happy memories of Sunday night buffet dinners (the only meal of the week that was not seated by house in the ’60s) with him after Benediction and Compline, where he would engage us in serious conversation on theology and philosophy and not so serious conversation on sports and whimsy. One night, a new boy came to the table and said, “Father Stephen, I’m asking all the Fathers what they’re going to do after dinner.” Without missing a beat, Tim answered, deadpan, “I’m going to take off all my clothes and swim laps in the Winter Garden Fountain.” When asked if the monks had a drinking problem. “Of course the monks at Portsmouth have a drinking problem,” he quipped. “They don’t drink nearly enough.”
He established Our Lady’s Fund at Portsmouth Abbey School, to enable the continuing presence of Portsmouth Abbey and Sacred Heart students and faculty on the Ampleforth Pilgrimage. I count myself blessed to have made the pilgrimage with Ampleforth Abbey five times, thanks to Hugh. May Hugh Markey rest in peace and receive the reward of his goodness to Portsmouth Abbey, among so many others. Hugh is survived by his sister, Joan Markey Steele; his nephews, Markey Lawson and Edward and Michael Steele; his nieces, Anne Steele and Susan Steele Jennings; his brother-in-law, Edward Steele; his cousin, Bernard Markey; and his close friend and caregiver, Conchita Keena and her husband, Patrick. He was predeceased by his brother, Francis “Leo” Markey ’38. – Abbot Caedmon Holmes, O.S.B.
Reverend Monsignor Timothy Collins ’48 died on August 22, 2015, at the Cardinal O’Connor Clergy Residence in the Bronx. He was 86. Originally from Grosse Pointe, MI, and then New York City and Bronxville, NY, Tim entered the Portsmouth monastery after graduating from the Priory and took the name of Dom Stephen. He attended the University of Notre Dame and Benedictine College in Atchison, KS, before returning to Portsmouth as a teacher, coach and dorm master in the Blue, ultimately serving as director of development.
Tim left Portsmouth in 1969 to spend time at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu, NM, founded by former Portsmouth headmaster Dom Aelred Wall, who sought to establish a more contemplative life than was possible at a monastery-run school. In 1976, Tim left to be incardinated in the Archdiocese of New York, where he served as chaplain at Bronx Lebanon and Misercordia Hospitals. He later became pastor at SS Philip and James and Saint Barnabas in the Bronx and, finally, at Our Lady of the Rosary in Manhattan. Throughout these years, he was deeply active in the community, serving on planning boards and as chairman of the archdiocesan Senate of Priests. Cardinal Timothy Dolan celebrated Tim’s Funeral Mass on August 28th with 20 fellow priests and many Sisters of Charity, friends and family at Saint Barnabas. Monsignor Fernando Berardi remembered how a classmate and he first encountered Msgr. Collins while students at Cathedral Prep: “We were both so taken with this quiet, gentle priest who showed us such attention and support in our budding priestly vocation.” And yet, at the same time, Msgr. Berardi noted, “Tim was always a bit private and mysterious, so no one could ever pin him down.” Tim’s last visit to Portsmouth was a private one to pray at Father Benedict’s grave, but his memory remains fresh in many of his students, who remember him as an exemplar of masculine friendship and spiritual fatherhood. Tim is survived by his brother, Richard ’47, of Vero Beach, FL, and many nieces and nephews, including John Collins ’79. The Portsmouth Abbey Community extends its condolences to Tim’s family and many friends. – Jamie MacGuire ’70
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IN MEMORIAM DAVID RANDAL MCCARTHY
a course that is now one of the School’s signature programs. As a colleague, he also helped lead the intellectual life of the faculty, perhaps best demonstrated by his membership of many decades in the Faculty Reading Club. He remains a model for all of us of boarding school faculty life.”
Longtime, beloved faculty member and Portsmouth Abbey devotee David Randal McCarthy died October 28, 2015, after a brief but courageous battle with multiple myeloma, surrounded by his loving family. Born in New York, David earned his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his M.A. from Columbia University. He also completed courses for a doctorate from both Brown University and University College Dublin, Ireland. Before coming to Portsmouth Abbey School, he was a tenured associate professor at Stonehill College.
Daniel McCarthy ’77 said of his father: “He was a questioner… a critic, first and foremost of himself. He was exacting and passionate, impulsive and persistent. He was in search of a way David at his retirement in 2002, photographed by Jim Garman. to understand his soul. He could not accept a world that segregated the secular David arrived at Portsmouth Abbey in 1971 with his family and the religious, the divine and the profane. He wanted life in tow and taught English and Humanities for over 30 years to be whole cloth and complete. before retiring as faculty emeriti in 2002. During his tenure, he was department chair of both the English and Humanities “That is the life that he found at Portsmouth,” said Daniel, departments. In addition to teaching, David was editor of the “and it is a life that he never left.” Bulletin and coached tennis, sailing, and club soccer. A lifelong reader, scholar, and teacher who also taught Russian “I first met David when he came to the Abbey in 1971,” reand Irish literature courses for the Circle of Scholars at Salve called fellow faculty member and close friend Jim Garman. “He Regina University in his retirement, David articulated that after and his very large family were housed in the upstairs of the 31 years of teaching at Portsmouth Abbey– and over 10 years former Red Dormitory. of involvement in the School after retirement– it became for him not only a place where he lived and taught, but also his “I was always very impressed by David’s broad interests in litspiritual home. He believed that Portsmouth Abbey School oferature and history. We shared an office for many years where fered a community where civility, the intellectual, and moral we, and others, had marvelous conversations.” life could be sustained, where an education of the heart is possible, and where wisdom is a gift. He relished making his home Abbey teacher J. Clifford Hobbins added, “David was one of in Portsmouth among the Benedictines as an oblate and was a the most interesting individuals I have had the pleasure to regular reader at 8:00 a.m. Sunday Masses in the Church of St. know. He had a fine mind, a compelling personality, and a Gregory for Rev. Abbot Matthew Stark. keen sense of humor. We had deep differences of opinion on matters of politics, but we also had deep agreement on matters which really made a difference.” Longtime colleague and friend Headmaster Dan McDonough recalled, “David always had a compelling vision of what was best for the religious and intellectual life of the campus, and he lived that vision in his daily life at the School, which nearly always included weekday morning Mass. His service in the English Department alone made him one of the great teachers of our time, but he also took time late in his career to help found, guide, and teach in the Humanities program, setting in motion
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“In 2002 David retired, and I followed two years later,” recalled Garman. “We remained very close friends, often walking our dogs together in the nearby Glen. We continued wonderful conversations in those times. “David remained extremely interested in, and loyal to, the Abbey,” continued Garman. “He faithfully attended morning Mass at the Abbey every day in his retirement, he always attended Reunion Weekend activities, and he kept in touch with many of his former students. He had an uncanny ability to remember their names and graduation years.
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“Most significantly, David was a man of very strong Christian beliefs. He saw the good in everyone and his faith was very important and personal to him,” said Garman. “He was a good friend, neighbor and colleague, and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”
FATHER BENJAMIN REESE ‘76
“David loved his family and was proud of all of them,” added Hobbins. “He truly cared for his friends and associates. When the chips were down, you could always count on David. He was Irish to a fault, and we loved him for it.”
Fr. Ben was born in Granite City, Ill., and raised in Aspen. Abbey friend Jeff Calnan ’76 recalls: “Ben and I arrived at Portsmouth Abbey in the fall of 1974. He roomed next door to me in our Fifth Form year and played next to me on the offensive line of our football team. One of the things I remember most about Ben during our time at the Abbey was his wonderful, and very, very dry, sense of humor. Ben saw humor in many of unique aspects of life in an all-male boarding school.”
David and his wife, Cheryl
Father Benjamin Burnet Reese, of the Class of 1976, died September 18, 2015, at the Mother of Good Counsel Home in St. Louis, Missouri. Fr. Ben was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in July of 2013. He continued to minister as long as he could, using an iPad to communicate with others.
Fr. Ben earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Georgetown University. He later studied philosophy and theology at St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Co., and theology at Louvain University in Belgium. He also attended Pontifical Irish College in Rome and had a licentiate degree in theology from the Pope John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, in Washington, D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1991. “We lost touch for a while after the Abbey, but we reconnected when I discovered Ben had become a priest and asked him to preside at my September wedding,” said Calnan. “He said he’d be glad to because he was graduating the seminary in May. He was delighted because it would be his first wedding. I told him, ‘What a coincidence, it is my first wedding, too!’”
Calling his father “a man who left an indelible image on this world,” Daniel McCarthy reflected, “When we celebrate my father’s life, we celebrate an unflinching journey into the embrace of God. Here, in Portsmouth, at the Abbey…the school, the town, the monastic community and the church. This was his place.” David was buried November 2, 2015, in the Portsmouth Abbey Cemetery. The family requests that donations in David’s honor and memory be made to Portsmouth Abbey School. In addition to his beloved wife, Cheryl, David is survived by his eight children and step-children: Daniel; Teresa; Sara Casassa; Judith; Elizabeth Murphy; Andrew ‘92; Nicole FitzGerald; and Dr. Monique McHenry; their spouses; 16 grandchildren and step-grandchildren; and a wide circle of extended family and friends. The School and Monastic communities mourn the passing of our faithful friend, colleague and servant, and extend heartfelt condolences to the McCarthy family.
Between 1993 and 2014, Fr. Ben served as a pastor in numerous parishes in Illinois and South Dakota and was most recently the pastor at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Therese of Lisieux parishes in Kenosha, Wis., where he served until taking medical leave in July of 2014. Fr. Ben was also vicar of the Peoria Southeast vicariate from 1998 to 2001. Father Dwight Campbell, S.T.D., who served at the Kenosha parishes with Fr. Ben, said Fr. Ben showed “heroic perseverance and abandonment to God” during his battle with ALS. “In his weakness and debility he exemplified, most powerfully and beautifully, what it means to be a priest of Jesus Christ.” “I’m sure we all have our particular memories of Fr. Ben,” Fr. Campbell continued. “His sharp mind– of which, I have to admit, I was envious– his quick wit, and his hearty, infectious laugh that would light up any room he was in.” “Over the years we stayed in touch, and soon after he was moved to a nursing home, I went out to visit,” explained Calnan. “Although his body had changed, his mind and spirit had not; and we spent most of the day chatting about the old days, the screenplay, and he even had separate calls from Shea Farrell ‘76 and Tom Keogh ‘76. Fr. Ben is survived by his parents; five siblings, Mary, Jeff, Anise, Christi, and Devon; eight grandnephews, and two grandnieces. One sibling, Walter, preceded him in death. The Portsmouth Abbey community extends its condolences to Fr. Ben’s family and to his dedicated caregiver, Sr. Cordia Marie.
WINTER Alumni BULLETIN 2016
PAGE 55
MISSION STATEMENT The aim of Portsmouth Abbey School is to help young men and women grow in knowledge and grace. Grounded in the Catholic faith and 1,500-year-old Benedictine intellectual tradition, the School fosters: Reverence for God and the human person Respect for learning and order Responsibility for the shared experience of community life
PORTSM OUT H ABB E Y SCHOOL Annual Fund 2015-16 The aim of Portsmouth Abbey School is to help young men and women grow in knowledge and grace.
BOARD OF REGENTS Right Rev. Dom Caedmon Holmes, O.S.B. Abbot and Chancellor Portsmouth, RI Mr. W. Christopher Behnke ’81, P ’12, ’15 Chairman Chicago, IL Dom Joseph Byron, O.S.B. Portsmouth, RI Mr. Creighton O. Condon ’74, P ’07, ’10 Jamestown, RI Sr. Suzanne Cooke, R.S.C.J. Washington, D.C. Dom Francis Crowley, O.S.B. Portsmouth, RI Mrs. Kathleen Cunningham P ’08,’09,’11,’14 Dedham, MA Mr. Peter Ferry ’75, P ’16, ‘17 Republic of Singapore Mrs. Frances Fisher P ’15 San Francisco, CA Dr. Timothy P. Flanigan ’75, P ’06, ’09, ’11,’19 Tiverton, RI Mr. Peter S. Forker ’69 Chicago, IL
Mr. Patrick Gallagher ’81, P ’15 Providence, RI
Mr. Shane O’Neil ‘65 Bedford, MA
Mrs. Margaret S. Healey P ’91 New Vernon, NJ
Mr. John Perreira P ’05 Portsmouth, RI
Mr. Denis Hector ’70 Miami, FL
Mr. Peter J. Romatowski ’68 McLean, VA
Dr. Gregory Hornig ’68, P’ 01 Prairie Village, KS
Right Rev. Dom Matthew Stark, O.S.B. Prior Portsmouth, RI
Rev. Dom Damian Kearney, O.S.B. ’45 Portsmouth, RI Mr. Peter Kennedy ’64, P ’07, ’08, ’15 Big Horn, WY Mr. William Keogh ’78, P ’13 Litchfield, CT Dr. Mary Beth Klee P ’04 Hanover, NH Ms. Devin McShane P ’09, ’11 Providence, RI Rev. Dom Gregory Mohrman, O.S.B. St. Louis, MO Mr. Philip V. Moyles, Jr. ’82 Annual Fund Chair Rye, NY
Mr. Rowan G.P. Taylor P ’13, ’18 New Canaan, CT Mr. William Winterer ’87 Boston, MA
Emeritus Mr. Peter Flanigan R ’41, P ’75, ’83, GP ’06, ’09, ’11 Purchase, NY Mr. Thomas Healey ’60, P ’91 New Vernon, NJ Mr. William Howenstein R ’52, P ’87, GP ’10 Grosse Pointe Farms, MI R
deceased
Mr. and Mrs. Emmett O’Connell P ’16, ’17 Co-Chairs, Parents’ Association Stowe, VT
Front cover: (Bristol County, Mass.) Deputy District Attorney William McCauley’79 at the Fall River Justice Center. See Bill’s alumni profile on page 18.
Reverence
Respect
Responsibility
Our profound and unique mission statement places Portsmouth Abbey School in an important position in academia. The search for both intellectual and spiritual Truth is the hallmark of an Abbey education. Guided by the Benedictine tradition, our dedicated faculty live out our mission every day as they help our students grow in knowledge and grace. For our students, this growth is a lifelong pursuit that begins in the classrooms, houses, and on the fields at Portsmouth Abbey. Your gifts to the Annual Fund go to work immediately to support our students directly and to secure the strength of our mission. Make a gift today at www.portsmouthabbey.org/makeagift. Please contact Amanda Lazarus, director of the annual fund, at alazarus@portsmouthabbey.org or (401) 643-1204 with any questions about the Annual Fund.