'Westralian Vonsignor Becomes a
ranciseart
Tertiary Rermit in the Bahamas . . . Unusual Vocation to Embrace the Gospel and Assisian Ideal of Real Poverty The following letter has been receiv-
Vivid Description of the Social; Religious & Political Conditions . of Cat Island
-ed from Rt. Rev. Monsignor Hawes by Mr. H. J. Eales, F.R.I.A.A.
Monsig-
nor Hawes, who was formerly in the Geraldton Diocese, and who designed many of the Church buildings there is now living as a Franciscan Tertiary hermit on Cat Island, in the Bahamas: Sorting out old letters and papers yesterday, I came on your letter of April 29, 1940, which I had put by at that time, as I was very very busy indeed in building operations, and have been so right up to this Easter But now I have really hung last. up my trowel for good, like the knights' banners in Westminster AbI feel very worn-out, tired and bey! I thought I'd finished with feeble. architecture and building when I left WA., but as soon as I pitched my tent ,on this island I got right down to it again like the early days in Mullewa. I bought a small sailing boat (a cutter, 22 feet long on deck), and with o,ie black boy for crew I navigated he, some 300 miles from the place cf purchase, Abaco, landing here in February. 1940. Since then, by fie grace of God, I have planted the Catholic Church on Cat Island, building three churches and a little monastery and chapel for myself. I have a little flock now of some sixty baptised Catholics 'and some forty more catechumens unCat Island was proder instruction. bably the second landfall of Columbus after San Salvador, and he named it Fernandez, and the original name lingers in Fernandez Point and Bay, which I can see from my window where I'm Later under England's good writing. Protestant occupation the beautiful old name of San Salvador was changed for "Watling's Island," after the name of a blood -thirsty rum -sodden pirate. Some twenty years ago, in response to the historical researches and the solicitations of the Benedictine Fathers in Nassau, the Government officially gazetted the name of Watling's Island back to "San Salvador"-and a beautiful little stone -vaulted church has been built near the probable site of [olumbus' first landing: and there is usually a Benedictine monk in residence there. It is near the big stone
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Here on Cat Island, some fifty miles long, there are 4,000 people, all negroes -no whites at all. Even the Gov-
ernment "Commissioner" is a "coloured" man, albeit well-educated and cap. able. What passes for religion is mostly only a hypocritical veneer of copious hymn -singing and ignorant ranting that cloaks sexual promiscuity; stealing and perjury in the police court. The wealthy clique of whites (Bahamian -born) in Nassau exploit the poor people: merchants and rum -purveyors run the Parliament, getting in and keeping in by open bribery and corruption-and the Parliament opposes and thwarts all the wise and charitable endeavours of the Duke of Windson (as Governor) to ameliorate the wa,,es and conditions of the islanders. And there is the same sort of thing in U.S.A. Racial prejudice segregates the negro as effectively as a walled -in Ghetto-and in "Mein Kampf" Hitler
THE ROOD, IN THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY REDEEMER, FREETOWN. lighthouse.
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Altogether there are now
about twenty Benedictine missionaries in the Bahamas.
You surmised that I was marooned here by Hitler's machinations, and so got busy just to make the best of things until opportunity for return to I W. A. No, it wasn't that way. left Australia (with many tears) for good, purposing to come to the West Indies. I will explain matters: I have been a Franciscan Tertiary since 1913, but latterly I became conscious of the Gospel and Franciscan vocation to give up all things and embrace a life of real Franciscan Poverty. I got my Bishop's (Bishop O'Collins') (reluctant) permission to try it out-on "extended leave"-and got accepted for missionary work by an old friend of mine, Bishop John Bernard, 0.S.B., the Vicar Apostolic of the Benedictine MisI was sion of the Bahamas Islands. very happy and contented at Gerald ton, and reckoned I'd live and die
BAPTISMAL FONT THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY REDEEMER. FREETOWN. there (proof of which you can see my tomb in the Mortuary Chapel at Utakarra-a memorial brass just outside But the spiritual the rood screen life (inwardly' is a queer business, just to take me by and it pleased God the scruff of the neck and chuck me out! With such primitive .onditions as are to be found in the out-islands of the Bahamas, one could hardly attain to a closer Franciscan observance of Gospel Poverty than simply to live among the people as they live and try to share their privations and hardships as cheerfully and bravely as they bear these themselves
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modelled much of his Jewish policy from the "Jim Crow" policy of that great Democracy, the U.S.A. But we must needs see "Christ in the Negro"' and in the Negro "the least of these
brethren." Cat Island is supposed to be a fairly prosperous fruit -growing islandand with good seasons and plenty of rain they don't do too badly. Last :try
year we have a terrible hurricane, the worst ever known to strike Cat Island, comparatively short, only four hours, but a wind velocity of 200 miles an hour. Most of the fruit trees were destroyed: and these last five months we've had a drought, only just broken by good rains these last few days. Lots of the people seem to live just on the border of starvation-just a bit of Indian corn hominey, with, sometimes, a (Continued on Page 4.)