Memorials of two of our recent deceased confreres
Arthur Stidwill MSC
Arthur supplied in Lismore Diocese, the parish of Casino,
A tribute to him by Fr Peter Slack,
Naturally, I am sad but it is a strange sadness. Sad for myself that I will not see Arthur again, but not sad for him. After all he has reached journey’s end. I am reminded of Maurice West’s reflections in his memoir, “A View from the Ridge” he talks about death in these or similar words - Standing on a ridge overlooking a dark valley, I see the lights of the town, the aim of my journey. As I gaze at the lights I know that I must leave the comfort of the ridge and enter the dark valley in order to reach safely to the place that draws me, my home.
We first met in Ottawa in my salad days, he in late middle age. He had come from Alotau in his mid fifties to study Canon Law. He had a fine legal mind, sharp and precise. He loved the missions and his Bishop, Des Moore was a close friend and he served that diocese as Vicar General. He was an exemplary religious. Though he came to have a great affection for Casino, and they for him, he always said that he must return to religious home at Kensington. He lived the poverty. Any money he received always went to the MSC’s – he kept nothing. Mass offerings went to a poor school in Africa run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Every day, twice a day, he would be found in Church saying his office.
Using Casino as a home, he helped out in South Grafton and Nambucca and Uralla. But he always returned home “to his religious confreres.”
Herein the parish he visited the elderly. Bishop Des Moore told him, “Arthur, the elderly need our ministry as much as the young. They need to experience the forgiving presence of Christ and tell their stories. They, like us, need healing.” As I grow into what was Arthurs’s age when he first came here to assist, I now appreciate the wisdom of those words.
He had one message – the love of Jesus. Every homily played upon the same theme. It is why the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart was founded, he would say.
When he was last here I invited him to give some talks to the parish. They were livestreamed and we have not only his voice but his face.
At his fiftieth the people the people put together a tribute to him. It now becomes his obituary.
Downlands
11/10/24
+
Very Rev Hugh Slattery MSC
Bishop of Tzaneen, SA. His life and times.
I would like to offer this personal tribute to Bishop Hugh.
Bishop Hugh Slattery took me “under his wing” (as it were) when in late life (47) I first went to South Africa. He befriended me. He gave me a job, not just as Chaplain in St Brendan’s School but he also used my skills as a Geographer to produce a map of his diocese, especially the catholic installations. That took 6 months and a lot of driving and was a great introduction to the three language groups in the Diocese. At the end, it was the best map of that area I believe, and of those people who previously, under apartheid, had been considered “surplus to requirement!”. I could compare my map to others that had been produced post apartheid – such as Eskoms, done with GPS - and note their errors and mine. We located and named 800 villages – 200 Catholic facilities. + Hugh was grateful and urged me to continue studies to a PhD level. I didn’t.
Aids came in in the 1990s and the effect was devastating: deaths and funerals in all villages every weekend. The smoke arose from the cooking pots – set up to cater for the influx of mourners. Funeral societies grew rich. + Hugh took the lead combating it, establishing with the OLSH Sisters (Australian many) Kurisinani (“We care for each other”), and with his books and sermons counselled and encouraged his people through. Money and facilities began to arrive. I worked hard at being chaplain in the school, but also in holidays especially and with the aid of Kurisanani, worked on comprehensive programs to do with caring for the sick, Orphans, Youth and the redevelopment Married Life.
Severe floods in the year 2000 that destroyed 150 bridges in Limpopo Province was a “blip” along the way, but it demanded a lot of re-building of mud homes that had melted and collapsed in the downpour. The church was on the front foot in that reconstruction. 5 Million people live in Limpopo.
Bishop Hugh at that time was also completing the building of Ave Maria Pastoral Centre. That was a mighty effort – a fully functional Centre for over 120 people. I enjoyed there with adults and St Brendan’s students and the priests many a refreshing course. At an hour’s drive it became like a second home to me. + Hugh lived later there in retirement. + Hugh had also completed with the help of a Catholic Lay man architect and engineer, St Brendan’s College – which had 600 boarders when I started in 1997, and despite many turbulent times with deaths among staffs and students and difficulties with Governments, provided some of the best education in rural South Africa at that time. At one time we had to “sack” the principal for “grooming”. All the kids knew and approved the sacking! St Brendans was the first rural school in SA to have a set (20) of Computers – a second hand gift from the Anglo America Company in 1997. After his effort at completing the school, Bishop Hugh had to take extended leave.
We understood each other: I said one time “Bishop if you wont listen to me, I wont talk to you” – he did! But he also made it clear that he didn’t need my help in confirming as I had suggested. One day he confirmed 176 and it took several hours. Noone complained. They just enjoyed the singing and the dancing. Why stop when you are having fun!? I liked +Hugh’s straight talk.
Whenever he visited or I, we walked and talked and played Golf occasionally. I don’t think a lot of the new English Translation of the mass texts that we still suffer from – but + Hugh worked on that project with George Cardinal Pell, and had me convinced its was going to be the “ants pants”! More seriously, His first move with me was to get me to go to a three day seminar on Witchcraft at the University of the North. No joke! Witchcraft is a real thing in the Limpopo Province, the epicentre of it in Africa. They have a martyr in the form of Benedict Daswa to prove it. You are “the fool” if you discount it!
+ Hughs humour was of the dry type. He used to note that he set out from his home place to become an SMA (Society of Missionaries to Africa), and by mistake finished up at the MSC house on Cork. The SMA were founded in 1856 in France, so he wasn’t far out, and also had their novitiate in Cork! He also noted that he had more elephants (50,001 – in Kruger Park) in his Diocese than Catholics (50,000) – a mere 2% od the human population.
The elevation of Benedict Dazwa (Thsimagadzo - Wonder worker was his local name) was perhaps the crowning glory for Hugh. He asked me to take up the cause, and I replied “Ive got enough to do here (at school),” considering at a part time job. French Confrere Andre Boas MSC did it, went to Rome for 8 months, learnt Italian and three years later in 2016 the first South African lay man saint and martyr was proclaimed. This was a triumph for Bishop Hugh and a diamond in the MSC list of Martyrs.
In retirement Hugh and I remained friendly and would get together whenever I returned to SA, and when I was still there working in Holy Family Orphanage from 2015 onwards. Sr Sally Duigan was my boss. What a great work of mercy that is. It was established in the old MSC Novitiate/ seminary at Ofcolaco.
I have worked with/ for 11 Bishops and he was one of the best: friendly to me but not so well received by his Irish Confreres. His work in the Lumko Institutes with other Irish MSC – Paddy Whooley and Dick Broderick is well known, but that was before my time. Lumko is and was a great credit to our Irish Province with its grass roots theology, or is it “Cooking Pot Theology?” + Hugh could preach in the three local languages.
In retirement + Hugh was gracious and still interested in all things to do with church/ world. We corresponded occasionally. Im sorry to say I probably offended him in my last letter this year, having just re read Pakingham’s, The Scramble for Africa and Conrad’s Out of darkness. I asked simply: What really has the church done to improve the lot of Africans over 400 years? I’m sure +Hugh will forgive my bumptious questioning, and will add background to help me think with a better frame of mind.
Vince Carroll MSC
