On 16th January 1902, they were NINE!

On October 20, 1901, five Brothers of St. Gabriel landed in Bangkok at the call before. Three months later another four joined them. Con­sequently there were nine Brothers on the staff of Assumption College when the school reopened on January 16, 1902, beginning of the new academic year.

My purpose here is to shed some light on those pioneers. Out of nine, only two rest in our Sriracha Cemetery, Brother Martin de Tours and Brother Hila ire. Brother Martin de Tours was the Superior of the Brothers and the Director of the School until 1920 when he opened St. Gabriel's College in Samsen. He died in 1933, letting behind the reputation of a very holy man. Bro. Hilaire was still a teenager when he reached Bangkok. Along the years he would master the Thai language and write books to teach Thai people how to learn their language. The story goes that H.M. King Rama VII was so impressed that he declared: "If that man was not a foreigner, I would appoint him Minister of Education."

NAMES OF THE BROTHERS ON 16th JANUARY 1902

20th October 1901: First Group

1. Brother Marin de Tours, Superior
2. Brother Gabriel Ferretti
3. Brother Abel
4. Brother Auguste
5. Brother Hilaire

15th January 1902: Second Group

6. Brother Allyre
7. Brother Pierre Maurice
8. Brother Auguste
9. Brother Diodore Marie

120 Years of Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel in Thailand 120 Years of Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel in Thailand

 


Brother Gabriel Ferretti

Prior to coming to Thailand, Brother Gabriel Ferretti had been teaching at St. Johnsbury, USA. (1890) - Five years later he was in Canada where he taught for another five years. He wrote a long and interesting chronicle on the trip of those pioneers from Marseille to Bangkok. In September 1902 though, he was back in France, then moved to Plymouth, U.K. in March 1903. On November 30 of the same year, he left the congregation.








Brother Abel

When Brother Abel reached Bangkok, he had ten years' teaching experience in five different schools. What had happened, I do not know, but in a letter addressed to the Superior General on December 11, 1901, he thanks the Superior and his Assistants for their merciful attitude. "Indeed, I only deserved to be aban­doned to my tragic fate." Promise followed that it would never happen again. The fact is that in August 1904 he was in Givisiez, Switzerland and left the congregation on the 18th of that month.





Brother Auguste

Bro. Auguste, a Canadian, was 30 years old when he reached Bangkok. He was a cabinet-maker, profession he had practiced for two years in the US. Feeling call by God to religious life, he came back to Canada with the intention to join the Franciscans. A fortuitous encounter with a Brother of St. Gabriel made him change his mind. He was chosen to be one of the first group going to Thailand. Physically strong, he was expected to bear with the weather and environment, yet after two years his health had deteriorated and he had to leave Thailand he loved so much. He landed in Belgium on October 1903 too weak to pursue his journey back home. He died on April 24, 1905 totally resigned to God's will.

 


Brother Gabriel Maria

Brother Gabriel Maria was 20 years old with two years' teaching experience when he arrived in Thailand. On August 15, 1910, he was appointed director of a new school (Saint Mary School) in Chantaburi. Three years later, the Superior closed the school, something he would not ow. In 1941, when the French missionaries were expelled from Thailand, he and his confreres left first for Singapore, then went to India. Brother Gabriel Maria died in Bangalore on August 28, 1944.died on April 24, 1905 totally resigned to God's will.












Brother Allyre

Brother Allyre was still at AC when I reached Thailand in 1957. I remember him as a long-bearded man walking around with a big bunch of keys in his hand. Then he decided to go back to France and went to La Perouse to spend his last few years.


Brother Pierre Maurice

Brother Pierre Maurice was not yet 18 years old when he reached Bangkok. After a few years he was put in charge of the orphans. A scrupu­lous man he didn't use a mosquito net during the night. Soon malaria took the best of him. He had to leave Thailand. He died in London on December 19, 1909. He was 25 years old.





Brother Diodore Marie

Brother Diodore Marie was 25 years old when he made his first vows. When he joined Assumption College, he had two years' teaching experience. In a letter addressed to the Superior General from the MEP summer residence at Bang Plasoi (Chonburi) and dated July 1906 the Brother explains at length how he spent 45 days at St. Louis Hospital and nearly died. His strength is coming back slowly, he adds. Yet another letter dated December 31, 1906 is written from Fougeolles, his native village in France. At Easter 1907, he joined the school run by the Brothers at Clermont-Ferrand. An 8 June letter written by his Director explains how he died a horrible death. He was carrying a three­ liter tin of alcohol and brought it close to a burning lamp. The tin exploded dousing him with ignited liquid. He was engulfed as in a furnace. He died the day after without a word of complaint, totally abandoned to God's will.

 

120 Years of Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel in Thailand 120 Years of Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel in Thailand 120 Years of Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel in Thailand

Source:

Bro. Simeon. (2021). Celebrating 120 Years: The Pioneer’s first Arrival in Thailand was on 20th October 1901. Nok, 46 (May-Oct.), 5-7.

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