When Brother Des Howard returned to his home town of Adelaide two years ago to lead the small community of Marist Brothers at Somerton Park, he was keen to contribute to the wider society in some way, reports The Southern Cross.
While establishing the province’s first dedicated community for ‘senior’ brothers in Melbourne, he volunteered at the House of Welcome, a centre run by the Sisters of Charity for people living on the streets.
Br Des Howard SM, back home in Adelaide and taking up new ministries. PHOTO: The Southern Cross.
When he mentioned to Adelaide Archdiocese prison chaplain Mel Monfries that he had an interest in this ministry, she was quick to take him up on the offer and introduced him to the principal chaplain Ian Schneider.
After a two-day training program and “vetting” by one of the longer serving prisoners to ensure he wasn’t going to “proselytise”, Br Des began visiting Yatala Prison one day a week. As well as seeing eight prisoners each Wednesday, he runs Sunday worship services twice a month and participates in ecumenical services that are shown on closed circuit television throughout the prison.
“It’s been really life-giving to be involved with other denominations,” he said.
But 80-year-old Br Des doesn’t refer to himself as a religious brother when in the prison. He is simply ‘Des’, a lay person who is also a chaplain.
“I don’t put God on anyone, we just talk in general and I get to know them, it’s a privilege really.
“Some share deeply about their story and their life, so it’s a listening and support role.
“I don’t represent the law or society, I just come as a friend. We generally share a joke and finish with a spontaneous prayer, often requested by the men themselves.”
It’s a very different ministry to what he is accustomed to, having spent much of his religious life as a spiritual formation leader, including 20 years working in the Marist missions in Papua New Guinea and Fiji, and six years directing formation programs in Italy.
His own vocational calling came while attending Marist Brothers Thebarton.
“The Brothers made a strong impression on me as men who enjoyed life, taught us well and played sport like champions amongst us,” he said.
“They were always approachable. Corporal punishment was rare. So, I decided in Grade 7 that I would like to join them.”
Des left Adelaide after turning 13 to commence high school at the juniorate in Wangaratta. After six years in the juniorate where he studied French and Latin, he entered the novitiate at Macedon and 18 months later, in July 1963, he decided to continue his vocation as a Marist Brother, making his final profession five years later.
Having already completed teacher training at Dundas in Sydney, his first ministry was working in Marist schools in Subiaco, WA, and Bendigo, Victoria, for three years each and then he spent two years at Sacred Heart.
But his heart was set on another course.
“From a young age I was attracted to missionary life, especially after hearing anecdotes from our returning missionary confreres in Papua New Guinea,” he said.
“My dream came true! In 1974, I was invited to join our Brothers at St Xaviers High School on the idyllic Kairiru Island off the coast of Wewak in the East Sepik province of PNG where we had 400 boys enrolled in the first four years of secondary, all of them boarders.
Br Des was asked to move to Fiji to assist in the novitiate in Lomeri about 60km west of Suva. He was asked to stay on as master of novices which required him to do further study at the Loyola University in Chicago.
In the meantime, he was elected to a six-year term as district leader for Melanesia and instead of going back to Fiji he became responsible for 60 Brothers in PNG and the Solomon Islands.
Returning to Chicago in 1994 to complete his Masters in Pastoral Studies, he then moved to Melbourne where he was encouraged to take a year to “get used to the Australian culture again”.
He returned to Adelaide in 1995 to teach at Sacred Heart but by July of 1996 he was recalled to Melbourne for an administrative role.
As Vice Provincial he was responsible for promoting community planning and living, visiting the 140-odd Brothers in their communities in WA, Victoria, South Australia and the Dioceses of Wilcannia Forbes and Wagga.
His transient life continued when in 2002 he was asked to take on another formation role in Manziana, a town about an hour north-west of Rome, where the Marists run programs on mid-life and ‘third age’ spirituality.
Br Des said he particularly enjoyed the third age program and helping older Brothers to “engage with the energy of those years”.
Consequently, when he returned to Australia and was asked by his Provincial what he would like to do next, he suggested helping set up a community for older Brothers at North Fitzroy.
“I enjoyed it immensely, and so now I am doing the same here at Somerton Park.”
The Somerton Park community’s ministry is hospitality and they welcome visitors, including from the many branches of Marist mission and ministry at the national level.
Br Des said his life had been shaped by living in community.
“Community life is at the core of our vocation as Brothers,” he said.
“We don’t choose who we live with but it works because of our common ideals, formation, and spirituality.”
This is an abridged form of an article by Jenny Brinkworth, published in The Southern Cross.