Page 41 - Priorities #61 2015-April/May

NEWS 41 Here are a few fun facts that you might not know about our men in black
Fr. Pius — Laszlo Horvarth
• One of young Laszlo’s teachers in Hungary was Priory’s own Fr. Christopher.
• Borderlines were redrawn after WWII and Laszlo’s village was suddenly located in what is now Slovakia. So Laszlo often had to swim the Danube River to take school exams. This made his crossings quite daring — not to mention illegal. During one winter he walked across by hopping from one chunk of ice to the other.
• From the 7th grade on Laszlo tutored other children and thus earned his own tuition money. Fr. Pius credits this experience with his passion for teaching.
• Escaping Communist Hungary, Fr. Pius finished his university studies in Switzerland. After graduation, Rome sent word that he had been assigned to a church in Brazil. This was the LAST place he wanted to go. He didn’t want to go to America either, but heard that Fr. Christopher and three other monks he knew had started a school in Cali- fornia. He convinced Rome to send him to Woodside Priory School instead.
Fr. Maurus — Bela Francis Nemeth
• Bela was nearly expelled from high school during his senior year for going to church. The Communists, an atheist government, forbade such activity for youth. Ultimately, he was allowed to graduate.
• At the age of 18 Bela found himself in the middle of the 1957 Hungarian revolution. As a result he had to abruptly leave Hungary before the authorities arrested him. Now a refugee, he had to find a new home. The refugee quota was full for the United States so he boarded a cargo ship bound for Canada. Arriving in Quebec, he and some friends joined a group of Hungarians and started to travel west. He eventually settled in Vancouver.
• Some of the jobs Bela had while in Canada: Strawberry picker, railroad laborer, lumberjack, and flower nursery attendant before coming to the Priory in 1964.
Fr. Martin — Joseph Anthony Mager
• Joe grew up with a strong, blue-collar work ethic. He worked all through high school years as a grocery clerk. Then he landed a job in a meat warehouse — Jimmy Hoffa's union — where he enjoyed hefting full sides of beef.
• While attending college at St. Anselm, Joe joined the Army Reserves. There he learned to drive a tank and other large vehicles, establishing his love for operating heavy machinery. It was also during boot camp that he realized the ammunition in his rifle was designed to do one thing — kill people. This experience led him to a philosophy of pacifism.
• Fr. Martin was sent to Priory in 1975 along with four other monks from St. Anselm’s to infuse some younger American monks among the aging Hungarians.
• Fr. Martin used to enjoy riding his bicycle from Priory to San Francisco.
• Fr. Martin is famous for his wood craftsmanship. He has now built 31 grandfather clocks (of his own design) for the annual auction. He also built the pews in the Chapel, countless musical instruments, canoes, stylized bishops staffs called 'crosiers', and other fine wood items.
Watch full interviews about the lives of Fr. Pius, Maurus, and Martin in the documentary, “Being Benedictine”, available through Sean Mclain Brown, Director of Communications.
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