Page 32 - March On! God will Provide by Brother Aubert

12 wAITII{G FoR A soLUrIoN
and a iocal professor of medicine. This last one is dated
NIay 26,1827.
Why all the testimonials?
Mr. Ryken had. no intention of picking up the thread
of his old life, either as the duty-master for the boys at
the Le Sage Institute or as shoemaker at Nieukuyk, the
small village near his native Elshout where he had pre-
viously plied his trade.
He envisioned something entirely different. He would
{ound a Brotherhood, a society of men, bound by the
vows of religion and living in community, who would
devote themselves to the spiritual and temporal welfare
of young boys.
The field of the activity of this group rvould in the
beginning be the Low Countries but eventually it would
be the United States. The American Indian had an
especial appeal to the mission-minded Catholics in the
Netherlands.
As conceived by Mr. Ryken, his plan to found a
Brotherhood was devastatingly simple. He would go to
Rome and present his proposition to the Holy Father.
Once he had secured Papal approval, he would have no
difficulty in dealing with the bishops. Finding the men
and the money for this Brotherhood would be routine
work.
The guileless Ryken lvas to learn that Rome does not
baptize; Rome confirms.