P E A C E
On Sunday, May 31, 1970, FATHER PRIOR BEDE JAMIESON, O.S.B.,
died in an earthquake.
(1) He was barn in Rochester, New York, October 25, 1926, professed August 1, 1949, and ordained May 3, 1954. After ordination, Father Bede served as assistant pastor at Ferdinand. Indiana, and later was assigned to Saint Charles Priory. Oceanside, California. In 1960, he was sent as a missionary to Gualemala, and In 1964, he was appointed first prior of the newly established Priory of St. Benedict In the diocese of Huaraz, Peru, in which capacity he served until the time of his sudden and tragic death. His years of service as a Benedictine missionary were characterized by his untiring efforts to further the growth the Church in Latin America. The funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Benedict’s Priory in Huaraz, Peru, on Monday, June 1. Burial followed at Huaraz. For the response of his soul, three Masses will be offered by each monk of the Archabbey according to his participation in the priesthood of Christ. The suffrage’s of charity are recommended to all the monks of our Federation. St. Meinrad Archebbey St. Meinrad, Indiana Archabbot Gabriel and Community
(2) May 31st, 1970, was a beautiful day to celebrate the Feast of “The Body of Christ.” like most mornings in the “Switzerland of Peru”, the Sun shed all his fluffy wraps of clouds and spoke brilliantly the beauty of our tranquil life here in Huaraz. The majority of the community and the student-body of our seminary joined our bishop in a celebration in the Cathedral. Others ‘travelled down our “Calleion” (a natural canyon separating the black and white ranges of mountains that surround us) to a village festival. A few remained at the Priory for a weekly catechetical reunion and Mass with the children from surrounding areas and the Sister’s who cook joy us. So began the endless day that was to so change our CHOSEN life of witness in community and teaching in two schools to a FORCED life of utter-demand, courage, insight, and loss. As on all free afternoons, the monks were scattered all over God’s Kingdom, searching, sharing the PEACE that is our lives. Some shared coffee, cookies, and conversation in the Priory while others left for a celebration in the city.
(3) From Newsletter. Our Prior, Father Bede, and Frater Plus were attending a small play and reception in honor of the coming Patron Day of Sister Angela, the mother superior of Santa Elena primary school in the This is one of the city streets of Huaraz as it looked after the quake. The majority of the buildings and homes in the downtown area were reduced to rubble.
Plaza of the city. An estimated 350 were gathered there at the festivities when at 3:26 P.M. the earthquake began.
(4) Frater Plus recalls hearing Father Bede trying to calm the panic-filled crowd as everyone land seemingly everything) raced for the security of openness. But almost everyone there was to know the horror of a common grave (many while yet alive) for very few managed to escape into freedom. We now know of the selfless heroism of Our Prior, for in his death he was able to save the lives of the mother of one of our students in San Benito (our school in town) and two children. He used his own body as a shield to protect them from the falling adobe bricks and beams. like many others in this time of need, he answered with) his “yes” and bore testimony to it with his life. Frater Pius himself managed to escape, with a few others, through an open door into an office and then out a window into the Plaza, now surrounded with a solid wall of rubble. Where once was a Cathedral, a school. a series of stores, now one city, beginning the process of searching for and digging out the dead and alive-a process that still continues today, but now only for our numerous dead. In the Priory, too, the strength of the quake shook not only the earth but also the very depths of our lives. For in such a quake, as in the small ones we have suffered since, one simply reacts spontaneously, searching for security and safety but discovering it nowhere on the shaking earth. Later, on reflection, one truly knows that his only security is in God and the real value of his life is his dedication to others. In our life-together as Benedictines we try to share not only our joys but our sorrows – and at times even in the midst of tragedy, humor. Really rejoicing in the sight and presence of one another, the monks congregated in front of the priory house after the quake.
(5) Reported by Archabbot. Visit June 26 – July 11, 1970. As soon as I could, I visited the grave of Father Prior Bede. He is buried on Priory property just above the new gymnasium. Next to him are buried the four Sisters–Madres Carolina, Cristina, Laurencia and Ines. They were with Father Bede that fatal Sunday afternoon celebrating the feast day of Father Bede as well as the feast day of one of the Sisters. Apparently Father Bede died instantly, deliberately absorbing the shock of falling debris which would have killed a lady and two children. However, they were covered with debris. Twelve hours later, during the early morning, someone heard the sobs of one of the children. They uncovered the debris and found Father Bede dead and the other three alive. The lady who was saved hailed Brother Pius one time in a hospital but so far the names and addresses of the two children are not known.
Note: FATHER PRIOR BEDE JAMIESON, O.S.B. was born George Livingston Jamieson son of Livingston Dwight Jamieson & Elizabeth Merle Hyde of Derby, Indiana.
Father Jamieson was my 3rd cousin decedent of Ansel Hyde and Elizabeth VanWinkle