![]() Two years later he died after 49 years at the mission and just a few month after the golden jubilee of his first profession as a Pallottine. In 1949 he was admitted to hospital, from where he returned to the mission much weakened and unable to work. He was considered ‘affable and pleasant in character’ and was able to recite long passages from the Imitation of Christ. During World War II he was interned for a short period along with the other brothers. He played a prominent part in the construction of the famous Beagle Bay church, providing all the carpentry and joinery from local timber. He supervised the straw broom making, another source of cash income, and taught many mission boys the trade of carpentry. The constant backache got to me a bit.’ 6īrother John was in charge of the large goat herd and the market garden, which supplied fresh fruit and vegetables to the mission with surplus sales in Broome. ‘When my first profess ended in 1903 I, too, took a month’s spell. ‘Wasseli’ (Raimund Wesley) had become a missionary in America, and Br. Heinrich Rensmann 5 had drowned in the Beagle Bay Creek in after only a year at the mission, Br August Sixt had been expelled, Br. ‘If we consider how dear they are to the godly heart to which this mission is dedicated, then we can reckon it a success, after all.’ 4īrother John tried to convey, without appearing to complain, something of the hardships the brothers who continued at the mission were taking on – Fr. ‘Only today we had a big fat scrub turkey for our midday meal.’ Perhaps a little tongue in cheek, he added, ‘and neither should the immortals be forgotten, even if they don’t number in their thousands’ – a reference to the position advocated by Walter that the Beagle Bay mission was not worth the investment compared to the number of souls reached by it. ![]() Bischofs) must have told Kugelmann all about the cattle and horses, and calves, not to forget the pigs and goats, and the odd kangaroo running around which might also end up in the cooking pot. Graf, sending his heartfelt wishes, added that he couldn’t think of anything to report that ‘your most highly esteemed’ didn’t already know from the official reports. 3 They used Kugelmann’s name-day as an occasion to send their own informal reports about the mission, adding a little colour to the bland reports, and perhaps giving a more direct glimpse into the hardships and successes at the mission. In 1909, when Beagle Bay mission was getting into financial trouble and was in danger of being dissolved, the brothers at Beagle Bay made a point of writing to Max Kugelmann, who had been the Provincial Director in Limburg (1894-1903) and was about to retire as the Pallottine General in Rome (1903-1909). Graf worked alongside Brothers Kasparek, Wollseifer, Bachmair, Sixt, Krallmann, Traub, Labonte, and others. Ich empfehle daher seine Bitte um letzte Profess zur Annahme.īr. ![]() NB: Obwohl der gute Mann ja kaum der Missionsgesellschaft etwas nützt, ist doch sein Betragen und Charakter ein solcher daß die Gesellschaft ihm kaum nach 5-jährigem Arbeiten die Profess verweigern kann. Mit der Bitte Sie möchten bis dahin die Entscheidung schicken 2 Read in German ('Professformel' below)Īm ersten Sonntag im Oktober ist meine 3-jährige Profess zu Ende und so weit es auf mich ankommt will ich die ewige machen. So in October 1903, after a months’ holiday – his only one ever - Brother John became a Pallotine for life, professing ‘poverty, chastity, obedience and complete submission to communal life’. His Australian Principal, Pater Georg Walter, who reluctantly supervised this mission until 1908, scarcely valued the contribution made by this brother, declaring that ‘although this good man hardly benefits the mission society, his conduct and character are such that we can hardly refuse him after five years of work’. In June 1902 – a year early - he already requested to be accepted for his eternal commitment. Because he was declared medically unfit for the Cameroon mission, he joined the newly acquired Beagle Bay mission in Australia instead.Ĭatholic Apostolate (Australia) Archives, Rossmoyne At age 25, he joined the German Pallottines and two years later in October 1900 he made his first three-year profession. He received only basic education in the Volksschule (state school) at Soelb before becoming a carpenter. This modest Bavarian adapted perfectly to the conditions at Beagle Bay mission, where he was part of the small troop of Brothers who saw the mission through two world wars without ever seeing his old home again. Brother John built a Lourdes grotto at Beagle Bay and supplied it daily with fresh flowers from his garden. His Pallottine name was Johannes de Deo Graf, and after his death the Njul Njul referred to him as Karakatta. Served as carpenter and goat herd at Beagle Bay mission for 49 years.
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