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Rob was born in The Hague on the 5th February 1927. His formation saw him pass through ‘s-Heerenburg, Thibar, Tunisia, where he took his Missionary Oath on the 29th June 1953, and Carthage where he was ordained on the 18th April 1954. His stepbrother was a Cistercian monk in Rochefort, Belgium.

Rob had sound judgment, was a good planner and innovator, spoke his mind, which gave the impression that he was inclined to be bossy. However, he was cheerful and a hard and methodical worker always ready to render a service. He had an artistic bent and liked to Continue reading “Rob  van  Iterson 1927 – 2017 (PE nr. 1084)”

Jan was born on the 20th October 1931 at Opglabbeek in the Belgian Province of Limburg. He studied at the Junior Seminary of Saint-Trond and in September 1951, he entered the White Fathers at Boechout. His brother, Piet Knoops (+1998) had already been working as a White Father in the Congo since 1947. He entered the novitiate at Varsenare in September 1953 followed by theological studies in Heverlee. He took his Missionary Oath there on the 6th July 1957. He was ordained priest on the 6th April 1958 (Easter Sunday) by Bishop Marcel Daubechies, M.Afr (+1988) at that time Vicar Apostolic of Kasama. Those in charge of his training underlined his very shy temperament plus the fact that he was not very communicative. Jan was supernatural by nature, thoughtful, calm and always in good humour. In community, he was discreet and sensitive. He radiated a tranquil joy. He was not a great intellectual but a hard worker. Regarding his appointment, he asked for and received an appointment to the Congo, thus following in the footsteps of his brother, Piet.

On the 15th April 1959, Jan took the plane to Bukavu and was appointed to Kabare. His older brother, by a dozen years, worked in the same diocese. Jan felt small beside his big brother whom he admired a lot. Appointments followed on a regular basis: 1961, Katana, 1963, return to Kabare, back to Katana in 1964 but this time for medical reasons as he was suffering from fever and unexplained headaches. Jan was much appreciated for his formation work with catechists. After his first home leave in Belgium, Jan returned to Kabare. However in September 1967, he was forced to seek refuge in Mweso in the Diocese of Goma because of unrest in the area following the Mulelists rebellion. He was to stay one year in exile before returning to the Diocese of Bukavu where he became curate in Mbagira. He did the Long Retreat at Villa Cavelletti, near Rome in 1970. On his return to the Congo, he was appointed to Ciherano and then to Murhesa. In the meantime, everybody noted that Jan was undisputedly gifted for practical matters. So, he was always asked to be the bursar of the community. In many places, he repaired buildings, and organised the vegetable garden. In the fields of the Parish, he introduced the population to the soya bean with some success.

Jan did the Session/Retreat in Jerusalem in 1983 and he was a founder member of the team sent to Mubumbano to set up the parish there. He was to work there for a dozen years and revealed himself to be an excellent builder and contractor. He built everything; the presbytery, educational establishments and the dispensary. People came from everywhere to view his masterpiece: the Parish Church of Mubumbano. Little by little, he became the master builder of the diocese and constructed living accommodation, churches, outstations and schools.

His reputation spread beyond the borders of the diocese. In 1998 and 1999, we find him in the diocese of Kalemie working in the parishes of Christ-Roi and Lubuye. When he returned, he was asked to undertake the renovation of Burhiba.

Jan knew that nothing was more important for development and the health of people than drinking water. His creativity and technical know-how meant he could work miracles in this area. He built canals to bring water to the big centres and so brought clean water closer to where people lived.

There is one point that merits special attention regarding Jan’s missionary activity. He was devoted to the “Daughters of the Resurrection” a congregation founded by Sister Hadewych of the Holy Sepulcher of Turnhout in collaboration with Fr. Werenfried van Straaten founder of ‘Church in Need.’ Jan’s brother, Piet, was their chaplain since their foundation and he was considered as their real ‘spiritual father.’ Jan himself, had built several convents for this young congregation that was expanding fast and he continued to maintain or extend their houses. During the last years of his life in Africa, Jan helped them in their more recent foundations in the Diocese of Kindu, entrusted to our confrere, Bishop Willy Ngumbi. Jan had developed a system of wells with winches and everything and made exclusively with local materials, which was quite a technical exploit.

Jan was laid low by a thrombosis, which left him half paralyzed, on the 28th November 2015. A quick repatriation was absolutely necessary. On the advice of the Provincial leadership team, his departure would be definitive. Everybody knew how much Jan had dreamed of dying in Africa and to be buried beside his brother. He found it very difficult especially as he could not now build some wells he had promised the sisters. In February 2016, he took up residence at our house in Munsterbilzen. His family and his confreres gave him great support. However little by little, his health continued to deteriorate. On the morning of the 21st March 2017, he died peacefully. Jan was the faithful servant who had completed his service and now enters the house of the Father. May he rest in peace.

The Liturgy of the Resurrection took place on Saturday 25th March 2017 in his native village of Opglabbeeck before a large congregation. About a dozen confreres concelebrated. Jan was buried in our cemetery at Varsenare.

Jef Vleugels, M.Afr.

Jan was born in Eindhoven on the 10th November 1934. He followed the usual formation programme for Dutch candidates and studied at Sterksel and St. Charles near Boxtel in the Netherlands before going to Alexandria Bay, U.S.A in September 1955 for the novitiate. He studied Theology in Eastview near Ottawa, Canada. He took his Missionary Oath there on the 20th June 1959. He was ordained priest in Tilburg on the 2nd February 1960. Then it was off to Rome to study Dogmatic Theology in September 1960. He obtained his Licentiate in June 1962 and then did the Pastoral session in Totteridge in July 1962 before finally leaving for Africa in February 1963.

Jan had a sound and practical judgment and a pleasant disposition. He was a hard and steady worker both accurate and reliable. He preferred to remain in the background but always ready to render a service. When unexpected matters arose, he could become flustered and a little nervous, which could give the impression that he was unsure of himself.

On 19th February 1963, Jan left for Tanzania. He went to Kibara Parish which, at that time, was part of the Diocese of Mwanza. He learnt the local language and culture and got some pastoral experience. In September 1964, he moved to Kipalapala Major Seminary to teach Dogmatic Theology. 130 students were expected and there was a staff of 9 White Fathers of various nationalities and one Tanzanian diocesan priest. In 1967, the Government put agriculture on the national school curriculum, and several seminarians started to cultivate a patch of land or raise chickens. That year, 4 Tanzanian diocesan priests joined the staff, one of them as Rector. There were also priests from some other congregations. This meant fewer White Fathers were needed and Jan could return to parish work.

Jan returned to Mwanza Diocese in January 1968. He was appointed to the island parish of Nansio. He wrote: «Quite a change from the well-regulated quiet school-life to a life full of variety and unforeseen happenings in the parish.» In April 1971, he returned to Kibara, where he had started in 1963. It was an extensive parish with 17 outstations and he could cover up to 300 km a week by motorbike. There were 22 primary schools, and local men and women volunteers taught the religion periods.

In November 1973, a storm in the evening tore off the roof of the parish church, which had been built only five years previously, and deposited it 25 metres away. As the sacristy was lower, it remained dry. Over a strip of 18 kms, many houses lost their roofs. The next morning, many parishioners came to help with the propping-up of the 9 church rafters. An additional problem was that, for six months, no corrugated sheets or cement was available!

In 1976, Fr. Dekkers moved to Buhingo, first as Curate and then, in 1977, as Parish Priest. He began to get interested in the training of catechists especially those in charge of outstations. In February 1984, he moved to Magu as Parish Priest. He was elected to the White Father Regional Council of Tanzania as the representative of the confreres of Mwanza Diocese.

In November 1992, he, along with two other confreres, was appointed to Geita Diocese to start a new parish in Bukoli. In order to get acquainted with the people of the diocese, he visited all the parishes! The Bukoli parishioners were happy to receive them, and Jan liked it there. He wrote in August 1993, «We have a good house community, for me it is the first time in all my 30 years of priesthood that I live and work with confreres younger than myself».

Gold mining was an important activity in the Parish. This drew many people from other regions and the parishioners were from various ethnic backgrounds. One surprising consequence was that the priests regularly found gold nuggets on the collection plate! Jan wrote in February 1995, without giving further details, «Our new parish is making progress; fellowship is growing».

In November 1999, in fact on his 65th birthday, Jan began a new assignment: He became Director of the Catechists Training School at Bukumbi in what is now the Archdiocese of Mwanza. Bukumbi was a historical place in White Father history. It was the first parish in Tanzania, erected in 1883 and covering an area that included present day Burundi. In the little grass covered church three bishops were ordained for service in East Africa. Now Jan found a compound that boasted a hospital with three doctors and 190 beds, a Nursing and Mid-Wives Training School, a secondary school for girls, and a Catechists Training Centre that had been started in 1957. The catechists’ course lasted for nearly 11 months and in 1999, Jan started with 24 families and eight sisters from six dioceses. The catechists’ course covered subjects such as the Bible, Church History, Swahili, Pastoral work and Sociology. The wives got instruction in religious knowledge, cooking, hygiene, knitting and childcare. If it was possible, each woman received a second hand sewing machine and they could take it home with them at the end of the course. Each house had a vegetable garden and a plot for maize and rice. There were seven teachers both men and women, and one of them looked after the kindergarten. Naturally babies arrived during the year; there were 11 births in 2011. In the presbytery, Jan lived with two other confreres who worked in the Parish. Another confrere worked, with the help of local people, at synchronizing soundtracks on video tapes into Swahili. They could be bought at the centre for use in the villages.

On the 16th November 2008, Jan wrote, «I think it is important work; we increasingly need more good Catechists, for their work is still the least indispensable to the church. It is a major asset that they come with their wives and little children, so that the whole family receives a formation. It is a pleasure to see what progress they make». After his Golden Jubilee of Oath, he wrote on the 25th June 2009, «I am just carrying-on being a happy WF.» In July of 2010 the Centre welcomed 120 catechists from Mwanza Archdiocese for three days of study and prayer. Lodging and feeding them took quite a bit of organizing.

On the 3rd September 2012 Jan handed over his job to a diocesan priest. He stayed on and assisted in Bukumbi parish. He returned to the Netherlands for good on the 7th July 2013. In saying good-bye, he told the Provincial, Charles Obanya, “I have found fulfillment and joy in the various appointments and work throughout the years. I am going back with a sense of satisfaction». Fr. Charles thanked him «for the many years of dedicated service in Africa and for your sense of humour.»

Jan moved to Heythuysen in August 2013. He began to develop symptoms of the feared illness of the elderly. During the course of 2014, he began to need special care. He died peacefully in his room on the 29th June 2017. The characteristic of Jesus which Jan highlighted in his life was: «Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful». Lk.6, 36.

Together with relatives and friends we buried him in our St. Charles cemetery on the 5th July 2017.

Marien van den Eijnden, M.Afr.

Maurice was born on the 14th July 1931 in Chicago in the United States. He was not yet one year old when his parents moved back to Canada and went to live in Sudbury, Ontario. It was there that he grew up and went to school. After primary schooling in St. Joseph’s Sudbury, he entered the Sacred Heart College for his secondary school education. On the 6th August 1953, he began his Spiritual Year at St-Martin de Laval, near Montreal. He studied Theology in Eastview, near Ottawa. He took his Missionary Oath on the 22nd June 1957 and he was ordained priest on the 1st February 1958.

During all his years of training, it was noted that Maurice had a very strong will, and he was also hands-on and enterprising. He acted with implacable logic leaving no room for compromise. Once he had decided on a course of action, he did not abandon it easily. He was a tireless, relentless and dogged worker. He worked with all his strength to accomplish the task on hand. His character was marked by its firmness and uprightness. He was very attached to his missionary vocation and had a deep and personal piety. He was also very reserved; he did not like large groups or long conversations. On first impression, Maurice could appear to be shy and uncommunicative, but when one got to know him better, one could see that he communicated easily enough in small groups where he felt more at ease.

In September 1958, Fr. Charpentier went to London, England to study for a Diploma in Education. In 1960, he left for Tanzania. He learnt Swahili at the Training Centre in Karema. He spent a couple of months as curate in Kigoma before being appointed science teacher at the Teacher Training College at Kajunguti in the Diocese of Bukoba. In 1967, he was appointed to teach science in the Junior Seminary of Katoke in Rulenge Diocese. Five years later, he became Rector and he served in that capacity for eight years. Every five years, Maurice returned to Sudbury in Ontario for some months of rest.

During his home-leaves, Maurice did not spend much time travelling or visiting. Sometimes he spent many weeks doing pastoral work in one of the parishes of Sudbury. He was noted for his zeal for regularly visiting sick people in the hospitals or retirement homes for the elderly in the region. All these sick people and their families keep a memory of Fr. Charpentier as a priest who was close to the little people and showed a great deal of compassion for those suffering a lot and those who felt abandoned.

Maurice was appointed to Kabanga in the Diocese of Kigoma in 1983. He taught professional ethics at the Nursing School and acted as chaplain to a Formation house of a congregation of African Sisters. When the Nursing School closed, Maurice’s time as a teacher for 25 years also came to an end. At 53 years of age, he now had to learn the job of a bush missionary as he said himself. He went to Mabamba, a rural parish in Kigoma Diocese where he found himself in community with two other Missionaries of Africa. The Parish Priest helped him to get organised by providing him with a pick-up truck, a Mass kit, and a sleeping bag. The other confrere initiated him into the apostolate among the Baha. Thanks to their help, Maurice felt very happy in this type of work. Everything was new to him: teaching catechism, preparing catechumens for Baptism, helping young people to prepare for the Sacrament of Marriage. He celebrated the Sunday services in the outstations while also participating in the joys and sorrows of the parishioners. What he preferred as he said himself was to “visit people in their homes, listen to them, comfort them in their faith and talk to them about Jesus Christ. What a change from my previous pursuits of teaching physics and chemistry in laboratories.”

Maurice was repatriated urgently to Canada in 1992 suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. He was treated in Sherbrooke and spent some months convalescing in Moncton, New Brunswick. A year later, he returned to Mabamba Parish and served as curate until 2002. He had to return to Canada for treatment and stayed at our house on rue St-Hubert in Montreal. Two years later, he was appointed to Toronto to work with two other confreres in ministry and missionary promotion in the Sacred Heart Parish.

In 2008, Fr. Charpentier began to have serious health problems and he was appointed to our community at Sherbrooke. He was suffering from prostate cancer with secondary tumours in the bones. There are some other types of cancer like mesothelioma, learn more about it here Mesothelioma Symptoms – The Karst & von Oiste Law Firm. Maurice was fully aware of his condition and often mentioned that he just wanted nature to take its course. After a number of hospitalisations, he was admitted to a specialised Nursing Home at Asbestos where he died on the 9th March 2017. The funeral, in the presence of his ashes, took place in the Chapel of the Missionaries of Africa in Sherbrooke on the following 15th March.

Maurice was a man of great simplicity. He always dressed simply. He welcomed one and all who came to see him. As curate in the parish, he took the time to meet people, especially at the market in the village always finding the right word to encourage them. In Toronto, he liked to go out and meet the itinerants and the homeless at a park in the Parish. He did not hesitate to share a bowl of soup with them which was given out by a local charity. He had no interest in being a Parish Priest always preferring to serve as a curate. He accomplished great work in this role and he was appreciated both by the parishioners and his confreres. He was not a leader but a man of relationships.

Finally, Maurice had a deep faith in the Christ whom he met and served in the poor and unimportant people. He also had great devotion to the Virgin Mary. In Sherbrooke, when he still had reasonable health and could get out, he liked to pray and sing a Marian hymn before the statue of Our Lady near the pond in the grounds of our house. Always a zealous and faithful missionary, Fr. Charpentier now rests in eternal peace and enjoys eternal happiness in the heavenly Kingdom.

Michel Carbonneau, M.Afr.

Roger de Benoist was born on the 2nd August 1923 at Meudon on the outskirts of Paris. His family had a strong military tradition. He was the youngest of three boys. He attended the Collège Stanislas de Paris for his secondary education. At the time of his Confirmation, when he was eleven years old, he began to think about a priestly vocation. It took time to mature because he was heavily committed to the Scouts movement. With the declaration of war in 1939, Roger migrated to Rennes and then Chateauroux in France. Still searching for his vocation, he spent a year at the Benedictine Abbey of En-Calcat, Dourgne in the Diocese of Albi, France. It was here he felt the call to join the Missionaries of Africa. He arrived in Thibar in September 1941 where he finished the philosophical studies begun at the monastery. The following year, he went to the novitiate at Maison Carrée. However, as he was now 20 years old, he was called up for military service and affected to the Spahis Regiment mostly composed of troops from North Africa. He went on to take part in the campaigns in Italy (Monte Cassino and the liberation of Rome) and then on to eastern France. He was demobilised on the 24th August 1945, with the Croix de Guerre. He returned to Maison Carrée to finish his novitiate and then back to Thibar for theological studies. He took his Missionary Oath there on the 29th June 1949. He was ordained priest in Carthage on the 1st February 1950.

Those in charge of his training had already noted his many qualities: human, spiritual and artistic. His superiors decided to use these many talents in the world of the media. The Society was responsible for a weekly newspaper, Afrique Nouvelle, which was published in Dakar. It was having a big influence in all of French-speaking Africa. The time had come to train professionals for the staff. Therefore, Roger was sent to the Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme de Lille followed by some sessions at the Centre des Hautes Etudes sur l’Afrique, in Paris. He disembarked at Dakar on the 15th May 1952. He got down to work immediately. Roger was not an office reporter, he liked being on the ground and he liked interviewing people. He also liked examining and analysing all the upheavals that were occurring in Africa in the 1950s. He crisscrossed Africa and met influential and powerful people, be they members of Government or the opposition, no matter what their opinions. Roger was never afraid of speaking out which did not endear him to Bishop Lefebvre, the Vicar Apostolic of Dakar and Apostolic Delegate for French speaking Africa. Indeed, the Bishop accused him of being a communist. From the Government side, the Governor General of Senegal took a case against the newspaper because he considered it was too critical of France’s colonial policy. Bishop Lefebvre had already demanded the dismissal of the director, Fr. Marcel Paternot (+1967) in 1952, as well as his successor, Fr. Robert Rummelhardt (+1974) in 1954. Roger took over and covered the dawn of independence for many African countries. He increased his contacts and the publication of articles. Afrique Nouvelle became the privileged platform for all those involved in the march towards independence, a passionate era but not without its danger for journalists. In 1959, Archbishop Lefebvre also demanded Roger’s resignation and he left Senegal in December 1959.

He was appointed to Mali, firstly in a parish at Kolongotomo and then he went to Bamako to look after the cultural activities of the diocese as well as the Young Christian Farmers Association. This did not prevent him from taking up commitments in the media.

Roger was appointed to Paris in 1963. He became the correspondent for Vivante Afrique published by the Missionaries of Africa in Namur, Belgium. At the same time, he prepared for the launching of an intercongregational magazine common to all the Missionary Institutes in France. It began publication in 1967 under the title Peuples du Monde. It was a time when Roger travelled the world looking for new contacts and subjects and for new articles and photographs. Brilliant, never short of an idea, his Provincial found it difficult to keep tabs on him.

In 1968, he left for Cotonou (Benin) where Cardinal Gantin entrusted him with the family apostolate, Catholic Teaching Teams and the Girl Guides. Obviously, he also widened his apostolate and his contacts. However, his standpoint on the sexual education of young people was not appreciated and he had to leave the country. He crossed the border and took up residence in Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. Cardinal Paul Zougrana (+2000) asked him to write a biography of Fr. Jean-Marie Goarnisson our doctor-confrere. The book appeared in 1975 under the title Docteur Lumière.

Roger returned to Paris in 1973. He began a new career as a historian. He enrolled in the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes en sciences socials and obtained its higher diploma and eventually a doctorate after submitting a thesis on the independence movements in French West Africa. However, he did not give up writing articles covering all of Africa for publication in various revues such as Jeune Afrique, Peuples du Monde, Croissance des Jeunes Nations. He spent a number of months working in our archives in Rome. In 1977, he returned to Dakar and began research for his PhD thesis, which he obtained in 1985 on the subject of Les relations entre l’administration coloniale et les missions au Mali et au Burkina. This work and his thesis on L’Afrique Occidentale Française de 1944 à 1960 were both published and became a precious source for African researchers. He was a meticulous and relentless worker. He became Director of Research in African History at IFAN (Institut Fondamental de l’Afrique Noire Cheikh Anta Diop). He became an authority in this area. He travelled the world attending symposiums and scientific congresses. He was a member of many scientific societies such as CREDIC and the l’Académie des Sciences d’outre-mer. In 1994, he retired from teaching and consecrated himself entirely to research and writing. He published many articles and books including one on Leopold Senghor, a history of the Church in Senegal and a history of the Isle of Gorée. In 1988, he received the Legion of Honour (rank of Knight). In 1993, Senegal awarded him the title of Officer of the Ordre National du Lion and in 1997 he received the medal of Officer of the Legion of Honour.

Robert was not overwhelmed by these decorations and his life was not confined to scholarship. Although isolated from the Society, he was never marginalised and was always keen to emphasise his White Father identity. When the White Fathers left Dakar, he lived alone then he moved to the Cathedral presbytery. He spent a good deal of time in different pastoral and missionary works. Fr. Augustin Ndiaye who was Parish Priest of the Cathedral at the time and who preached the homily at his Funeral Mass, gave us a vibrant testimony to this “ very big tree which has fallen and the news of its fall has spread all over the savannah.” He insisted not only on Roger’s quality as a historian of the local Church but also his service as a Sunday pastor, his fidelity to Liturgical celebrations and his availability to people. Fr. Ndiaye said, “He arrived before everybody else at the Church, got dressed for the liturgy and then went out to greet the people as they came in.” Archbishop Benjamin Ndiaye of Dakar also sent a message in which he expressed his appreciation by the way Fr. de Benoist devoted himself in many different ways to the service of the local church. He said, “For us, the Church of Senegal and the Diocesan Family of Dakar in particular, the memory of the Father de Benoist can only be a reason to praise God and be thankful. He has made him an instrument at the service of the Church and Evangelization through science and the media.

In 2006, at the age of 83, he returned to France and joined the community at Bry sur Marne. He spent his remaining years still studying, contemplative and friendly. He remained very modest about himself. He continued to attend seminars such as those at UNESCO. He received many visits from relatives and friends including many Senegalese. He died at St. Camillus Hospital, Paris on 14th February 2017. The Funeral Mass took place in the Parish Church of Bry sur Marne in the presence of many relatives, friends and acquaintances.

F. Richard