Province of the Holy Name
Volume VIII, Number 1
October 1968

Mexico City, Mexico

Brother Raymond Bertheau writes:

The arrival of Father Louis Robinson and Father John Flannery last July at the Chiapas Mission of the Province, makes really a tremendous addition for the community and for the parishioners.  Both have their work cut out.  Fr. John Flannery not only has to put up with the sick but also with the witch-doctors, that makes Fr. John’s medical practice seem somewhat out of style.  His hospital is well on the way, not only for the curing of the sick but an example of charity that is very generous not only to the parishioners, but to the members of our Province.  Fr. Louis Robinson has an amazing impact with the people of Altamirano; the majority of the people, that are not Indian, are in need of spiritual help rather than material needs.  The short time that Fr. Louie has been there, it is interesting to see how the people take to him; he has really won their confidence.  Father can ride a horse now, and is always going out to various places to say Mass.  He is also our “Theologian” and other various matters.  His opinions are really interesting and true.

We had a wonderful visit from “the kid,” Brother Martin de Porres Walsh.  We really hope that he comes back in the near future.  As usual, he had a good number of baptisms, and he was very helpful in the Altamirano Hospital, there was a sad week when some sick Indian kids were going through a slow death.  He was always with them at the hospital, it is somewhat a good distance from the center of the town where the Convento is.  As Br. Martin maintains that his vocation isn’t in the medical field.  He really met his challenge when one of the Indians asked him what he knew about the Book of the Apocalypse!  And to all of this, the climax was when Br. Martin went to Ocosingo from Altamirano, a 10 minutes trip by plane, it was somewhat a short trip for the plane didn’t make it to the landing strip – it crashed on the side of a hill above Ocosingo.  They in the plane knew that is was a nose dive, so the pilot being wise for it was his second accident of the week, shut off the motor to avoid a fire.  Br. Martin was somewhat cut-up.  On one side of the hill was a creek with large boulders and the other side were homes of families.  The plane came down from the hill in pieces, there wasn’t much to take apart.  It is now in flying service.

Br. Raymond Bertheau is in Mexico City for the second year of a two month course of Catechetical programs of the Archdiocese of Mexico City under the auspices of the Marist Fathers.

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