The Apostle of South Africa. Adalbert Ludwig Balling

many others, had escaped to England from the Kulturkampf. On the whole, Fr. Francis used his time profitably, but the response to his appeal for support was not exactly what he had hoped for. Many years later, when he had become a British citizen himself (in Natal, South Africa), the then Abbot Francis reflected on his English experience:

      “One of the reasons for my meagre success may have been the fact that the more well-to-do English folk rarely spend the misty winter months in London or, for that matter, in England. Be that as it may, now it seems to me that God wanted me to become familiar with the English way of life.”

      The Prior did not return to Bosnia altogether empty-handed: Lady (not Lord!) Rothschild gave him a handsome donation, which, though modest compared with the many financial obligations he had, helped to pay at least some bills. The experience only confirmed a truth he had known all along: that when it comes to generosity, the poor surpass the rich.

       Political Unrest in Bosnia

      The Turks continued to molest the Trappists at the slightest provocation particularly when the Prior was abroad. The Pasha closed down their saw mill and objected to their brickyard. Finally, he threatened them with the confiscation of their woods. But the monks, having become used to his continuous “yok yok”. (no, no), no longer felt threatened. They had a better chance of success if their differences with the Pasha were solved at a higher level: between the Grand Vizier in Constantinople and the foreign office in Vienna. Intrigues continued for a long time, until the Turkish officials in Banjaluka and Constantinople understood that they themselves must honour agreements – a hard lesson for autocratic rulers to learn! Meanwhile, the tedious wrangling, not to mention the host of other challenges the Prior faced, took their toll. He visited various health resorts in Tyrol to find relief for his old lung condition and recurring bouts of malaria.

      His ingenuity and patience were put to the test when in 1876 the political situation escalated. Mariastern was no longer safe. So Prior Francis petitioned Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria to take the necessary precautions.

       Orthodox Christians Revolt

      Later, Abbot Francis reviewed the political situation:

      “Time came when people could not tolerate Turkish oppression any longer. Peasants rose up in arms against the cruelty of tax collectors, who often demanded double the tithe or as much as half the produce and even the entire crop … I understood their anger very well because the Turkish villains had also made our life hard from the time we entered the country.”

      The officer who was assigned to tithe Mariastern believed that he could cheat the monks just as he cheated the peasants. He came with a whole band of cutthroats and demanded tithe and accommodation. But he had not reckoned with the Prior. Fr. Franz confronted him: With what right did he treat landowners like peasants?

      The appalling atrocities of the tithing system were the straw that broke the camel’s back. Simple peasant folk rose up in revolt against Turkish supremacy. But they did not have a chance.

      Abbot Francis:

      “The revolt was quelled in no time, as the peasants lacked both, arms and strategy. The aftermath in the affected areas was terrible: much blood was shed, the year’s harvest destroyed and hundreds of dwellings ransacked and burnt … Hostilities continued as the revolt was only scattered, not quelled. To aggravate matters, the approaching winter raised the specter of famine and disease, inciting whole hordes of robbers to loot and ruin. They came so dangerously close to the monastery that we took alarm and looked for assistance beyond the border.”

      When the situation became critical, Prior Francis contacted the Vienna foreign office. It was time for Count Andrassy to dispatch the hussars as they had agreed when he visited Vienna, or Mariastern would fall prey to marauding rebels. At the same time, a Serbian paper reported that Christians under Turkish rule suffered oppression and persecution at the hands of fanatic Muslims and that their lot was anything but enviable. Vienna took note.

      On 10 September 1878 the Prior wrote that on the Feast of the Nativity of Mary (8 September) the Greek Orthodox Church of Banjaluka was burned down and Greek inhabitants were disarmed. Would Andrassy make funds available to Mariastern so that the monks could treat the many Christian and Turkish casualties and dispense medicine to people suffering from malaria?

      Prior Franzis Pfanner

      In the eyes of an fellow monk

      When at home Prior Francis was often seen performing the meanest and heaviest jobs. He gave a hand wherever he could: in the laundry, mill or farm and on the road. He usually ate coarse graham bread and vegetables boiled in salt water. His favourite dish was beans. He seemed to think that God made beans just for the Trappists. Someone heard him say that if there were no more beans, there would also not be any more Trappists.

      BROTHER DOSITHEUS LEDERER OCR

X.

       Years of Struggle

       Defending the Monastery in Turbulent Times

      Although relations with the Franciscans had much improved, Prior Francis had to remind the sons of Saint Francis time and again that he owed his appointment to Rome and not to their bishop. Peace was restored only when he agreed to a written declaration, stating that:

      1 the Trappists will not make any foundation without the approval of the local ordinary (Franciscan);

      2 the Trappists submit to episcopal regulations in all matters pertaining to the Sacrament of Confession;

      3 the Trappists will not collect alms without the bishop’s approval;

      4 the Prior will not publish anything that may prove detrimental to the Bosnian Church;

      5 the Trappists will confine themselves to a life of contemplation, manual work and the cultivation of the spiritual life;

      6 the Trappists, in deference to the explicit wish of the bishop, will not encourage the faithful to attend Mass at their monastery.

      The Prior and his monks pledged to honour this agreement out of obedience and for the sake of peace. Even so, Fr. Franz could not help thinking that the Poverello of Assisi would probably have been much more hospitable and accommodating of Mariastern than his Bosnian sons.

       Hop and Malt God-Sustaining

      (Toast: Much good may it do you!)

      It took a great deal of labour before Mariastern was fully established. The Prior administered his community mainly by example. At the same time he was constantly on the look-out for more rational ways of doing things, unafraid to experiment or give new inventions a try. For example, he studied professional literature on breweries and brewing. When he could not find what he was looking for he visited several breweries in Austria to study the matter on the spot. Once he had made himself knowledgeable, he implemented what he had learned.

      Abbot Francis:

      “Our brewery was so designed as to provide space for storing grain under the attic. Our horses took the barley up to attic level where it could easily be offloaded. From storage it was poured down through three openings on to three interconnected malting floors and then emptied into tubs to soak. The necessary water was pumped up from the river to all sectors: tubs, brewing copper and beer cellars. The fully germinated barley fell from the malting floor into the first drying kiln and from there to the second floor. Finally, the finished malt poured out through an opening in the bottom of the last kiln. From there it was taken to ice stores which we built into the hill, one for each cellar.”

       The Great Gospodin

      It was not just the beer the Trappists brewed or the flower and saw mills they operated, nor even the range of workshops they maintained which earned them recognition. The reputation Mariastern enjoyed was owed in the first place to the popularity of its Prior. He was known to lead his monks in prayer and work. He never asked of others, including the hired hands, what he did not do himself. Mention must also be made of the name he had gained for himself as a natural health practitioner.

      Abbot