Active to the end

By Laureen McMahon

Father Augustine Kalberer, OSB, of Westminster Abbey in Mission, B.C., died on April 5 in Mission Hospital at the age of 91.

Father Augustine Kalberer, OSB

Abbot John Braganza, OSB, told The B.C. Catholic that the monk had suffered a fall on March 31 in the abbey chapel and was taken to hospital, where he was operated on after it was discovered he had broken his femur.

Two days later he began to fail but he was still conscious when his Benedictine confreres arrived on the morning of his death to pray and say the Rosary with him and to administer the sacrament of the sick. Father Kalberer was able to receive Holy Communion and "it was a beautiful and peaceful death," said the abbot.

Father Kalberer remained active to the end, said a friend who was with him some days before he died, retaining his enthusiasm always for the history of sainthood in the Church.

As he declined and no longer had sound judgement about his health and physical condition, said the abbot, whenever he was given a particular directive, he would simply acquiesce with the words, "I will do whatever you say."

In his docility and acceptance, the abbot added, he continued to be a teacher to everyone.

Teacher of seminarians for 60 years

Born March 8, 1917, in Portland, Oregon, Father Kalberer was the youngest of seven children in a Catholic Swiss immigrant family.

In his autobiographical notes, he recalled an occasion in his early childhood when his father spoke about the priesthood as being "a good thing."

It made a deep impression on the youngster, who found himself shedding a few tears. Many years later, he suggested that he had been moved because "I felt that my thoughts about being a priest in some way (had become) known."

Father Kalberer entered Mount Angel Minor Seminary in 1931, and made his profession of vows at Mount Angel Abbey, taking the name Augustine, in 1937.

Two years later five monks were sent north to Canada to found a priory in Ladner, B.C., and take over the running of the Seminary of Christ the King for the Vancouver Archdiocese.

Meanwhile, Father Kalberer obtained a licentiate in Medieval Studies from the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto and a PhD in Philosophy from the university in 1946. This prepared him to teach seminarians, which he eventually did for 60 years, becoming rector of the Seminary of Christ the King in 1969.

After ordination on May 14, 1942, Father Kalberer went just a few weeks later in June to join the Benedictines, who had by that time moved to Burnaby.

He remained in this archdiocese for the rest of his life, accompanying the community in their relocation to the outskirts of Mission in 1954, where they built Westminster Abbey on a magnificent hilltop site.

"My early years as rector were interesting," he was quoted in The B.C. Catholic a few years ago, "but at times there weren't many seminarians, such as from 1971 to 1972, when no one was studying arts or theology at SCK."

The respite, however, gave him the chance to devote free time away from his monastic duties to writing his book, The Lives of the Saints: Daily Readings. This research formed the basis for his B.C. Catholic column on the saints which began in September of 1973 under the name Images of Christ. It was eventually changed to Saint of the Week and became a staple feature of the newspaper.

Father Kalberer was rector of the major Seminary from 1968 to 1996, and simultaneously of the Minor Seminary from 1973 to 1996. He was instrumental in SCK obtaining its charter to grant degrees in 1966.

On Sept. 1, 1996, Father Kalberer was succeeded as rector of the minor seminary by Father Peter Nygren, OSB. Father Nicholas Ruh, OSB, became the new major seminary rector and Father Alban Riley, OSB, became director of studies.

Father Kalberer would, however, continue to play an important leadership role in the life of the seminary as subprior, explained the late Abbot Maurus Macrae, OSB.

"He is not retiring," the abbot stressed. "As my predecessor Abbot Eugene Medved, OSB, often said, "Father Augustine is a deep thinker, someone who gives matters a lot of serious thought before he responds."

Father Kalberer's plans, he noted at the time, were to continue working on a revised edition of Lives of the Saints and to provide workshops on monastic life. He also continued his deep interest in metaphysics.

Father Kalberer served as the sub-prior for Westminster Abbey for 53 years under the direction of three abbots.

Abbot John Braganza officiated at the 2 p.m. funeral services for Father Kalberer on April 10 at Westminster Abbey. Interment followed immediately in the abbey cemetery.