Obituary Notice
This obituary notice has been digitally processed from a scanned archival document. Some words may be imperfectly rendered.
a eee ici Fr. Bede Devine (1898-1981) Bede of .Our Lady of Perpetual, Succour. | Jamés Francis. Devine. -... | Born October 12th 1898... Lisryan, Cos Longfordas. Professed. August 15th 1918. Ordained December 22nd 1923.... . - Thus reads our catalogues | in its econamy. of words it has all the terseness.of-.a-headstone..[t. is.a, daunting. task. then to. present to the Province a pen pictyre worthy of this fine priest and gentleman. Many.. of ..our, ;Religious.. never knew, Bedey some never even saw: him. His paths through Passionist life were as. meandering as the stories he told. Even .in:his early. days Jamés Francis Devine could be described as having n® fixed: abode. for his father was in the old R.I.C. and was stationed in Longford, Cavan.and Portadown. There Bede, while still at school, first experienced. that, bigotry and intolerance which would later afflict him as. Chaplain, to.The Royal Infirmary in Glasgow. His father seems to have been a somewhat. stern but honourable man and his mother was affectionate and understanding. Bede loved to tell how he once broke all records ona cycle run but his joy turned to sorrow when no one would believe him. His mother réassured him " Sure even if no one bélieves you, James, I believe . yous" ee Indeed his youthful days provided vivid memories for the many stories which he told, retold and told again in the autumn of his life. They all hada Homerio quality about thei even. down to the quaint style of relating them in the third person : UPr Bede knew what to do, Fr. Bede was proved right, Fr. Bede said the patient would die that night and 50 she did," om gewell dare she do otherwise!) — . His Passionist uncles, Frs. Pius and Arthur Devine, were also Homeric” in their own way as they were prolific authors and daring adventurers. Fr. Pius actually ‘crossed the Andes on a mule about a century ago. These fine men must have had a strong influence on Bede's decision to join the ‘Passionists in 1914. _ His clear recollection of our Juniorate at Sandymount is of considerable historical importance and deserves a passing line. De Valera taught him mathmatics and Bede remenbered his final départure on that fatal Holy Week in 1916. By climbing a tree like Zachaeus of old, Bede actually witnessed the shélling of Liberty Hall. "Come down you fool" said Fr. Herman Willis, the Superior, "they will take you for a sniper." Sniper or not, Bede's aim for the priesthood was true and unwavering. He completed his studies and was ordained at Christuas 1923, For a few years he taught the students. oe French and English.
Bede, like Nathaniel, was a man without guile. He combined intelligence and shrewdness with an utter innocence and simplicity and seemed to have inherited the inteprity of his father and the affection of his mother. Nature was for him God's canvas and he loved its flowers and fauna, its mountains and Jakes. Many a fly he cast on their dappled waters but it was as a fisher. of men that Bede's true worth shone forth. The mills of Ardoyne, the closes of Sts Mungos, the wards of The Royal Infirmary, the célls of Duke's Street Womens' Prison : these were his patch. Here. his sheep were lost and found. Here his people encountered that same affection and. compassion that he himself had first experienced at his mother's knee. It must be remembered that in the hungry thirties the greatest challenge ‘for the people was merely to survive. Poverty was commonplace and starvation was not unknowns Bede’ found The Legion of Mary tailor made for his pastoral apostolate. "He was a good man with a bad girl" may seem like a trite remark but it epitomises a great deal of his apostolic qualities. Years later many of these same ladies would tearfully recall his kindness. Often he was the only friend and confidante they ever had. Bede was stationed twice in Ardoyne and twice in bt. Mungos. -He also spent some time in The Graan and Collooney but Tobar ihuire, Crosspar was to be his last port at the end of his Odyssey. Here he cared for his beloved flowers, whistled to the blackbirds and fed the robins. He found a close friend in Willie Miscampbell, cur gardener, who was a senior Elder of Doctor Paisley's first Free Presbyterian Church. Undoubtedly. the attitude of Fr. Peter and Fr. Bede to Willie did much to allay the hostility. and suspicion that greeted the Passionists arrival to Crossgar in 1950, and laid the foundation of the good relations that have existed ever since. He helped ain neighbouring parishes with confessions and even conducted the Community Retreat which, for many reasons, will be long remembered. Crossgar's accessibility to Dungannon was a joy to him for he loved his relatives and he was able to visit his sister, Sr. Mary Teresa, quite regularly. "Bede" she would say " has no idea of time," a view heartily endorsed by Fra Christopher, his Superior. He was with her when she was dying and she seemed wonderfully comforted by his repetition of the Communion Antiphon, O Sacrum Convivium in quo Christus sumitur. Bede, some would say not unkindly, retired too early. There is some truth in this. Perhaps it would be better to say that suitable work was not channelled or tailored to his needs. Daily confession in the Monastery was unknown at that time as we had no public confessional and Retreats were too strenuous a burden forhim. The advent of television, in the early sixties, was a cross for Bede as it effectively transferred the old period of greater silence to T.V. viewing time and he could no longer spin his yarns to a receptive audience. He was always willing to help with the more hum-drum tasks and rarely complained about anything. On one occasion our dog Bran, always an avid liturgist, ate the Sunday hours out of his breviary but Bede persevered with the office by substituting a Pars Verna for a Pars Hiemalis,
and vice versa. His sense of humour overcame many a hurdle but it couldn't ward off déclining health and old age. In 1978 he was seriously ill and required proper nursing care. No praise is high enough for the staff of the hospitals in Downpatrick, especially St. John's Home where he spent his final years. He had every comfort but knew he was in exile and missed the fun and repartee of community recreation. Evén when his memory was failing he would sometimes say "I would like to be where you are. Every Wednesday we brought him to Tobar Mhuire where he offered Mass quite clearly and devoutly. One of his more endearing glosses on the liturgy was to say after the Consecration" Jn Ireland only, my Lord and my God." He would take a cup of tea by the fire as the photograph ahove shows. It was taken on his last visit to us on 18th February. A short time later even St. Johns could not cope with his illness and he was transferred to The Alexian Brothers, Warrenpoint. He said his last Mass there on Wednesday 29th February and on the morning of March 12th he went in to a coma. Frs. Bernard Lowe and Gabriel Mary hastened to his side. It was a pet day: a warm air, singing birds, swaying ' daffodils. He died peacefully at 3 o'clock as the Rosary was being recited. Brother Simon, the Superior, gave us all Bede's worldly possessions ;: a new suit, a blue pullover and a well thumbed copy of Songs of the Gael. The following day his remains were removed to Tobar Mhuire for a community Mass at 7 o'clock. The coffin was opened and despite the short notice quite a number of his old friends came to pay their last respects, not least Bishop William Philbin who has always been so faithful in attending Passionist funerals. To respect his own wishes Bede's remains were brought to Mount Argus for Solemn Requiem Mass. The chief concelebrants were Frss Ultan and Andrew, his cousins. Fr. Bede is missed here at Tobar Mhuires May he rest in peace. GM.
Source: Obituary Notices, Provincial Archive, St Joseph's Province. Passionist Congregation.