Obituary Notice
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Fr. RAYMUND Disano (1823-1895) cia You have already beén informed of the death of the saintly Fre ftaymind ef. St. Aloysius, which occured in this Retreat on the 26th February of the present year (1695). a It would, however, be unworthy of the eleim which fre Raymand hae upon the: a gratitude ef the Congregation, and upon. this Province in pesticilar, if all | notice of his life and death was dismissed without some brief record, and yat it. _ is not without mich difficulty that any biographical sketch can be givens Hie | life was the life of Mary rather than of Marthe, and conseqeuntly, that which in. most other men was given to the world was in him ‘hidden with Christ in Goda" “ No event of more than ordinary importance distinguished hia career, and yet it~. might be said, that mich that was of vital importance to thé Congregation found© place in his every day life. Tho growth and developement of the Province with— which he was identified almost from the beginning owes much of its success to & the quiet but no less effective manner in which at all times he fulfilled the duties assigned to him. ‘Though he never took part in the more exciting duties © of missionary life, he forgot not to instil into the hearts of those whe were #6 destined that spirit of their vocation which, more than Human eloquence, - persuades and conquers in the pulpit and on the platforms And eo 4h the distribution of awards for work done in the Congregation during his long life, | his, share will doubtlese be large, fory the unbroken fidelity with which he dise | charged hid individual obligations as well as his care for other responsibilities must bring the reward of thé "faithful servant." | Fr. Raysnnd was born on the 9th April 1623 at Centrone in the diocese of ,Lueca in Italy, and received the habit of our Congregation in the Novitiate of Luecc& on the 14th September 1643. After passing through the vsual texm of - probation and course of studies hé was ordained priest: He came to these mem countries in 1850, in company with the late Fr. Eugene Martorelli, and the story- of his life since then may be said to be the history of the Province, For some | years he laboured in England in our Retreats of Aston Hall, London and Broadway,© and in 1856 he came to Dublin with Fr. Vincent Grotti and others to take possession of the Retreat of Blessed Paul of the Cross, within the grounds of which hia mortal remaina were thirty-nine years after to find a resting place ; for all time. He remained in Mt. Argus for nearly seven gears when he réturned | to England, and it was then that the work of his life may be said to have comn~ enced. In 1863 he was elected Master of Novices, and office for which he was | eminently qualified. Sinee then his time was almost altogether spent in the. Novitiate either as Rector or Master, until about sixteen months ago) when he; came here as Spiritual Director of the Studénte. As Rector his kindnese te the» -peligioue was proverbial, for whiletwhe led them by word and example to the faith ful fulfilment of the ébservence, he made it hie special care and study thet the | community should have ali those comforte ahd privileges which the Rule allows. | In like manner did he discharge his duties as Master of Novices. To these i young plants of the Congregation he was all kindness and charity, training them to walk in the paths of perfection which he made easy by going before them in al} things and at all times, Toe him most of the religious in the Frovince owe their. training in the religious life, and to: aii of them the news of hip death gust | have brought lonelinese and sorrows ~~ | His lest iliness was very short. . On Tuesday 19th February, Feast of the. Sols Commemoration of the Fassion, he soened im hie usual good health and spixite and with that punctuality which chatacterined his whole. life, was present at - Matine and Prime the followiig morning. ! When vesting for Mase in the aaoristy| he complained of weakness and. nervousness, and it was with considerable aigtiouk!, that he was able to finish the: Hely Sacrifice. Shortly after Nass he #an 4 obliged to retire to bed, and. during: the forenoon the docto? was called in. : First it was feared that At, was: an babii of influensay which Wasa very SEE wk
prevelant in thé nedghbourhood at that time, but the result of a second visit . ; which the doctor paid in the evening convinced him that it was ever ee ' more seriouss Next morning it was ascertained that he was auffering from & highly developed attack of erysipelas in the left legs and during the day pneumonia supervened, thus rendering his situation ap critical as it possibly : could hes nder these circumstances 1t was condidered advisable to administer| the ‘Last Sacraments, which thé good o&@@ man received with the most perfect _ a calmness and lively faiths: Late in the evening, the doctor fearing that a crisis which he might not survive had set in, called in another doctor, and the | result of the consultation was that he could not survive many deys. After this: anmouncement all that could bé done was scrupulously attended to in order to = make his illness as easy and painless ws posbible. The students, who were ¢ - devotedly attached te him and who loved him as he deserved, waited on him with © unremitting attention, taking turn to watch by his sick bed both day and night. ' $411 the end, | . And the end soon came. During the ‘evening of Gednesday the 27th, it hun became evident that his time on earth wos to be measured by hours, not days,’ shortly aftey midnight it was plein that the hand of death was upon him. The bell was rung to call the religious to assist him in his last struggle, but — before the usual prayeres for the dying were finished the struggle was overs Indeed it could not be called a struggle: after a few moments of irregular breathing he heaved ons longédrawn gigh, the religtous present waited for the | next} it came not; the spirit had fleds the soul was with its Gods i Fr. Raynund was in every sense of the word a true fassionists He loved- his mother the Congregation with a true and ever increasing affection, and thie | led him to hold in the highest esteem the amallest of her Rulés or comnandss ‘No worldly attachment could alienate him from that Poverty, which in common "with hit Divine taster, was the only inheritance he dezired here below, whilst — his spirit of obedience was based on the example of Him who was "oladient unto -deaths"- Rut it was in his love of the observance and the fidelity: with whieh. he attended the duties in choir that his love of the Rule shone forth with sore than ordinary exactness. With him all alse occupied 4 secondary place. During the time set apart for meditation and prayer, nothing but the most urgent demands on hir time could occupy him otherwise or elsewhere. Many of those who: watched. by his bedside d-ring his last ilinese could not conceal their asténishs. ment at the peaceful calmness with which he looked forward to his approaching si end. More than half a century before he gave himself to God in religion and + during all that time he forgot not the account he should give of the stewardship’ “with whieh he was then entrusted, Henee his donfidence « hence his peaceful ‘and. Whilst those who lived with him feel that they have been made poorer by his death, they rejoice that he is gone to his well-earned reposes Green as the grassy sward which, each succeeding spring, wili renew itself on his quiet- grave, be the remembrance of his many virtues and hig bright example in the hearts of those who knew and loved him, pte a ee ate Mea a aetente Si ret mee em eis in tend enn) wee mee tere me meni et Mik eee Gare crm eee dene me SN Oi maine te eer net Seve emu dae Smt eames cine Goitey Pema Gein ets Neatly aoe
Source: Obituary Notices, Provincial Archive, St Joseph's Province. Passionist Congregation.