Joseph Bertin

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Joseph Bertin

Seventh Provincial of Oceania 1932-1939

Joseph Alphonse Bertin was born in Chantenay-sur-Loire, Loire-Inférieure, France to François Félix Bertin, accountant, and Anne Marie Neau on 23 July 1879 in the Diocese of Nantes. After secondary schooling at Petit séminaire de Notre-Dame des Couëts, he completed philosophy at Grand séminaire de Nantes (1898-1900) before entering the Society of Mary’s novitiate at La Bousselaie (1900-01). He made a vow of obedience in 1900. He studied theology at Montbel (1901-03), where he made his perpetual profession in the Society of Mary on 4 June 1903, and Differt in Belgium (1903-04), where he was ordained on 26 June 1904.

Appointed to the South Solomons, he travelled to Sydney in the company of other Marists aboard Armand Behic arriving there 5 December 1904 and spent Christmas there. He was posted to Tangarare, on Guadalcanal, where he arrived on 20 January 1905 as assistant to Louis-Marie Raucaz, who later became Vicar Apostolic. Bertin worked there for the next 25 years.

In his first few months on the missions Bertin had some problems with malaria but by October 1905 he had become very ill and had to go Sydney arriving there on 1 November. The Provincial, André Marion, had noted in his report to the Superior General after visitation, that Bertin was an excellent religious and missionary but had precarious health. He wondered now if Bertin would be strong enough to return to the Solomons. As it happened, he was back at Rua Sura in March 1906. However, it appears that initially ill health was never far away. But his prayer to Father Colin brought results. Chroniques SM recorded:

After having invoked Father Colin, he saw his health improve noticeably. He now makes trips without difficulty that he could not have dreamed of a few months ago; the sea no longer tires him, his appetite is good, and he feels strong enough to do everything that is part of his ministry. "It is a real change," he said, "so glory to God and to the founder."

In 1911 he became mission rector of Tangarare, and in the Chronicle for that year, it is recorded that there were 88 adult baptisms, 40 of which happened at Christmas. With rough seas making it impossible for the catechumens to reach the station this number was lower than expected. Bertin composed items for the month of Mary in a local language and was working on a dictionary. When the stone church was opened at Visale, an article written by him was published in the Australian press.

His life at Tangarare was punctuated by bouts of malarial fevers and outside of Tangarare’s mission territory, there were trips to neighbouring mission stations to give retreats. He described how he reciprocated one of these retreats with a near-by confrere, Joseph Pellion, at Visale. On his way back to Tangarare, he profited from this travel to also give a mission to locals from surrounding villages at Tuvu.

Bertin's predecessors had built the Church at the station, and the mission also boasted several Catholic schools. One of the problems he faced then was the difficulty of running an efficient educational program in the school. The students were easily tempted by the "bright lights" of the sugar-cane plantations of Queensland, Australia, to go and seek their fortunes which would allow them to buy plenty of clothes, but which, according to Bertin, "they do not always know how to wear, but which they change ten times a day".

The Catholic schools were set up more to ensure the transmission of the faith than to impart academic knowledge, and so the blackbirding of pupils was a serious concern. The resident commissioner, Charles Morris Woodford, forbade recruitment on Catholic mission stations, but the profits were too much to lose for the traders, and the attractions too much to bypass for the young people.

Called up to serve in the French military in August 1915, he was exempted for health reasons on 26 May 1916 on the advice of the French Consul in Sydney.

In a letter to the Superior General written in January 1915, he indicated he was somewhat impatient to receive his call to second novitiate, “it will perhaps be, with the first novitiate, the best time of my life”. In 1916, Bertin went to Sydney for second novitiate, arriving there on Mindini on 6 May and returning on the same boat leaving Sydney on 20 December 1916. Again writing to the Superior General, he indicated how much he had appreciated his second novitiate. He made his vow of stability on Sunday 27 May 1917.

In 1918, he reported that married catechists had been sent to all the other stations. In 1920 he had to close the schools as the mission station could not provide enough food for over 190 pupils.

When Bertin became mission rector he was assisted first by Rinaldo Pavese (1912-20) and then by Emile Foltzer (1920-22). He was then on his own until Br Roberto Moiso joined him in late 1924. Bertin appreciated living in community with him. In late 1926, newly arrived Léon Valléry joined him temporarily, where his knowledge of the Ghari language was increasing. Tangarare was a large area to look after, and the population was almost totally Catholic. In September 1926 a strong earthquake struck, and much damage was done to mission buildings, including the dormitory, which Br Roberto had just built. The Sisters' kitchen which was irreparable and had to be knocked down. The earth opened and splits appeared all over the area, including within several villages. The tremors continued for three weeks.

By early 1927 Bertin and Br Roberto were both suffering from chronic health issues. Bertin was not well enough to run the Catechists' programme, and it was not long before his health had completely broken down and he was sent to Villa Maria, arriving there on 10 July. He returned to the Solomons in February 1928.

To Bertin’s great pleasure, Tangarare was visited by the Superior General, Ernest Rieu, during his visitation of the South Pacific in 1929. Bertin was appointed Novice Master of the Second Novitiate in Sydney. He had been prepared by Eugène Courtais, Provincial, to expect a recall given his precarious health. Once Samuel Moreau arrived from Wanoni Bay to replace him, Bertin departed for Sydney arriving there on 19 April 1930 and immediately started a second novitiate.

In addition to the annual statistics for 1929 he reported upon leaving the station, he also had published in 1928 a presentation of all the villages making up the Tangarare mission district.

Catholics 1465

Protestants 490

Pagans 6

In the schools 105 boys, 84 girls

Baptisms children 64, adults 10

Confirmations 91

Communions 33,783

Deaths 51

When informed of Bertin’s likely appointment to succeed him as Provincial in June 1932 Courtais wrote a very frank letter to Rieu, Superior-General, telling him the decision was hopelessly misguided, "Fragile in health, timid to excess, knowing English only imperfectly, and because of his timidity, not able to profit from his knowledge, which, otherwise would be sufficient at a pinch". But the Superior General chose to ignore Courtais’ misgivings and Bertin received notice of his appointment as Provincial of Oceania in October 1932. He requested confirmation from the Superior General if he were to retain the role of Novice-Master, which he did until 1937 when Maurice Boch man was appointed superior of Villa Maria and Master of Second Novices. Boch had already been made vice-Provincial in 1936.

He also wanted confirmation of recordkeeping requirements as he believed Courtais kept everything and previous provincials burnt a lot of records. He was advised to retain reports on people as long as they were administratively necessary, but to then burn them, especially if they don’t seem to be of any long-term use.

There had been several enquiries from Australians wishing to become coadjutor brothers and Bertin requested the establishment of a brothers’ novitiate, to be led by a devoted, English-speaking priest. Villa Maria took on the additional role as house of probation and formation for coadjutor brothers from Australia and New Zealand who wished to work in the Pacific Missions. It already hosted the members of the New Zealand province responsible for the Hunters Hill parish since 1925. A separate presbytery for them was built in 1936.

Bertin had requested being removed from the position of Provincial but continued in the role with the visits to the missions as requested by the Superior General. Between June and October 1933 he made a Visitation of the North Solomons and South Solomons vicariates. He also preached the retreat in the South Solomons. Back in Sydney, Bertin had to deal with the fall-out from the rejection of Roman Catholic missionaries at Tangarare during 1933-36. Nominated by Rieu to be Apostolic Visitor for Propaganda Fide, Bertin reported to the Apostolic Delegate on the situation.

In May 1934 he began a Second Novitiate. Among the novices was one who would himself be Provincial one day, Eddie Roe from Fiji. In November Bertin left for New Caledonia. It was an exhausting trip visiting all the mission stations– travelling by steamship, car, on horseback and small petrol-powered boats. After the visit to the Loyalty Islands, he returned to Nouméa in December with fever and gallstones as well as fatigue. After Christmas he continued with the visitation of the Grande Terre and arrived back in Sydney on 19 March 1935.

The Provincial Chapter began on 31 July 1935 and finished on 2 August. On 17 August, Bertin, along with Elie Bergeron, Cyprien Destable and Edouard Meyer left for Rome for the General Chapter. Arriving in Naples, they were greeted by Léon Dubois and confreres with whom they visited Pompeii. After the General Chapter he made a visit home to Nantes. While in Europe he was beset by malaria but still managed to visit many places and speak to various groups about the Oceania missions, including Marist seminarians at Differt. He also visited the Procure at Lyons, prayed at the tomb of Fr Founder, and met with the Superior General of the Marist Sisters. Departing from Toulon, he arrived back in Sydney on 25 March 1936, having sailed on Orsova.

He started immediately preparing his visitation of Samoa and Tonga, leaving in June 1936. The Mariposa made two one-day stops at Auckland and Suva on the way. While in Samoa, he gave the annual retreat to the fathers and then to the sisters. On his return from Samoa, however, he had to wait three weeks in Suva and took the opportunity to visit most of the nearby stations, including those on Ovalau. From there he joined the Antigone to Tonga where he saw the men on Tongatapu and Vava'u. He spent five weeks on Vava’u waiting for the Boren to take him to Samoa. He managed to get back to Sydney only in December 1936.

In June 1937 he went on Visitation to the New Hebrides. He started with a retreat for the sisters. He visited all the stations except for Port Olry and Tanna. Delegated by Bishop Douceré, he administered Confirmation to 17 at Olal. Back at Port-Vila in August, he conducted the fathers’ retreat. From there he visited Wallis and Futuna. He was in time to attend the consecration of Bishop Edouard Bresson on 3 October in Nouméa on his way back to Sydney where he arrived on 8 October.

After attending the Regional Missionary and Eucharistic Congress, held in Newcastle, N.S.W. and the New Zealand Catholic Centenary celebrations, Bertin went on Visitation to Fiji, arriving there on 20 May 1938. In June he went to Rotuma where he blessed the new school built by Gustave Griffon and the new church built by Lucien Soubeyran. As the delegate of Bishop Charles Nicolas, he administered Confirmation too. He visited all the stations of Fiji, and his visit lasted over six months thanks to weather and shipping delays. He arrived back in Sydney on 26 December 1938.

Having finished his term of office as Provincial, he and his successor, Elie Bergeron, both received news of their new appointments on the same day, 22 May 1939. On 1 June, Bertin sailed on the Pierre Loti for his new posting in New Caledonia, where he spent his first months at Tyé. He found the weather there pleasant, the strawberries delicious but his health was the same as when he was at Villa Maria. With Marists being called to the military, Bertin joined Joseph Dupuy at Bondé. With Dupuy often travelling, Bertin helped by looking after the station. He was appointed head of the Saint-Austremoine station, which included Bondé, Balade, Pouébo and Koumac. In addition to giving instruction, hearing confessions, looking after the school and giving conferences to sisters and brothers, he sometimes travelled to neighbouring tribes on horseback. To preach the brothers retreat at Pouébo – car to Ouégoa, horse ride to Balade and then boat to Pouébo. First signs of illness appeared in May 1941, and he went to Nouméa in October, where he was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer at the age of 62 and died on 1 December 1941. His last month was a very painful one, but he accepted it with great courage and resignation, wishing “to complete the sufferings of Christ”. A confrère who had known him well and visited him often in his last illness said of him, "I have seen a saint die”.

Notes

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