Fr. M. Jean Joseph Lataste, O.P. and the Holy Spirit

Our Lady of Mercy Chapter

MCI Norfolk, MA/Trenton, NJ,  USA

“Be praised my Lord that you have given here a renewed, rejuvenated form of your eternal mercy, that you have given to the world a new proof of the all powerfulness of your grace and infinite love.”  Fr. Jean Joseph Lataste OP, founder of the Dominican Sisters of Bethany

            The above quote from Bl. Fr. Lataste, O.P. could very well be applied to my Lay Dominican Chapter, Our Lady of Mercy Chapter, MCI Norfolk, MA/Trenton, NJ, USA.  Because it was only through the grace of God that my chapter owes its very existence, and because of my chapter’s existence, at least three other pro chapters are beginning.  God is good.

            It all began with a young friar, Fr. Marie Jean Joseph Lataste, O.P., being assigned to preach at a women’s prison in Cadillac, France, in the nineteenth century.  One can only imagine the revulsion he felt upon entering this prison: the smell, the odors of desperation, hopelessness, the stone walls and dirt floors, combined with accumulated body sweat and other odors.  Also, imagine the sight of these pathetic women prisoners, as they filed in wearing their drab uniforms and scarves to cover their heads, dejectedly hunched over with lowered heads and eyes to hide their shame and protect their broken hearts.  Fr. Lataste must have prayed to have “this cup taken from me.” 

            Being an obedient friar, he steeled himself for the task at hand and did the best he could.  He preached of the good God’s love for each and every one of us.  He spoke of God’s unending mercy.  He told of God’s forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption. 

           All Fr. Lataste could see were kerchiefs.  The heads were deeply lowered like branches bent after a storm.  Overcoming his revulsion, Father began to preach.  Miraculously, one by one, a head was lifted.  A face appeared.  A suspicious expression disappeared.  Hardened lips softened.  Desperate eyes glimmered with hope.  The Holy Spirit touched the women.  A miracle was unfolding before the young friar’s eyes.  Our Church opens the door to sinners because Jesus offers pardon and reconciliation.  God is good.   

              On their knees in Eucharistic Adoration Fr. Lataste could see their genuine conversion. He saw and came to believe that redemption and salvation were not just abstract concepts, but reality.  These women inmates were a mirror of God.  He saw joy and beauty where there once was despair and ugliness, hope and love where there once was degradation and no future.  The Church offers forgiveness of sins through Christ’s name.    The women wanted never again to enter the dark world.  They craved the light of Christ.  They desired His love with an unquenchable thirst.

             How could they stay away from the pull of evil when they were finally released from prison?  What opportunities were available for women in the nineteenth century?  How could these converted women remain resolute in their desire to “sin no more,” when their choices for good were so meager?  Fr. Jean Joseph Lataste, OP, had an idea that was new in his Dominican Order, perhaps in the history of the Church.  This friar wanted to put these women in a contemplative community in the Dominican Order. 

            You can well imagine the objections of Fr. Lataste’s superiors.  “You want to put a prostitute in a Dominican habit?” 

            There was no scarcity of objections.  It took years, and many prayers before Fr. Lataste’s vision of a community of religious women would be formed specifically to welcome his beloved daughters.  Through the workings of the Holy Spirit the Dominican Sisters of Bethany were founded in 1866.  It was a community of women, where one’s background wasn’t held against one.  Ex convicts were equal to those who had never been in prison.  No one could tell the difference between those sisters who had “questionable histories,” and those who didn’t. 

            In this present century, the story of Fr. Lataste and the Dominican Sisters of Bethany was told by the Catholic Chaplain in a men’s, maximum/medium security prison in Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA..  Ruth Raichele was that chaplain.  She was a Dominican Sister of Bethany, until the order called everyone back home to France.  Ruth, however, kept up a relationship with the Sisters.  Many men in the Catholic Community in Norfolk Prison were touched by the story of the Dominican Sisters.  They wanted their Catholic Community to be named the Bethany Community.  The inmates understood the teachings of Father Lataste.  Much as the Holy Spirit had touched the women in Cadillac prison in France, so likewise, did the Holy Spirit touch the hearts of some of the men in Norfolk prison.  The men wanted more.  They never again wanted to be on the dark side.  They too craved the light of Christ.  They also desired the love of Christ with an unquenchable thirst. 

            Ruth told the men about a lay organization know as the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic.  Some of the men of the Bethany Community desired to do more for Christ.  They desired to walk the Dominican path to God.

            Again, you can well imagine the objections.  The closest chapter that would sponsor this new pro-chapter rejected the idea.  The Regional Moderator was not enthusiastic.  The Provincial Council said “No.”  The Provincial Promoter said “No.”  The Prior Provincial said “No.”

            But if it is the will of the Holy Spirit, even the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. 

            The inmates had kept up a frequent correspondence with the Bethany Sisters in France.  One of these Bethany sisters was a friend of Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, the Master of the Order.  Once, Fr. Radcliffe got involved, progress was made toward the prisoners entering the Lay Fraternity.  Fr. Timothy wrote to the Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, telling him that he, himself, would be personally involved in the formation of this Chapter of Lay Dominicans.  He also wrote to the Provincial Promoter for the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic of the Province of Saint Joseph, to ask him to accept the request of the men at Norfolk Prison.  Fr. Timothy not only referenced Fr. Lataste, but also St. Catherine of Siena, who had ministered to many prisoners. 

            Formation was begun by these new Dominican “cloistered brothers.”  They celebrated the Divine Office in community, read Scripture, prayed the Rosary and lived the Rule of the Lay Fraternity as best as their situation would allow.  Their formation was culminated with a visit by the Master of the Order, himself, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, in July 2002.  The Holy Spirit had indeed blessed this new pro-chapter.

            One of my favourite lay fraternities is in Norfolk prison in Massachusetts,

            in the United States.  The members of that fraternity cannot go elsewhere.

            If they try they will be stopped forcibly.  But they are preachers there in

            that prison, sent to be a word of life and hope in a place of despair and

            suffering.  They are sent as preachers to a place to which most of us

            cannot go.   To Praise, to Bless, to Preach–the Mission of the Dominican

            Family, by Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, O.P.

            The pro-chapter is a success story.  As the Holy Spirit used Fr. Lataste, so he used Ruth Raichele and Fr. Timothy Radcliffe.  The pro-chapter grew into a full chapter, Our Lady of Mercy Chapter.  It is vibrant, strong and thriving.  An example and a beacon of hope to others in prison, who wish to do more than their Catholic community, can offer.  Other prisoners from all over the country have heard their story and have made inquiries as to how to start their own Lay Dominican Chapter. 

            The Provincial Promoter for the Central Province, USA, St. Albert the Great, Fr. Jim Motl, O.P., asked for a plan for the men in Muskegon Correctional Facility.  A group of inmates from Kentucky and another group from Ohio, have written to Ruth Raichele for advice on starting Lay Dominican Chapters.  Individual Lay Dominicans have written to ask how to get involved in prison ministry. All are evidence of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, due to the intercession of Father Lataste, I’m sure. 

            Personally, I have been corresponding with two inmates in a correctional institution in the state of New Jersey, Agustin and Francisco.  I am mentoring Agustin through his Formation in the Lay Fraternity of Saint Dominican.  He is a Novice.  Our Provincial Promoter, Fr. James M. Sullivan, O.P.,  has given Agustin and Francisco his blessings in starting a new Pro-Chapter. ** Agustin, in thanksgiving for this tremendous blessing, thanks Fr Lataste, for his intercession.  Agustin is so grateful that he has chosen as his religious name, Fr. Marie Jean Joseph Lataste, O.P.    Praise God.  There’s no holding back the Holy Spirit.  “...proof of your (God’s) grace and infinite love.”

            We all serve Jesus when we serve the imprisoned.  Those imprisoned will know of God’s love only if those who follow Christ tell them.  Jesus was imprisoned Himself when He was here on earth.  Jesus continues to be imprisoned in our own brothers and sisters.  Even the most wounded, hardened criminal is created in the image of God, and as such must be valued and recognized.  This was the message of Fr. Lataste.  May his legacy be this growth of Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic in prisons.  Are not these “cloistered brothers and sisters” preaching of God’s love, reconciliation, and redemption in their prisons?  Are they not proof that evil will not prevail?  As Fr. Lataste said, “Be praised my Lord that you have given here a renewed, rejuvenated form of your eternal mercy, that you have given to the world a new proof of the all powerfulness of your grace...”

*Pere Jean-Joseph Lataste, O.P. is scheduled to be beatified in the Fall of 2009. 

**Mr. Agustin Garcia, O.P. and Mr. Francisco Wills, O.P., both inmates in Trenton, NJ, have been adopted into the Our Lady of Mercy Chapter at Norfolk.  The new promoter, Fr. Juan-Diego Brunetta, O.P. chose this way to bring them into the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic, as Father said, “Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures.”  Thus, Our Lady of Mercy Chapter is in two prison locations, MCI Norfolk, MA and Trenton, NJ.