March 19 – Br. Giuseppe Nazionale Passes

March 19th is the feast of St. Joseph, and Giuseppe is the Italian form for Joseph, so it is Br. Giuseppe’s feast day. It also happens to be his birthday. He turned 93 years old. He was a monk of Gethsemani for nearly 62 years.

It is also the day he entered into his eternal rest, the day the Lord called him. He passed away at 2:45 in the morning, “just in time,” as Fr. James remarked in his homily that day, “for the heavenly Vigils.” We celebrate Vigils here at Gethsemani at 3:15 in the morning.

His funeral mass will be held here at 4:00 PM on Friday, March 22.

Br. Giuseppe Nazionale was born in West Virginia on the 19th of March, 1931. He was a veteran of  the Korean war. He entered Gethsemani on July 29, 1962, made his first profession on Jan 26, 1965, and his solemn profession on Oct 27, 1968. Shortly after his profession, he was sent to help out the Cistercian monastery, Our Lady of Joy, commonly known as Lantau, in Hong Kong. He served the Order there from 1969-1972. He often told stories of his time in Hong Kong. He didn’t know the language, but a couple of the brothers spoke English, and otherwise they communicated with only a few words and hand gestures. He returned to Gethsemani in 1973, and worked at various jobs until he was assigned as infirmarian in 1984. He served the community in that position for around 30 years. Most of the brothers have been taken care of at some time or another by Br. Giuseppe. He had a firm but kind hand as infirmarian and was infallibly available and generous.

Br. Giuseppe had been ready to go. He once showed a picture of himself when he was about 20 years old, around 1950, standing, smiling, with two buddies. This picture is among those attached to this web page. He said both his friends were gone now, as were most of his contemporaries, and he added, “I wonder why God hasn’t taken me.” Well, God finally has. May Br. Giuseppe rest in peace, close now to the God he served so well in the monastery of Gethsemani.