November 5. 2024

Br. Christian Leblanc died today after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

Br. Christian was born on 17 December, 1946 in Lynn Massachusetts, 25 miles north of Boston. He joined the Divine Word missionaries (SVD) when he was a very young man. When he was 21 years old, he came to Gethsemani. He stayed for two years, but left. He came back and entered, this time to stay, on January 20, 1974. He took his solemn vows on March 24, 1979. At Gethsemani, he was the assistant cheese maker for many years, and was in charge of the Farms operation (packaging and shipping our products), and he did the laundry for the community and guests. His final job was in the infirmary, where he still served through his illness. As a second job, he was in charge of our substantial charity budget, helping many of the poor in our vicinity.

Br. Christian was an amateur astronomer. He had a decent telescope and enjoyed showing some of the wonders of the stars to the brothers. He had a fine eye as a photographer and shared his talent with many people. He had a particular fondness for clouds as photographic subjects.

On a personal note, when I entered Gethsemani, my parents were very disappointed. They hoped that I would be around for their twilight years. They drove me down here, to see what I was getting into. They stayed at the family guest house up on the hill opposite the monastery. As it happened, Br. Christian’s sisters were also at the family guest house, so my parents were able to meet Br. Christian. His sunny outgoing personality won them completely over, changing their idea of what a monk was like. When they left a few days later, they felt much better about this place and my future here. They had not lost a son, they had gained a monastery. And their change of heart was due in good part to Br. Christian’s naturally generous heart.

Br. Christian loved life, he loved celestial things, he loved nature and all nature’s creatures, he loved the rain, he loved his brothers, and he loved the Abbey of Gethsemani.

His eyes were always looking toward heaven, the stars and the clouds. We hope that his soul now rests there in the presence of the God he served so well through his whole life.

  • Fr. Lawrence