Bernard M.R. Masson (1945-2024)
Born in Blankenberge
on December 13, 1945.
Religious vows on September 8, 1965.
Ordained priest on December 8, 1978.
Missionary in Brazil and Mexico.
Died in Nova Iguaçu (Brazil),
on December 16, 2024,
at the age of 79.
Bernard's life is the story of a missionary. He lived 100% as a missionary. He died and was buried among his people and colleagues in the country where he was a missionary.
Bernard was born in Blankenberge, by the sea. His aunts owned a hotel and a restaurant there. He carried this preference for the sea and the beach with him all his life. "Being out once" for him in Brazil meant going to the sea and the beach and then having something to eat.
He studied in college in Roeselare and came to Scheut in 1964. His studies began with the novitiate in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw (Zuun). Bernard studied Philosophy in Nijmegen (Netherlands) and Theology in Leuven. He obtained a Master's degree in Missiology, with a thesis on "The Latin American Bishops' Conference in Medellín."
And in early 1973, we were ready to leave for Brazil. We arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in late January 1973. Together, we did language school in Rio de Janeiro. Together, Bernard, Jan Demyttenaere, Julien Vandevoorde, Jules Chanterie, and myself. Then Carlito Cenzon, a Filipino, also joined us. Volta Redonda, 100 km from Rio de Janeiro, was our first parish, where Fernand Vandenabeele was pastor. It was an internship that immersed us in the reality of Brazil. There also, Bernard was ordained a priest on December 8, 1978, by Dom Waldyr. Volta Redonda was a pretty little town, living off of steelworks donated by the Americans as thanks for the cooperation of Brazilian soldiers in World War II. But, actually, we were looking forward to something more challenging for us.
In 1979, we traveled north to the Amazon, the diocese of Marabá, and the diocese of Bragança, in Pará. They were the best years of our lives. The Brazilian government had built the 'Transamazonica' road and invited families who wanted a piece of land to cultivate it. Starting from nothing, planting, and sowing, picking fruits to sustain the family. It is beautiful to participate in and to see it grow and progress. Participate and be part of that progress. I want to mention a little more about the final work of Bernard at the Faculty of Theology in Leuven: "The Latin American Bishops' Conference in Medellín." Medellín, a city in Colombia where the first meeting of the bishops of Latin America took place, applied the message of the 2nd Vatican Council to be applied to the reality of Latin America. So the first meeting was in Medellín, the second in Puebla, Mexico, the third in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and the fourth in Aparecida, Brazil. It was that spirit of renewal that inspired us. In the face of the little people recognizing Jesus: Indians, Afro-Latin Americans, small farmers, children, and the sick. Bringing people together in small communes communities, called base communities, where they are responsible for the smooth running of things, both in ecclesiastical catechesis, baptismal preparation, and prayer services, but also in daily life: for example, building a barrack for a family whose house has burned down, visiting the sick and seeing if anything is needed, starting a school in the interior, Amazon. With their limited resources, people gained dignity. This was also Bernard's work. He did so on the PA 70. At km 66 and at km 92, they had a cottage, the Sisters of the Hunt also. They went inland to visit families and bring them together. Bernard knew the American Sister there, Dorothy Stang, who was later shot dead because of her work with those small farmers.
Bernard also spent three years in Mexico at the Seminary of Scheut for students of Theology who would be missionaries in Latin America. He was then also a pastor in Itaguai, a new diocese close to Rio de Janeiro. Later, he founded a new parish in Marapicu - part of Nova Iguaçu - new neighborhoods, organized or forced: people were looking for a piece of land to build a house. His last parish was Saint Elias, Mesquita. Bernard was invited to become a rector at a house of Scheut in Belgium, but he chose to return to Brazil. He would stay at Central House and with Roy Joseph Shea, with whom he had worked in the North. They were good friends and would spend their 'old age' together.
Roy died last year in November, and Bernard in December. Bernard was a seeker, an idealist, and a realist: together with his people, he built a future in which everyone could participate. Making life better. He disliked speaking in public, but he loved being among people. He was at home there, simple, happy. One can see that in the photos. He shared life with his beautiful but also sad and difficult days of those people. Being present was very important to him.
Bernard, we are proud of you. You were a true presence of God's love. Thank you for everything. You will live on in many beautiful memories for us.
- Gaby Gheysens
