Zenit report of August 27th on John Bradburne  

DEVOTION TO ENGLISH VAGABOND GROWS
John Bradburne Served Lepers and Died a Martyr

HARARE, ZIMBABWE, AUGUST 25 (ZENIT.org-FIDES).- To serve lepers, die a
martyr, and be buried in a Franciscan habit were the three ambitions of
an eccentric English layman who might well become Zimbabwe's first
saint. John Bradburne, a Catholic convert, lived a consecrated life
according to the Rule of St. Francis. He spent a decade caring for
lepers in former Rhodesia, and was gunned down by guerrillas in Zimbabwe
on September 5, 1979, not far from the simple tin hut where he lived and
ministered to the poorest of the poor. He was 58.

Every year an annual pilgrimage marks the anniversary of Bradburne's
death. Last September 5, more than 51,000 pilgrims made their way to the
place 3 hours east of Harare, where Bradburne's tin hut still stands
intact. Some pilgrims climb a 1,000-foot rock in the area.

The Archdiocese of Harare has asked Franciscan Fr. Pascal Slevin to
initiate a preliminary investigation into the life of this "strange
vagabond," who travelled great distances before reaching what he called
"the end of his journey": the Mutemwa leper colony not far from Harare.

"He was an extraordinary man -- his whole life was a prayer," stated Fr.
Slevin, a Franciscan who lived with Bradburne for 9 months in 1962.
"Many people have  had strange experiences since his death, and they are
convinced that John has helped them. One documented case is that of a
man with a serious brain tumor who prayed to John, certain that he would
be helped. The man's physician says the recovery looks like a miracle."

Bradburne, the third of five children, was born in England in 1921. His
father was a parson for the Church of England. He served in the army in
Burma and Malay, worked as a forest ranger, and taught in a school. Led
by a desire "to be sure of salvation," he became a Catholic in 1947.
However, according to his biography, "Strange Vagabond of God," written
by his army buddy, English Jesuit Fr. John Dove, it was in 1942, when he
was still a soldier, and had a vision of Our Lady in the jungle, that
his specifically religious quest began.

He tried several monasteries, but was advised to continue searching.
Thus he became an itinerant pilgrim in the Holy Land and Cyprus, and
eventually returned to London where he spent time as a sacristan at
Westminster Cathedral. In time, he contacted his Jesuit friend, Fr.
Dove, who was working in Rhodesia, to find out if there were any caves
he could inhabit. Taking advantage of a cheap air flight, subsidized by
the government to attract more white voters, Bradburne left for Rhodesia
to start a hermit's life.

For seven years he worked as a lay missionary, helping Fr. Dove found a
mission center. He went to Assisi, Italy, to join the Franciscan Third
Order, after which he returned to Africa for good, to devote himself to
the care of lepers, like Blessed Damien de Veuster. Bradburne was not a
doctor, but he gave the lepers, whom others avoided, his limitless love,
"even getting them to smile," Fr. Dove said. Sometimes he wore his
Franciscan habit, but on the whole he dressed more like a hippie, with
long hair, a beard, and a red head band. The lepers loved him, and his
reputation grew, but his commitment also earned him enemies.

At the time, Rhodesia, which had become independent from Britain in the
mid 60s, was ruled by Ian Smith's apartheid-style government, which was
battling with rebel Marxist fighters backed by Moscow and China. Bandits
confronted by Bradburne for stealing from the lepers accused him of
being a spy. He was abducted by guerrillas in 1979, kept hostage for a
few days, and then shot in the back by his captors on September 5.

Devotion to John Bradburne has grown over the years. Fr. Dove says many
cures have been obtained, which might well be miracles, although rural
people leave no records and testimony is often lost.

However, the story of Bradburne's last minute change of clothes has been
written by several witnesses, both priests and laymen. When Bradburne
was shot, the local people wanted to hide the body for fear of reprisals
from white security forces. As they were carrying it away, they heard a
choir singing, dropped the body, and ran. However, when they turned back
they saw a strange white bird, with three beams of light ascending
heavenward, hovering over the body. The villagers fled in fright.

Five days later, after the body was prepared for burial and placed in a
coffin, the funeral was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and presided
over by Archbishop Chakaipa. However, during Communion, faithful
attending the serviced were aghast to see drops of blood dripping from
the coffin. When the coffin was opened, it was discovered that Bradburne
had not been  dressed in his Franciscan habit. The blunder was put right
and he left this world for heaven as he wished: a servant of lepers and
a martyr, buried in a Franciscan habit.
ZE00082521

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