Page 3 of Guided Tour
AFRICA 1962 (The three wishes)
On arrival in Africa he confided to a Franciscan Father that he wished to serve leprosy patients, to die a martyr, and to be buried in the habit of St Francis of Assisi. The Franciscans were generous enough to pay his way out. He helped them at Wedza and Gandachibvuva but there were difficulties. John was really a solitary not a mission helper in a technical sense.
In 1963, Lord and Lady Acton gave their home at Mbebi, Mazowe, to
the Society of Jesus. It needed a caretaker. Fr Corrigan, the
Jesuit Superior, invited John to be just that. Solitude, a fine
Church with two owls on the rafters above the High Altar;
excellent! John was there a year.
John, when he was caretaker of Lord Acton's old home M'bebi, Mazowe, 1964. He called the cat M'bebi.
Silveira House
In December 1964 an extraordinary event took place. The Jesuit Novices vacated their lovely Novitiate, Silveira House, and moved to Mbebi, Mazowe. John moved to an empty Silveira House to help me to begin a Centre - a centre for leadership and development. It was still empty, so John found solitude again. He proved to be an excellent caretaker since he never went out. He was always there and he always backed the Centre with his prayer and song.
Silveira House
Soon he knew all the wild life
- birds, especially eagles and bees, along with flowering shrubs,
trees, rock heights and solitary recesses. It was a joy at night
to watch his diligence - every door locked, every tap turned off,
the Lord praised with sung
compline. In his simple way he prayed for an eagle. Soon an eagle
was acquired. For John the small was beautiful: All of nature
spoke to him of God. Even the Mission cat used to follow him on
walks. Silveira House, fortified by John's prayer, grew into an
Institution. This meant courses, people, noise. John moved first
to the hen house! And then to a little end room. A prayer for
bees brought a swarm to settle in this room - wonderful since it
kept people out! The bees became the custodians of his solitude.
He must surely be the only man in history to invite bees to such
a task!
Fr. John Dove and John Bradburne at Silveira House
Crisis
In 1968 a crisis wa& reached. He felt that he could be of no
further help to Silveira House. Should he stay in Africa or look
for a cave in Israel or India? He decided to revisit Jerusalem to
pray for guidance. He went first to visit his mother and then
amid a herd of goats he sailed for his beloved Holy Land.
Jerusalem and the wailing wall - all indicated that Africa was
his call. John hoped to sail down the East Coast of Africa in an
Arab Dhow but the Arab-Israeli war put an end to such a dream
voyage. Helped by his brother Philip from Tripoli he returned to
Silveira House once again.
Back to Main Page ..................Previous Page...................Next Page