LIFE OF ZIMBABWE BUSH MYSTIC
Southern Cross – Video Review by GUNTHER SIMMERMACHER
September 5, 1999 (20th Anniversary of the Death of John Bradburne)
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Some time after the English mystic John Bradburne was murdered in Zimbabwe, the story goes, a little girl was kidnapped in that country.
Her abductor kept her locked up in a small iron hut while awaiting the ransom payment. When the girl was eventually released and told of her ordeal, the mother exclaimed how appalling it must have been.
The girl calmly replied that it hadn’t been that bad, because a very kind and gentle man came to visit her every day, comforting her, playing and praying with her, giving her courage.
The man the girl described was Bradburne, right down to the brown Franciscan habit he frequently wore.
This account is related by Bradburne’s friend, Jesuit Father John Dove, in this video, produced by Capetonian Norman Servais.
By means of interviews with people who knew Bradburne, Vagabond of God charts the man’s life from his time serving with the Ghurka regiment in India to his ministry to lepers in Zimbabwe and his abduction and execution by Zanu guerillas on September 5, 1979.
There is an overpowering sense that Bradburne was a living saint. His ministry to those despised, neglected and excluded by society was not unlike that of Mother Teresa in Calcutta, his spirituality was akin to that of Charles de Foucauld.
Cognoscenti rank Bradburne as a poet with literary titans such as Keats, we learn. Devotees of mystical poetry might recognize something of John of the Cross in him.
Bradburne the lay Franciscan reminds me of St. Francis himself. While living in a mission, he used to keep a swarm of bees beneath a table, so that potential visitors would think twice before disturbing him. Of course, he himself was never stung by his bees.
Personally, I believe in miracles, but exercise caution in accepting them at face value. I am persuaded, though, that Bradburne in his death would be capable of facilitating miracles. Accordingly, I wouldn’t dismiss the holy man’s posthumous visitations to the kidnapped girl out of hand.
As the video informs us, there is a strong and growing cult around Bradburne, and the documentary shows why. This was indeed a saint for both our times and all seasons.
This competently produced documentary features interviews with Fr Dove, who wrote Bradburne’s autobiography, and others who knew him. There is footage of his milieu: the lepers of Mutemwa he loved so much and the surrounding countryside.
Those who already maintain a devotion will treasure the recordings of Bradburne reading his poetry.
At an hour, the video is not long, but could have been more tightly edited. Narration is minimal and unintrusive, and Bradburne remains the focal point throughout, once the somewhat lengthy prologue introducing Zimbabwe (lovely footage of the Victoria Falls and wildlife) is concluded.
The section that details the events leading to Bradburne’s murder is particularly well handled, from a dramatic as well as an ethereal perspective.
As a documentary of a devotional nature - probably its purpose -Vagabond of God is highly recommended.