“Final Profession of Brother Marcel” (Fall 2002)

From Issue No. 87: Bursting at the Seams (Fall 2002)

“Final Profession of Brother Marcel”

On Sunday, September 29th – the feast of St. Michael – Brother Marcel made his perpetual religious vows in the Society of Saint Pius X.

Known to the world as Peter Francis Poverello from Johannesburg, South Africa, Brother spent his childhood years in the Novus Ordo, but his parents converted to Tradition when he was 13. He was initially “hesitant” to accept Tradition but soon saw the light of Eternal Rome. His family’s conversion came about through the efforts of Fr. Brady, an Irish Holy Ghost Father who would come down once a month to celebrate the Tridentine Mass. The priest knew Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the former Superior General of that missionary order.

From an early age, Brother aspired to devote his life to the service of God. “I actually wanted to be a priest as a child,” he says. This desire would eventually lead him to enter the Seminary in Winona as a grown man.

Brother’s talent for matters artistic is well known, within and without the Seminary. Within the Seminary, Brother has, among other works, been redecorating and
remodeling Our Lady’s Chapel. He was also a key figure in decorating the Crypt (see VERBUM #58), and his photographs have filled many an issue of VERBUM. Elsewhere, numerous Society chapels in America have Brother to thank for a variety of the magnificent statues, restored and decorated altars, and architectural detailings – along with a king’s ransom in gold leaf – that adorn their sanctuaries.

Brother has been working in art – sculpting, painting, photography – since the age of five, inspired by an older brother of his. While his brother won big competitions, Brother’s success was not immediate, and he finally gave up art in the two years preceding his entering the Winona Seminary.

Brother completed his year of Spirituality, but it was decided that he should try a religious vocation as a Society lay-brother. He entered the novitiate the following autumn, and his artistic endeavors were mostly limited to occasional drawings and some of his famous cartooning – mostly “small things” during this time.

After a year’s novitiate, he was told to take up brush and chisel, and resume artistry full-time – by then, he was in his third year at Winona, his second as a novice.

Brother says that the religious life is “a life of servitude...there’s usually no glamour at all.” Brother cites the lack of generosity in the people of today’s world, their selfishness, for the want of religious vocations in our times. “We’re in a selfish age. The world is a very hard thing to give up... the Religious life doesn’t look very appealing at all.”

Brother also notes that today “People can’t commit...they can’t even commit to a job.” He sees this lack of commitment as a source of many of the world’s problems.

Brother took his name in religion from Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, on account of the Archbishop’s perseverance in Tradition’s opposition to the Newchurch. After all, the day-to-day perseverance required of the religious is nothing less than staggering in light of the selfish influence of the world with all its pomps and splendors.

Of course, there are natural consolations: there is no material worry, as the community takes care of the brothers’ material needs. But this also limits one’s material boundaries. The brothers are given only a small monthly allowance for personal items, and as Brother notes, in regards to the community life, “My limits are set by what the Bishop will allow.”

Nevertheless, if the will of God is done, the knowledge that one is doing the will of God is “its own joy, a supernatural joy, not one of feeling.” The three vows of the religious – poverty, chastity and obedience – serve as the foundation for the brothers’ daily discipline. Br. Marcel especially cites obedience as the one counsel that defines the brothers. “Obedience sets the religious apart” from even the priests of the Society, who have to manage priory finances and so forth. “It’s a vow to God,” and as such, it would be “unjust” to violate the vows made before the altar. The three counsels work together, but obedience suppresses one’s will. In that way, the religious life is unique in that it needs a superior to thrive.

Brother Marcel is certainly thankful that the Seminary is “a complete community,” with a clear hierarchy of superiors, seminarians, fellow brothers and the laity. The Seminary enjoys the full splendor of the liturgy, not found to the same extent in any other Society house in North America. A large, quiet property which allows for a great deal of contemplation – essential to the religious state – the Seminary’s Rule and “real order” combine to make what Brother calls “a fantastic help. I really appreciate being here with all these helps around.”

Though he has spent most of his life working in clay and paints, Brother Marcel considers art “secondary” to his life in religion. “I have no intention of abandoning my vocation because of a job change.” He has “no distinct preference” in his duties around the house, which is “not the easiest thing to do.” Brother tries to perform all of his spiritual duties – 15 decades of the Rosary daily, the Divine Office as prayed in common at the Seminary – and all of his house jobs, i.e. art projects, catechism, mailing, photography, etc. “without preference.” Brother only wants “to do the will of God and to save my soul,” and he is not anxious except for these two things.