Brother Raymond Charles Bertheaux OP., grew up in San Francisco, from where he entered the Order in 1953. Professing on March 22, 1954, since then, he served through many ministries.
Stateside he was assigned to Oakland, San Francisco and Kentfield, but the majority of his fifty years as a Dominican Cooperator Brother were spent outside of the country. He spent seventeen years at the Mexican Mission of the Dominican Fathers in Chiapas, where he was involved in catechetics and pre-diaconate formation. Then, he had one year of study at the Angelicum in Rome followed by twelve years at Santa Sabina in Rome, where he was assigned to the bookstore, the archives, and the production staff of "Analecta", an important publication of the Order. Next, he spent eight years in Guatemala, In the summer of 2003, he arrived to begin his third tour of duty at Saint Albert's, this time serving as provincial archivist.
Raymond was a man of interesting contrasts and eclectic tastes and strong opinions. Here are a few examples shared by Fr. Roberto Corral OP., during Brother Raymond's vigil service - "in his room earlier today I found a well-worn New Testament in Spanish, a booklet from an Italian journal about the virtue of patience in the writings of St. Catherine of Siena and a novel by Michael Crichton. He enjoyed listening to classical music and Gregorian chant; yet, he learned to play the marimba in the missions and greatly enjoyed the music of the indigenous people there. He was as comfortable walking in the Vatican with the full Dominican habit – including cappa – as he was riding horseback in the jungles of Chiapas. When he was in Chiapas, he painted one of the water towers in the town in psychedelic colors – it was the 1960's after all! But then, showing his love for the Order and his own religiosity, he added a traditional Dominican shield on top of the psychedelic colors. In the days he could get around better here at St. Albert's, on Sundays he would often go to San Francisco for Mass in French at Notre Dame de Victoires, then immediately head off to Sts. Peter and Paul in North Beach for another Mass in Italian. Then he would finish up in the mission district with a Spanish Mass. Actually, to be more precise, he would finish up the day with a Chinese dinner in Chinatown for $1.99! In many ways, I would say Raymond was a good man, a good religious and even a saintly man in the way he loved the poor and in the way he accepted and lived with his health issues, particularly his cancer. Yet, he also had quite a potty mouth – not unlike a few other brothers who will remain nameless – and a devilishly mischievous side that delighted in such things as scandalizing the student brothers by telling them about the trashy novels he was reading or by admonishing them that adoration was for nuns and not for friars. I found this note on his bed earlier today written in his distinctive handwriting: "Please take notice – When the time comes for me to be taken onto the cemetery in Benicia; Please dress me up with the black scapular [the scapular worn by cooperator brothers years ago] then the white one could be fitted on top (If you don't, I'll come back and haunt you, Fr. Prior). Also, the white tunic and scapular could be taken from the older material in the sewing room. Give the nice Roman-made habit to some other friar who would appreciate this type of habit – Br. Raymond Bertheaux, OP, November 22, 2009."
Br. Raymond passed away on Thursday, November 22, 2011, aged 75. Requiem Mass was held at St. Albert's Priory, Oakland, on Wednesday, November 30, followed by interment at St. Dominic's Cemetery, Benicia.
Stateside he was assigned to Oakland, San Francisco and Kentfield, but the majority of his fifty years as a Dominican Cooperator Brother were spent outside of the country. He spent seventeen years at the Mexican Mission of the Dominican Fathers in Chiapas, where he was involved in catechetics and pre-diaconate formation. Then, he had one year of study at the Angelicum in Rome followed by twelve years at Santa Sabina in Rome, where he was assigned to the bookstore, the archives, and the production staff of "Analecta", an important publication of the Order. Next, he spent eight years in Guatemala, In the summer of 2003, he arrived to begin his third tour of duty at Saint Albert's, this time serving as provincial archivist.
Raymond was a man of interesting contrasts and eclectic tastes and strong opinions. Here are a few examples shared by Fr. Roberto Corral OP., during Brother Raymond's vigil service - "in his room earlier today I found a well-worn New Testament in Spanish, a booklet from an Italian journal about the virtue of patience in the writings of St. Catherine of Siena and a novel by Michael Crichton. He enjoyed listening to classical music and Gregorian chant; yet, he learned to play the marimba in the missions and greatly enjoyed the music of the indigenous people there. He was as comfortable walking in the Vatican with the full Dominican habit – including cappa – as he was riding horseback in the jungles of Chiapas. When he was in Chiapas, he painted one of the water towers in the town in psychedelic colors – it was the 1960's after all! But then, showing his love for the Order and his own religiosity, he added a traditional Dominican shield on top of the psychedelic colors. In the days he could get around better here at St. Albert's, on Sundays he would often go to San Francisco for Mass in French at Notre Dame de Victoires, then immediately head off to Sts. Peter and Paul in North Beach for another Mass in Italian. Then he would finish up in the mission district with a Spanish Mass. Actually, to be more precise, he would finish up the day with a Chinese dinner in Chinatown for $1.99! In many ways, I would say Raymond was a good man, a good religious and even a saintly man in the way he loved the poor and in the way he accepted and lived with his health issues, particularly his cancer. Yet, he also had quite a potty mouth – not unlike a few other brothers who will remain nameless – and a devilishly mischievous side that delighted in such things as scandalizing the student brothers by telling them about the trashy novels he was reading or by admonishing them that adoration was for nuns and not for friars. I found this note on his bed earlier today written in his distinctive handwriting: "Please take notice – When the time comes for me to be taken onto the cemetery in Benicia; Please dress me up with the black scapular [the scapular worn by cooperator brothers years ago] then the white one could be fitted on top (If you don't, I'll come back and haunt you, Fr. Prior). Also, the white tunic and scapular could be taken from the older material in the sewing room. Give the nice Roman-made habit to some other friar who would appreciate this type of habit – Br. Raymond Bertheaux, OP, November 22, 2009."
Br. Raymond passed away on Thursday, November 22, 2011, aged 75. Requiem Mass was held at St. Albert's Priory, Oakland, on Wednesday, November 30, followed by interment at St. Dominic's Cemetery, Benicia.
Brother Raymond Charles Bertheaux OP., grew up in San Francisco, from where he entered the Order in 1953. Professing on March 22, 1954, since then, he served through many ministries.
Stateside he was assigned to Oakland, San Francisco and Kentfield, but the majority of his fifty years as a Dominican Cooperator Brother were spent outside of the country. He spent seventeen years at the Mexican Mission of the Dominican Fathers in Chiapas, where he was involved in catechetics and pre-diaconate formation. Then, he had one year of study at the Angelicum in Rome followed by twelve years at Santa Sabina in Rome, where he was assigned to the bookstore, the archives, and the production staff of "Analecta", an important publication of the Order. Next, he spent eight years in Guatemala, In the summer of 2003, he arrived to begin his third tour of duty at Saint Albert's, this time serving as provincial archivist.
Raymond was a man of interesting contrasts and eclectic tastes and strong opinions. Here are a few examples shared by Fr. Roberto Corral OP., during Brother Raymond's vigil service - "in his room earlier today I found a well-worn New Testament in Spanish, a booklet from an Italian journal about the virtue of patience in the writings of St. Catherine of Siena and a novel by Michael Crichton. He enjoyed listening to classical music and Gregorian chant; yet, he learned to play the marimba in the missions and greatly enjoyed the music of the indigenous people there. He was as comfortable walking in the Vatican with the full Dominican habit – including cappa – as he was riding horseback in the jungles of Chiapas. When he was in Chiapas, he painted one of the water towers in the town in psychedelic colors – it was the 1960's after all! But then, showing his love for the Order and his own religiosity, he added a traditional Dominican shield on top of the psychedelic colors. In the days he could get around better here at St. Albert's, on Sundays he would often go to San Francisco for Mass in French at Notre Dame de Victoires, then immediately head off to Sts. Peter and Paul in North Beach for another Mass in Italian. Then he would finish up in the mission district with a Spanish Mass. Actually, to be more precise, he would finish up the day with a Chinese dinner in Chinatown for $1.99! In many ways, I would say Raymond was a good man, a good religious and even a saintly man in the way he loved the poor and in the way he accepted and lived with his health issues, particularly his cancer. Yet, he also had quite a potty mouth – not unlike a few other brothers who will remain nameless – and a devilishly mischievous side that delighted in such things as scandalizing the student brothers by telling them about the trashy novels he was reading or by admonishing them that adoration was for nuns and not for friars. I found this note on his bed earlier today written in his distinctive handwriting: "Please take notice – When the time comes for me to be taken onto the cemetery in Benicia; Please dress me up with the black scapular [the scapular worn by cooperator brothers years ago] then the white one could be fitted on top (If you don't, I'll come back and haunt you, Fr. Prior). Also, the white tunic and scapular could be taken from the older material in the sewing room. Give the nice Roman-made habit to some other friar who would appreciate this type of habit – Br. Raymond Bertheaux, OP, November 22, 2009."
Br. Raymond passed away on Thursday, November 22, 2011, aged 75. Requiem Mass was held at St. Albert's Priory, Oakland, on Wednesday, November 30, followed by interment at St. Dominic's Cemetery, Benicia.
Stateside he was assigned to Oakland, San Francisco and Kentfield, but the majority of his fifty years as a Dominican Cooperator Brother were spent outside of the country. He spent seventeen years at the Mexican Mission of the Dominican Fathers in Chiapas, where he was involved in catechetics and pre-diaconate formation. Then, he had one year of study at the Angelicum in Rome followed by twelve years at Santa Sabina in Rome, where he was assigned to the bookstore, the archives, and the production staff of "Analecta", an important publication of the Order. Next, he spent eight years in Guatemala, In the summer of 2003, he arrived to begin his third tour of duty at Saint Albert's, this time serving as provincial archivist.
Raymond was a man of interesting contrasts and eclectic tastes and strong opinions. Here are a few examples shared by Fr. Roberto Corral OP., during Brother Raymond's vigil service - "in his room earlier today I found a well-worn New Testament in Spanish, a booklet from an Italian journal about the virtue of patience in the writings of St. Catherine of Siena and a novel by Michael Crichton. He enjoyed listening to classical music and Gregorian chant; yet, he learned to play the marimba in the missions and greatly enjoyed the music of the indigenous people there. He was as comfortable walking in the Vatican with the full Dominican habit – including cappa – as he was riding horseback in the jungles of Chiapas. When he was in Chiapas, he painted one of the water towers in the town in psychedelic colors – it was the 1960's after all! But then, showing his love for the Order and his own religiosity, he added a traditional Dominican shield on top of the psychedelic colors. In the days he could get around better here at St. Albert's, on Sundays he would often go to San Francisco for Mass in French at Notre Dame de Victoires, then immediately head off to Sts. Peter and Paul in North Beach for another Mass in Italian. Then he would finish up in the mission district with a Spanish Mass. Actually, to be more precise, he would finish up the day with a Chinese dinner in Chinatown for $1.99! In many ways, I would say Raymond was a good man, a good religious and even a saintly man in the way he loved the poor and in the way he accepted and lived with his health issues, particularly his cancer. Yet, he also had quite a potty mouth – not unlike a few other brothers who will remain nameless – and a devilishly mischievous side that delighted in such things as scandalizing the student brothers by telling them about the trashy novels he was reading or by admonishing them that adoration was for nuns and not for friars. I found this note on his bed earlier today written in his distinctive handwriting: "Please take notice – When the time comes for me to be taken onto the cemetery in Benicia; Please dress me up with the black scapular [the scapular worn by cooperator brothers years ago] then the white one could be fitted on top (If you don't, I'll come back and haunt you, Fr. Prior). Also, the white tunic and scapular could be taken from the older material in the sewing room. Give the nice Roman-made habit to some other friar who would appreciate this type of habit – Br. Raymond Bertheaux, OP, November 22, 2009."
Br. Raymond passed away on Thursday, November 22, 2011, aged 75. Requiem Mass was held at St. Albert's Priory, Oakland, on Wednesday, November 30, followed by interment at St. Dominic's Cemetery, Benicia.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
