Appeared in The Catholic Virginian October 16, 2000

Father Gueric Heckel, OCSO

On Thursday, September 28, on the eve of the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, a bus left Richmond, picked up passengers in Emporia and traveled 7 1/2 hours to Moncks Corner, South Carolina and the Trappists' Monastery in Mepkin, South Carolina. Of the 26 passengers, 10 were priests from around the diocese. We came to celebrate the decision of the former Father Fred Heckel to take solemn vows, which would permanently make him a Trappist monk. Joining us were others from the Richmond diocese as well as his dear mother Leah Margret, age 82, from Elkins, West Virginia. Family members included his three brothers and two sisters.

Many members of the diocese remember Father Fred because his priestly labor among us noted for its dedication, concern for the less fortunate and commitment to service. Father Fred was ordained a priest by Bishop John Russell in 1966. He spent three years as associate at Sacred Heart, South Richmond and then a couple of years as director of the Catholic Home Bureau in Newport News and as an Associate at St. Vincent's Parish. He had 2 pastorates first at St. Jerome's in Newport News for four years, then as pastor at Resurrection Parish in Portsmouth for five years.

I remember Fred coming to see me and expressing an interest in hospital ministry. He took Clinical Pastoral Education at Duke University and then served five years in the pastoral care department at Duke with another four years at the medical College of Virginia in Richmond. I remember vividly Fred's special interest in the care of the sick and elderly. He reached out with pastoral concern to HIV/AIDS patients at MCV. He had a special knack for empathy with critically ill and dying patients. He gave meaning both to suffering and even death itself.

We at the Cathedral had the blessings of his pastoral presence for three years. Besides his concern for the less fortunate, Fred had a special talent for flower arrangements and decoration. The Cathedral glowed on special feasts because of his artistic touch. Needless to say, it came as a surprise to me when, in 1994, Fred asked my permission to become a Trappist Monk at Metkin Abbey in South Carolina. I did not think of Fred as a contemplative, but as I look back, Fred had a quiet reserve about himself and certainly a deeply rooted spirituality centered in contemplation.

I gave permission for Fred to go to Metkin because I felt that the diocese was not losing a priest but gaining a spiritual family. When we arrived at Metkin on September 28, we were greeted by Abbott Francis Kline, whom I have known since he gave a great retreat for the bishops of our region and another for all the priests of the diocese. When we saw Fred that evening and the next morning we were greeted by a smile from ear to ear and we knew that Fred, now Gueric, had made the right choice. All of us were thrilled to be present for the ceremony of solemn vows, which at that moment released Fred from all ties with Richmond except for spiritual ones.

I had the privilege of presenting Gueric to Abbott Francis and I did so, not with reluctance or a sense of loss because of our growing priest shortage, but with a real joy of knowing that one of our own will be praying for us each day. Incidentally, Father Gueric has a special responsibility to the elders of the monastery and serves as an apprentice for his special calling. On that day of September 29, the Feast of St. Michael, I have never seen a happier priest and I knew that I had made the right decision six years ago when I said yes to Fred who wanted to become Fr. Gueric at the Trappist Monastery.

During my years with Bishop John Russell, he spoke often with fondness of the Monks at Metkin Abbey. The Abbey was founded in 1949 with 29 monks coming from the Abbey in Gethsemani in Kentucky. The property along the picturesque Cooper River that flowed to Charleston was given by Henry and Clare Booth Luce. It is famous for its beautiful landscape and gardens which were partially destroyed by Hurricane Hugo. Father Gueric gave us a tour of the gardens, the chapel, the library, the dining area and senior wing. He got all excited in telling us of his plans to have new gardens, shrubs and plants which will make Metkin the showplace of creation spirituality.

Father Gueric will lead an austere life of solitude and contemplation mixed in with the daily manual work which reflects the divine work of creation and restoration. Through the work of their hands, the 27 monks provide for the livelihood of the community. It is rather mind-boggling to realize that the monks sell 30,000 eggs each day to local community stores. They also specialize in organic fertilizer which I used on my own garden in Richmond, a gift from Father Gueric.

I can say without hesitation that the visitors from Richmond were the ones gaining not losing. I feel spiritually uplifted in knowing that one who labored among us in priestly ministry for 28 years has now chosen a life a of contemplation. With the day of his solemn vows, Richmond became linked to Metkin and all of us spiritually enriched, Father Gueric, in his life as a Trappist, reminds us each day of the Lord's call to follow him without looking back. When Abbott Francis clothed Fr. Gueric in the cowl, he said "May the Lord clothe you in the new self which grows in wisdom as you are formed anew into the image of Christ." Are not those words true for all of us as we respond to the call of Jesus to follow him without hesitation, without compromise, but with a certain abandonment? It is here, whether we are a parish priest, a Trappist monk or a dedicated member of the faithful, that we find true and lasting happiness.
 
 

+ Walter F. Sullivan
Bishop of Richmond