Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1913-08-09
Ruled Monastery of Our Lady
of the Lake of Two
Mountains.
Built Stone Structure With His
Own Hands and Cultivated
Vast Acres.
HIS WORK A GRAND MONUMENT

Silent sadness broOds over the
Trappist Monastery of Our Lady of
the Lake of Two Mountains, for the
Right Rev. Dominus Antoine Oyer,
o. G. R., mitred Abbot of Okla, is
dead. The rigorous code of the
Trappists forbids unnecessary speech,
wherefor the brothers of the great
Canadian monastery received the
news with sealed lips and grieve
silently for their Abbot. The Trap
pists are great agriculturists, and not
the least Of the reasons for the love
his brothers bore the Right Rev. An
tome Oyer is the manner in which
he, their ruler, always shared equally
with them their labor. In the fields
and orchards, in the vegetable gar
dens, in the poultry farms, he worked
with the strongest and he did his
share in the cheese factories and the
canning factories owned by the Trap
pists. He lived up to the letter and
the spirit of the Trappist VOWS, which
entail silence, poverty, hard labor
and piety.
Born at Jumelliere, France, in
1852, Antoine studied at the Little
Seminary of Mongazon at Anglers,
after which he spent four years in the
| Grand Seminary. In 1877 he was
J ordained a priest and was afterward
named professor of science at the Col
lage of Saumar. Four years later he
left the secular clergy to enter the
famous Trappist order, and for that
purpose he retired to Bellefontaine
and was admitted by the Mitred Abb
bot of the place. After his two years
Of probation and after making his
solemn profession in the order he
was named novice master to the
| working brothers of the order. In
| 1886 he was sent out co Canada TO
| establish not one brit many monas-
teries throughout the Dominion. Five
years before this four Frappists had
! seen sent to Canada to establish
| monastery near Okla. The place
selected for that purpose was situated
IN the district of Two Mountains,
about thirty-four miles from the city
Of Montreal and three miles from the
| wilderness, where wild animals
roamed at will and few white men
had entered 1t. He was named Prior
or Superior of the monastery and set
tp work with an indomitable will, a
rugged constitution and a strong
heart to try to clear the land.
II was no easy task to accomplish.
With only dozen members of the
order he toiled continuously, telling
trees, turning out stones and laying
the foundations for buildings.
Year after year the work pro-
gressed until a stone monastery was
built and the Abbot of Bellefontaine
visited the place. AS the community
members, 1t was necessary to elect
an Abbot to rule the monks. Accord
lngly the Abbots of Bellefontaine and
Tracadie, Nova Scotia and the lead
ing members of the community at
Okla named the Right Rev. Dom.
Antoine Oyer, o. G. R., the first
mitred Abbot of the Monastery of
Our Lady of the Lake of Two Noun
tains, Quebec. On July %, 1902, at
o'clock in the afternoon, fire oc-
Cured in the dormitory part of the
monastery and before night the en-
tire building was in ruins. The Abb
bot was absent at the time and on his
return a sad sight greeted him. All
the property of the monks in the
shape Of clothes, books and other VAL
uables was reduced to ashes. Dom.
Antoine set to work and with
monetary assistance from Catholics
and non-Cathollcs in both Canada and
the United States he was able to erect
the present beautiful monastery. The
Abbot leaves behind him veritable
monuments to his work in the shape
of the industries he established and
the farm lands he wrested from the
forest. OF the two thousand acres OF
land owned by the Trappists at Okla
fifteen hundred acres are under culti-
gation. They include the finest
ginseng gardens in Canada.
When the Abbot learned that no
hope was held out for his recovery
he asked that he be carried to the
chapel to witness the ceremonies at
tendant upon one of the major feasts
over which he had presided for so
many years. His wish was carried
out, and he was able to bless four new
brothers, who then became members
OF the order In accordance with the
Trappist custom the Right Rev. DOM
inus Antoine Oyer was buried without
coffin and a simple white wooden
cross marks his grave In the mon
astery burying ground.