Page 12 - Michael 2024 March

u Exile
However, the storm that had been darkening the
political horizon in France for a long time erupted
violently, destroying or dispersing all the religious
congregations at the same time. Threatened by the
Combes Law of July 1, 1901 on the contract of asso-
ciation, Parliament rejected all their requests for asso-
ciation. In 1903, the Reverend Brother Abel of Chris-
tian Instruction received official notification that the
Institute would be dissolved.
From then on, the brothers were forbidden to
teach or wear the religious habit in France. Those who
resisted were driven out and their houses destroyed
or looted. For many of the brothers, this meant secu- St. Ignacius Mission, Montana
larisation. Louis Even’s younger brother, Léon, was vellous way: his study of English and his training as a
also in Ploërmel at this time. As he was only 14 years teacher. To teach the Amerindians in the US, he had to
of age, he was sent back to his family. learn English. He mastered it so well that he was later
But for the most advanced in religious life and for able to fully understand the technical economic theor-
the most fervent who decided to remain religious, ies of Clifford Hugh Douglas.
their fate was exile. Seeing the storm coming before As a teacher, he was able to translate and explain
the total collapse, the brothers sent their best mem- concepts in simple, accessible language. In 1978, a re-
bers to do mission work. tired French civil servant in economics and politics said
Louis Even had just finished his studies when of him: “I have met many professors in my life, but I
Father de la Motte, Provincial of the Jesuits in the have never met one who could explain things as clearly
Rocky Mountains, visited Ploërmel in August 1902. He as Louis Even.” Douglas himself said of Louis Even that
wanted to obtain brothers for the schools of the Amer- he was one of the few who understood him perfectly.
indian tribes in the northwest area of the US. In Canada
The law banning teaching by religious congrega-
tions had just been passed by the French Parliament Louis Even, then Brother Amaury-Joseph, arrived
in July, and the brothers, expelled from France, would in Canada on the feast day of St. John the Baptist, June
be available for foreign countries. A first group of six 24, 1906. In August 1906, Brother Amaury-Joseph
volunteers was formed. Louis Even was one of them. began his teaching career in Grand’Mère. From 1907 to
Louis Even left his beloved France for America in 1911, he taught at St-François School in the Immacu-
late Conception Parish on Rachel Street in Montreal.
February 1903. [Sixty-five years later in 1968, he re-
turned for a brief tour with the other Directors of MI- However, his deafness worsened in those years
CHAEL.] Boat journeys were difficult in those days, and he had no hearing aid to assist him. It became im-
lasting almost a month, and Louis Even was 17 years possible to supervise pupils which became a great or-
of age. deal for him, as he had taken so much pleasure in de-
It was at the Mission des Coeurs l’Alène De Smet veloping children’s intelligence and instilling in them
good principles and devotion to Mary. Louis Even had
in Idaho that the brothers perfected their English under to resign himself to the fact that his career as a teacher
the guidance of Jesuit priest, Father Athuis, and com- was coming to an end. But this was God’s Will.
pleted the 1902-1903 school year. Louis Even had an
extraordinary memory and loved flowers. He some- He was taken back to the Mother House of the Broth-
times would cultivate them instead of studying the ers of Christian Instruction in Laprairie, and, in Septem-
day’s lesson, which was a page of a text memorised ber 1911, he began work in the printing shop. The su-
in English. One day Father Arthuis arrived for the les- periors could not have known that he was to become
son, and Louis Even, having not yet read it, quickly the illustrious publisher and editor of Vers Demain, and
skimmed through the day’s page. Without delay, that this apprenticeship would serve him well.
the Father asked him to recite it... He recited part of He set up a printing shop
it, then stopped short, saying: “Excuse me, Father, I
The following notes are from Brother Pachomius,
didn’t have time to read any further.” Soon thereafter, who was an accountant at the printing shop during
Louis Even was appointed to teach to the Gros Ventre Louis Even’s time. His blood brother, the good Brother
tribe at the St. Ignace Mission in Montana from 1904
to 1906. Clément-Marie, was Louis Even’s great collaborator.
Brother Clément died in November 1979. He remained
There are two important facts to highlight at this in correspondence with Louis Even until the latter’s
stage of Louis Even’s life, which clearly demonstrate death. But let’s listen to Brother Pachomius:
the action of Providence which directed him in a mar-

12 MICHAEL March/April 2024 www.michaeljournal.org