The idea of serving the poor in Africa — which the School Sisters of Notre Dame planted in Brother Loren Beaudry’s mind in the third grade at then-St. Albert School in Albertville — resurfaced when he was a young adult seeking to do something meaningful.
After building a home for himself near Big Lake in 1977 at age 23, Brother Beaudry wasn’t satisfied. While learning about a ministry to New York City children living on the street and St. Teresa of Kolkata’s work with the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order she founded, he remembered the sisters’ words about missions in Africa.
As Brother Beaudry’s interest grew, he began looking into the Maryknoll Catholic Society of Apostolic Life of missionary priests and brothers; 41 years ago, he entered formation to become a religious brother. “I just wanted to do something with my life,” he said.
In the years he’s been a member of the society, which serves those who are poor and suffering around the world, Brother Beaudry has worked with youth, those with mental illnesses, the elderly and other disadvantaged persons in Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania. He’s also helped promote the society’s vocations.
Brother Beaudry, 69, grew up in Albertville as the middle child in a family of 11 children. He said his parents hoped that one of their children would have a religious or priestly vocation and they supported him when he announced his plan to become a Maryknoll brother.
His call to be a brother rather than a priest has given him more freedom in choosing his ministry work and talking to people who might hesitate to share deeply with a priest, he said. He’s also found opportunities to work with those on the margins of society.
Brother Beaudry had those opportunities in his first assignment in Kenya, from 1985 to 2003, while doing pastoral work and operating a rescue center for youth experiencing homelessness in Mombasa. He spent the next three years promoting vocations and earning a college degree in New York, then returned to Africa, this time with youth in Namibia for four years before moving in 2011 to Tanzania, where he still serves.
One of Brother Beaudry’s ministries is weekly visits to the Bukumbi Rehabilitation Village for the Mentally Ill in Mwanza, where he spends time with the roughly 20 adult and child residents who can’t live independently, including a man and woman with hearing and speech impediments and known in the village as “Joseph and Maria,” he said.
“A lot of (the patients) don’t have families and they’re just by themselves and I think it’s the show of God’s love to them, to be present with them,” said Brother Beaudry, who socializes and plays bingo with the residents. He also started a program to improve their diet with rice, fruits and vegetables.
Along with people with mental illnesses, Brother Beaudry is present to senior citizens, disabled and youth while he works with Tanzanian men discerning a vocation to be Maryknoll missioners.
As Brother Beaudry prepares to turn 70 in December, he said he should probably retire but he enjoys serving in Tanzania and wants to continue as long as he’s healthy.
The Tanzanian people’s friendliness and openness are reasons Brother Beaudry delays retirement. Cultural differences between countries are real, he said, but what has impacted him in his years as a Maryknoll missionary brother is how similar people are across cultures.
“When I hear a story like the refugees coming from Mexico or something, I can see them as my brothers and sisters also,” he said. “I think there’s a stronger feeling of we’re all the same. We’re all one.”
