Obituary of Bro. Leo Bauer

With great sadness we received the news from Bro. Karl-Heinz Haag of Furth, Germany that Bro. Leo died on 24th August 2004. Let us offer our pious suffrages for the eternal repose of Bro. Leo's soul.

Bro. Karl-Heinz's Message from Furth, Germany

Dear SFX-Boys,

As you may have heard or read after the short notice we sent by email to a number of addresses we have in our computer address book Bro. Leo Bauer died on Tuesday, 24th August 2004, at the age of 86 years. He was buried in the brothers' cemetery at Furth on Friday, 27th of August.

Bro. Leo who is the brother of Bro. Konrad Bauer in Hong Kong had come to China in 1936 only a short time after he had professed his first vows in Italy.

From 1936 - 1938 he did his teacher's training in Shanghai and Bejing. Right at the beginning he had a very dangerous and difficult experience. He was kidnapped with a few other Marist Brothers in their Scholasticate in Sha Laa only a short distance outside Bejing. It was during the Chinese/Japanese war that "bandits" - as Bro. Leo used to call them - kept the brothers for 48 days in their hiding places. The brothers and their kidnappers kept hidden during the day and moved to different locations all through the night. In the end there were only two brothers left because the others were released because of their exhaustion. Nobody ever told Bro. Leo whether a ransom was paid for his release or whatever reason it was that he could join his brothers after 48 days. Bro. Leo refrained from speaking about his experiences during those days. Very often there was nothing to eat, only some kind of cigarettes they were offered to subdue their hunger.

From 1938 till 1952 he taught in Tientsin and later in Shanghai; like all other foreign missionaries he was expelled from mainland China; it was only then that he got the first chance to return to Europe to see his relatives in Germany and then join a Marist course on Marist themes in France. Soon he returned to Hong Kong where he met his brother Konrad again. First the brothers had to live in rented flats and teach in State schools.

But in 1955 they started St. Francis Xavier's College and soon St. Francis Xavier's School in Tsuen Wan. Bro. Leo taught in both institutions until 1975. He then felt that he could try a new start in Germany with Bro. Hildebald (Francis) Müller and Bro. George Regul who had also returned to Germany.

But after two years he realized that pupils and students in Germany were not as eager to learn and achieve their goals than he was used to in Hong Kong. That's why he took on the job of a receptionist in the Marist boarding school at Cham. He was very much loved by the students and the personnel there and it was only after he had suffered a minor stroke that he decided to move on to Furth where old and sick brothers are cared for in a special living unit.

Last year on the 6th of March he celebrated his 85th birthday and was very happy to be remembered by so many of his former students. He also had the great joy to welcome some of his old acquaintances at Furth: in 2000 Peter Takaoki Imaizumi from Japan who had been taught by Bro. Leo in Shanghai in 1952; later there was Bro. Stephen Bosco from New York who paid a visit to him; then Winston Lee and his family came to see him and last year in October Bro. Joseph Chang was glad to see him in a reasonably good condition.

But in winter Bro. Leo's health started deteriorating and in the end Bro. Leo could only be taken into the brothers' community in his wheelchair. During the last few weeks he became weaker and weaker and it was hard to have a small talk with him; his voice was very low in the end. Bro. Leo also confessed if you asked him that he was suffering pains. So it was a mere redemption when he could die and return home to his redeemer Jesus Christ and his Good Mother Mary.

On behalf of the Marist Brothers' Convent at Furth and also of his only Brother Richard in Germany and his many nieces and nephews I would like to thank all of the brothers and old boys he sent condolences and paid tribute to their former teacher who kept on to be a musician and sportsman when he had returned to Germany. Until the last few days before he died he still showed interest in sporting events and their respective results. - I think that Bro. Leo Bauer also earned a gold medal when he closed his eyes for good while the Olympic Games in Athens were still going on.

Kind regards to all of you who will remember Bro. Leo as one of their beloved teachers.

God Bless, Bro. Karl-Heinz Haag fms
Maristenkloster
Klosterstr. 4
D-84095 Furth bei Landshut (about 80 kms outside Munich airport)

FAX: 0049-8704-9129-92
Phone: 0049-8704-9129-0
Email: chamfms@aol.com
karl-heinz.fms@maristen.org
Homepage: www.maristen.org

N.B.
If anybody of you gets a chance to come to the south of Germany (Munich) please stop over at Furth which is situated 12 kms outside the 800-year-old city of Landshut; if you give us a call we will be at the railway station to take you to Furth where you will be shown the graves of at least 4 Marist Brothers who taught in Hong Kong or Shanghai (there was also Brother Otto Knauer). We usually have ample space to have visitors with us for a night or two.