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By Will Johnson
I had a copy of a photo taken from a book of 1951 of the R.C. Church on St.Eustatius.
I had never noticed that which was written under the photograph until recently. I was taken aback when I saw the description which stated: "Little white seaside church under dark palm trees; its days are numbered."
I thought;"I have to take a second look at that book. What does the author mean about the church's days on St.Eustatius being numbered?"
The book is entitled" The Netherlands West Indies", by Willem van de Poll and published in The Hague in 1951. It contains many wonderful old photographs of that period in the islands' history.
Anyway upon reading what he wrote it was not what I thought. He was writing about the dangers of the cliff falling down from erosion. This is what he wrote:
" I, sat down next to one of the old guns on the low, thick wall of the fort. Between the dilapidated ruins of the warehouses on the beach below me trees and shrubs now sprout up. How long things will remain like this, no one knows and only time will tell. To the right of me huge lumps of earth fall out of the wall that descends steeply from the plateau on which the present village lies; in a year or so it will probably be the turn of the nice little Roman Catholic Church, clean white among the green palm trees and ever closer to being devoured by the raging tide."
Thanks to the restoration of Claes Gut in the nineteen seventies, thank God there is no immediate threat of the Roman Catholic Church sliding down the hillside.
In 1836 Mgr. M.J. Niewindt visited the Windward Islands from Curacao. After184l priests from that island started regular visits to St.Eustatius. The island had been traditionally Protestant (Dutch Reformed and Methodist). There had been a prior history of Roman Catholic priests on St.Eustatius. Already on December 19th, 1666 a Captain named Gerrit Bogaert from Zeeland had drawn attention to the situation on St.Eustatius. He was writing from the island of St.Kitts at a time that the French, English and Dutch were all fighting over St.Eustatius. He wrote to the West India Company in Holland that a French priest had advised the French King that St.Eustatius belonged to the Dutch. Dr. J. Hartog and other historians such as Hamelberg all wonder if that priest was already active on St.Eustatius.
In the middle of the eighteenth century St.Eustatius was served by priests from St.Barths. In the archives of the church in Gustavia there was a document dated November 19th, 1762 of two priests Fathers Terentius MacDonnell and Father Thomas Devenish, who call themselves "missionaries apostoliques authorizes par Clement X11" for the Danish and the Dutch islands, whereby St.Eustatius and St.Maarten are mentioned by name. The two priests demand the right to perform marriages on St.Eustatius (" nous reservons aussi de permettre la solennite tant qu'il n'y aura pas des pretres de notre mission a St.Eustace pur celebrer la sainte ceremonie.."). In November and December 1762 one of the two aforementioned priests is on St.Eustatius and performs baptisms there (on the 8th and 19th of November and on the 9th of December) "in sacello parpchiali insulae Si. Eustatii."
In 1777 French priest Father C. Perrot O.F.M. Cap was working on St.Eustatius.
That in 1762 there was a sacellum or chapel on St.Eustatius is confirmed by the church chronicles of St.Eustatius, which begin later than those of St.Barths, but which mentions a church which existed between 1765 and 1781. Evidently the church was there some years earlier. It was mentioned as a private property forming part of a group of buildings on The Bay owned by Mr. Jan Dijkers on the lower end of the Lower Town and bounding the sea. No separate church building thus, so that it is understandable that Lieutenant Cornelius de Jong who visited St.Eustatius in 1780 and who writes about the different church buildings does not mention any Roman Catholic Church.
The first priest who mentions the chronicle of St.Eustatius is Charles de la Pointe., who visited St.Eustatius in 1771, followed by the aforementioned father C.Perrot, obviously from their names they were French priests. A Dominican priest Father Willem Jacobs, stopped at St.Eustatius in 1777 on his way back to Belgium.
There was at the time no organized effort by the Roman Catholics under the slave population of St.Eustatius. The Methodist Bishop Dr. Thomas Coke had visited St.Eustatius in 1787 and the Methodists were very active in converting the slave population to Methodism.
The priests who visited the island from time to time were mostly active among the Catholic Spaniards, Italians, French and some Irish who lived on the island at the height of its prosperity.
After the capture of the island by Admiral George Rodney, priests continued to visit. In 1783 a secular priest J.O.Longhlin visited. In 1785 there was a visit from Father Augustine Franscisco Remon Mato. We know this from the Records of the Dutch Reformed Church because both priests baptized the children of protestant parents as well. This custom also existed on the Leeward Islands as remarkable as it may seem.
According to Mgr. Niewindt who visited St.Eustatius in 1836 and who could consult records which no longer exist, he said that since 1787 the Church on St.Eustatius had been destroyed and that there had hardly ever been a priest to the island since 1787.
However a priest Father Josephus Alvarez who arrived on St.Eustatius in the spring of 1789 give a state of the church in 1790 without mentioning a church building as such. In 1858 Father F. van Blarcum who was then stationed on the island discovered in the government archives a status paroechiae of St.Eustatius which was signed by Father J.Alvarez on January 7th, 1790, when he was on the island a considerable time already, because he states that for Easter he had counted approximately 500 people, black as well as white, in the Mass.
His salary consisted of one peso per month which was only paid by twelve members of the church. He also received some loose change from catholic foreigners. Alvarez lived in a house which he rented. He said that he did not know any poor in his congregation however if anyone asked for alms he would give of the little which he had. Even though he did not seem to be very active on behalf of his church, nevertheless around Easter in 1790 when he was on St.Eustatius a year already, 25 catholics signed a petition requesting for him to remain. This Spanish priest was working in St.Barths in 1795.
If there were 500 Catholics on St.Eustatius in 1790, by 1817 there were only 30 left over.
On August 18th, 1824 the priest M.J. Niewindt, accompanied by Father J. B. Eisenbeil and a servant who were on their way to Curacao, visited the island. They had just crossed the Atliantic coming out from Holland and the island was their first port of call. They visited Governor Van Spengler who although not a Catholic himself invited the two priests to hold a Mass at his private home..This took place the following day in the presence of several inhabitants, under whom many claimed not to have attended a Mass in many a year. After the service the priest baptized seven children. Several people requested Governor Van Spengler to intercede so that a Priest could be appointed for the island. He promised he would write a letter to the Minister of Colonies to that effect.
Although constitutionally the islands were separated Mgr. Niewindt was able to have on January 7th, 1827 the Dutch islands declared to be under the prefect of Curacao.
On April 27th, 1836 Father Niewindt arrived on St.Eustatius after a trip which had started on Curacao on April 12, but that was in the days of the sailing schooners and anything could happen.
Niewindt had already informed the Act. Governor Theophilus G. Groebe of his arrival, who had pledged every form of cooperation to anyone who came in the name of God to bring religious instruction to the people of the island.
However the reception they received from him was cold and when they asked about renting a house he sent them to a government official who informed them that at best there were 4 catholics on the island. Niewindt said that after some research he could claim around seventy catholics on the island.
In 1841 finally Niewindt was able to meet his promise of stationing a permanent priest on St.Eustatius. This was J.F.A. Kistemaker from Oldenzall in The Netherlands.
In the history of the church the year 1841 is very important for St.Eustatius. Before that time as we can see the island was only served incidentally by a priest and in some cases as with Father Niewindt himself the priests could not speak a word of English. Of the 70 catholics from 1836 there remained only fifty over and there was no church as well. Kistemaker rented a house on the same street on which the Dutch reformed church was located and kept Mass there. In 1843 he bought the house for f.1200.--, but in 1845 he exchanged it for a larger house which belonged to local councilor Melville Wood Cruger. This house was located close to the edge of the cliff and Cruger was afraid that it would slide down the hillside, so therefore he was willing for the exchange. Until 1910 this building served as the church. After that it was restored and served as the school and a dwelling for the Roman Catholic nuns. Kistemaker worked hard and soon he had 160 catholics registered as members of the church.
His efforts brought him in conflict with the Methodist pastor William Satchell who started on Tuesdays an anti-Roman Catholic Service. Kistemaker felt the need to complain to the Governor a.i. Theophilus George Greobe to restore order. Pastor Satchell when questioned by Groebe informed him that he was not setting his flock against the catholics. He claimed that he was just explaining them that the system was corrupt and soul destroying," and that " the church of Rome in her nature and tendency was blasphemously wicked." He had called on his flock to draw the sword from the sheave and to fight the Papacy, which according to Kistemaker was dangerous in a society which was largely illiterate. The complaint was sent to the Governor-General in Surinam who asked Mr. Groebe to bring order to the situation. Mr. Groebe informed the Methodist Minister that all religions were equal under the law and that there should be no provocation of one religion against the other. Shortly after that Satchel left the island but it was only the beginning of a long conflict between the Methodists and the Roman Catholics for souls on St.Eustatius.
On March 10th, 1847 in the evening Mgr. Niewindt arrived on St.Eustatius after a very tough voyage from Curacao in which he had encountered two storms, one near Tortola which Niewindt said that in his many journeys by sea he had never experienced such bad weather.
The following day Father Kistemaker welcomed him to the island and proudly showed him the church property including the burial ground which he had purchased from the colonial secretary Mr. Ph.D.Th.M. Spiro for fls. 48.-
Whereas there were only 50 parishioners in 1841, now there were 180. While there 52 people were confirmed by Niewindt. He discussed the need for a catholic school on the island. Shortly after that Father Kistemaker went on vacation and Father Ten Brink from Sint Maarten took his place. By Royal decree of 28 August 1854 the priest on the island was given a salary of fls.600.-per year to be paid from the colonial budget.
In 1853, Father J.C.Gast O.S.Cr. who, was stationed on Saba came to temporarily replace Kistemaker. Niewindt who was now Bishop was having health problems, and Kistemaker was back and forth from St.Eustatius until 1857 when he was transferred to Curacao. After he left some prominent Statians wrote a letter to the" Curacaosche Courant" in which they praised Kistemaker for his tolerance and the work which he had done on St.Eustatius.
In October 1857 the new priest Johannes F. van Blarcum arrived. He requested Father Kistemaker who was going to Europe to become the new bishop for the Dutch West Indies to try and find a statue of the patron saint of St.Eustatius. However the saint was not so well known and the congregation had to wait until 1902 to get a small statue of Saint Eustache. This was found in Europe by Mgr. Ambrosius van Baars and given to the Roman Catholic Community of St.Eustatius.
At the end of 1864 there were once again problems between the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. Father Josephus Kock from Saba was acting priest. Unaccustomed to the zealotry of the Methodists and he being a very impatient Jesuit priest, several disputes arose. The Lt. Governor felt compelled to intervene and to restore order.
In 1868 on the 9th of July on orders from Rome the Dominican priests took over the Dutch West Indian islands. However except in a few cases where a Dominican priest was acting as a replacement it was not until 1890 that Sint Eustatius got its first Dominican priest in the person of Father Valentinus Dalmatius Kors O.P.
The church on St.Eustatius was further blessed in 1890 by Cathy Lespier a fourteen year old devout Catholic girl from a prominent family. Cathy Lespier was such a great organist that many people were attracted to the church. Until her death at the age of 79 she was the organist in the church on St.Eustatius. In our research on history the Lespier family used to send their daughters to Ponce Puerto Rico to further their education. The President of the Dominican Republic, the late Joaquim Balaguer's grandmother was a Lespier from Ponce. We have reason to believe that she was one of the members of the large Lespier family of St.Eustatius.
In 1890 there were 30 converts; in 1898, there were 45. From 1894 to 1897 the Rectory was built at a cost of f. 3.131.35. To turn the old rectory into a home for the Nuns and a school Father Jan P. Delgeur O.P. was given f.100.-to build benches and to purchase school materials. An additional f.50.-was given later on by the Apostalic Vicar. Of course even back then this was insufficient to do all which was required.
Father Delgeur introduced for Christmas 1903 a crib and nativity scene in the church. And in 1909 he started the preparations for the building of the new church. Father Delgeur laid the first stone for the new church on January 20th, 1910. The church was built with masons from Nevis and carpenters from Curacao, because nearly all of the good tradesmen had emigrated and the few remaining ones were working in the cotton industry. The church had the typical problems encountered in the West Indies while being built. There were times that no lumber was available. Other times there was not enough lime. The mason went first to St.Kitts where he found no lime then to St.Barths where it took him some time to get back to the island. The altar was sent to Saba to father G.J.M. Dalhaus who was a good painter for him to complete.
There were enough stones however. The church is built with stones from the ruins in the Lower Town which were brought up one by one. There were fireworks on the evening of June 12th, 1910. Governor Gerrit J. van Grol in his address to Father Delgeur remarked:
" Your mother will be glad, that it has been given to you as petition to her prayer to complete your church.") .After that speech father Delgeur consecrated the new church. The costs of the new church were f 6.369.01. The old school and the house of the nuns were broken down on the 23rd of June; the old church was rebuilt as a house for the nuns and a school. The costs were f.2.522.72.
Shortly after the dedication of the new church Sint Eustatius was visited by Dr. C.W. Currier, a great grandson of Commander Johannes de Graaf, who was born on St.Thomas in 1857, but who had lived on Sint Eustatius , between the age of 3 and 10 years. After that he had returned to St.Thomas where he went to school to the Belgian Redemption priests. Later he joined that congregation and was sent to Holland to follow school at that same order and then became a missionary in Surinam.In 1882 he went to the United States where he became a secular priest. There he made such a career that in 1910 he became Bishop of the Philipines. Because of reasons of health he did not accept the appointment. From August 2nd to August 5th he was on Sint Eustatius and preached in the new church. A full church, as numerical the church had now reached its highest number, namely 417 parishioners.
The new church stimulated many more people to attend Mass. Father Delgeur worked for a long time on St.Eustatius. In April 1911 he celebrated his copper anniversary, but at the end of that year he was transferred.
Circumstances like this which would have warranted special mention did not occur after this glorious period in the history of the church. The great works of providing buildings had been completed by Father Delgeur. We need only mention that Father Theodorus Exler O.P. in October 1921 with his own funds started a library for the youth and in February 1923 a new organ costing f.500.- arrived on the island for the church.
After World War 1 there was a mass exodus of people from St.Eustatius to Curacao and Aruba to work in the oil refineries there. Many people had also immigrated to the United States even before that. In 1931 there were only 224 Roman Catholics left on the island, and the population had reached a low point of only 955 people.
However some improvements still took place during the following years. In May of 1935 thanks to an electric generator ,the church, rectory and home of the nuns could enjoy occasionally electric lights. In October 1952 the Rectory got a telephone installed.
Even though there were not many well-to-do parishioners on the island nevertheless in June of 1952 the church was enriched with ten glass-in-lead church windows depicting the glory of the secrets of the Holy Rosary. In August 1954 there came a new altar, and on February 28th 1955 a new church clock was installed . The old one was sent to the church in Suffisant on Curacao. In January 1957 a new organ was received costing fl.s950.-and in May of that same year a new tabernacle was put into use.
In preparation of the 50th anniversary of the church in 1960 a new floor was put down in 1959 costing f 7.244.--, of which in 1957 f.200.-had been collected among the parishioners on the occasion of the jubilee of Father Th.Exler O.P.
Considering the fact that the priests had to work in isolation, seldom was there a complaint from those who served the church. The only outing the priests enjoyed was occasionally to do some shopping or to visit the doctor on St.Kitts and then they could visit their fellow priests on that island. Also the Nuns could sometimes visit their Flemish colleagues who were working on St. Kitts.
The priests were Jack of all trades. Father Willibrord M. van Teefelen O.P. could repair clocks and as he was the only one on St.Eustatius at the time who knew how to do this, it was an entire ceremony. Dr. Johan Hartog recalls how in 1945 he made the rounds with the good father to repair clocks. Father van Teefelen reserved the right to wind the clock himself when it was repaired. On that particular morning ten clocks were repaired. He said it was as pleasant as curious to do the rounds with Father. Most people did not have any work and so the entire family would be at home looking on and would break into loud applause when the clock started working again.
The priests lived lonely lives and died lonely. When some nuns arrived back on St.Eustatius on January 3rd ,1947, from their vacation on St.Kitts, father Van Teefelen was there to greet them. But the following morning when he did not appear on the altar, it was with some reluctance that the nuns went to open his bedroom after he did not respond to their calls. They found him lying on the floor where he had been the entire night, struck with a stroke. There was a delegation of parliament on the island at the time among which was a medical doctor. He together with the local doctor tried their best but father Van Teefelen died after having served more than thirty years on the Windward Islands away from his homeland his family and friends.
Despite the animosity between the Methodists and the Roman Catholics in the beginning, because of his popularity among people of all faiths, when Father Van Teefelens remains were being carried to his last resting place, the Rev. Minister R. Warner accompanied by the Methodist Youth Organizations followed the casket in a solemn procession.
The last years the church on St.Eustatius has been served by priests from the Philipines.
The way in which the church has been operating over the past years is known to the present generation. However many are unaware of the history of the church in former times and that in 2010 the church building still in use now will be 100 years old.
This small history is dedicated to Father Raffie the present Parish Priest and to Sister Monique who asked me to do some research on the history of the Roman Catholic Church of St.Eustatius.
Saba, December 24th, 2007
W.S. "Will" Johnson
The Level, Saba
Literature consulted:
Encyclopedie van de Nederlandse Antillen
De Bovenwindse Eilanden: Dr. J.Hartog
Gouden Jubileum der Dominicaner Missie op Curacao, 1870- 1920
The Netherlands West Indies, Willem van de Pol,
Etc.
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