It was a radical and unique operation in Asten in recent months. More than 200 priests from the monastery on Wilhelminastraat have been reburied. The fathers were buried behind the monastery, but now that the building is being repurposed, the remaining fathers wanted a new final resting place for their deceased brothers.
The reburial of the more than 200 priests was a unique and sensitive decision. That is why the work was hidden from the public eye as much as possible. “A few weeks ago we were able to complete the reburial”, says a satisfied project leader Leo van Bussel. “The move went really well.”
The priests are now in the parish cemetery in Asten. “Now there is still sand there, fenced off with meadow posts, so that people don’t walk over it,” says Van Bussel. “But we are working on a beautiful monument. A lot still needs to be made, but we hope to be ready before winter.” The fathers now lie in a collective grave, over which tiles are laid, made from parts of the old graves.
“This is the last thing we could do for our deceased brothers.”
In the 1960s, the monastery on the Wilhelminalaan in Asten was a bustling congregation, where young aspiring priests lived. Later it became a rest home for priests returning from their missions. No fewer than 17 languages were spoken. But the congregation was aging, at the end the monastery had only 14 inhabitants.
The fathers decided to sell the monastery and the remaining members moved to Teteringen. In principle, the deceased fathers could have remained until 2038, but their brothers were concerned about the maintenance of the graves.
Now that the fathers have been reburied, this is no longer necessary. “This was the last thing we could do for our deceased brothers,” said Father Rein van Langen, before the reburial. “The fathers will stay in Asten in this way.”
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