October 10
Edward V. Hattrick, O.S.A.Edward V. Hattrick , O.S.A.
  1929-2007

Edward Vernon Hattrick, O.S.A., was born on November 27, 1929, at Riverhead, Long Island, New York, the son of William J. and Mary (Hayes) Hattrick. He had one brother, William, and one sister, Constance. He was baptized on December 15, 1929, in Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Riverhead, New York. He attended Riverhead Public Elementary and High School (1935-1947), and one year at Villanova College (1947-1948). He then applied to admission to the Order and was received as a novice on September 9, 1948. Following his novice year at Good Counsel Novitiate, New Hamburg, New York, he made first profession of vows on September 10, 1949. He then returned to Villanova College to complete his BA degree, graduating in June 1952. He professed solemn vows on September 10, 1952. From 1952 to 1956 he studied theology at Augustinian College, Washington, DC, and was ordained to the priesthood on February 4, 1956, by Bishop John McNamara at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. From 1956 to 1958 he taught at Archbishop Carroll High School and obtained an MA in English from the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.

In 1958, after spending three months at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish, Jamaica, New York, he sailed for Nagasaki, Japan, as part of the third group of friars to the Japanese Missions. He went with Joseph O’Connor and John Sheridan, to join the first group, (1952), George Krupa, Thomas Purcell and Edward Robinson, and the second group, (1954), Edward Griffin and Gerry Ryan. His first assignment was to Our Mother of Consolation Friary and Parish, Nagasaki, where he served from 1958 to 1979. From 1979 to 1982 he was assigned to Saint Augustine’s Friary and Parish, where he was Director of Formation. From 1982 to 1989, he served in Nagoya at Saint Monica’s Friary and Parish. He returned to Nagasaki and served there from 1989 to 1997.

In 1997, after almost forty years of service in the Japanese missions, and, at the age of 68, Fr. Ed volunteered for the Province’s new mission at Botha’s Hill, in the Archdiocese of Durban, South Africa. There, he worked in the English-speaking parish of Our Lady of Mercy, Kloof, and in the two Zulu-speaking missions of that parish, St. Helen’s and St. Leo’s, both of which he was instrumental in establishing. After ten years of service there, because of failing health, he returned to Villanova and was assigned to Saint Thomas Monastery.

Fr. Hattrick passed over to the Lord in the early afternoon of October 10, 2007, at the age of 77.

Fr. Ed was dedicated to the living and the spreading of the Gospel. He was someone who did not allow the difficulty of language nor the adaptation to new cultures to be an obstacle to his zeal and dedication. He was involved in many building projects throughout the course of his ministry, but his most important concern and the focus of his ministry were the people he served, building up their faith by his tireless compassion, good example, and encouragement of all their efforts.

A funeral Mass was celebrated for Fr. Ed on October 15 at St. Thomas of Villanova Church, Villanova University. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.

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Reflection by Tierney Echelmeier Norris:

I am saddened at the news of Fr. Eddie's passing on to the Lord.... but only saddened for those of us left behind, especially his brother and sister and fellow Augustinian brothers. I know he is at peace..... I met Fr. Eddie first in 2004 when I travelled to South Africa as an Augustinian Volunteer. In this short two month visit, I was able to capture the essence of Fr. Eddie's existence - one of devotion to his vocation, one of dedication to the poor of Kwa Zulu Natal, and one of peaceful living. A year later, I had the incredible opportuntity to retun to South Africa to volunteer for a whole year from 2005-2006. In this time, I had even more experiences with Fr. Eddie to know how wonderful a man he really is. His everyday life poured out with faith in action - he DID for others, formed and maintained close relationships with the Zulus, travelled into the deep valleys to deliver food to families who otherwise only had water for dinner meals, treated all with respect. He preached meaningfully at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Kloof, leaving the congregation hanging on every word and then also transcribing the sermon for future spiritually inspirational reading. He was very dedicated to celebrating the Eucharist every day, even if he was alone. I had the joy of sharing a private mass with him in St. Rita's Friary while I was a volunteer in need of some peace. A special memory that I hold close.... After hearing the news that Fr. Eddie would be returning to the States, I often wondered how he would cope and adjust back into life in such a crazy world, so much different than what he had known in his ministry in Japan and South Africa. I thought about how difficult and painful it must have been to leave a place he loved so much, but more importantly, the people he loved and who loved him. In the chaos of planning my wedding two weeks ago (to a South African from Kloof parish who Fr. Eddie knew well and approved of very much!), I happily found my way to room 373 at Bryn Mawr Hospital to visit the man who had opened my eyes to so much. I went for a visit, but also to find out if he would be well enough to celebrate our wedding mass with Fr. Joe and Fr. Jim. He sat up in his chair, all bundled up in layers of clothing and blankets, seemingly very cold on a summer day. In our hour together, he told me so much.... He told me that he thought he would be in hospital for 3 days and now it was a week after that - 10 days in hospital - and only worsening health updates from the doctors. He would not be well enough to be on the altar for our wedding, which Greg and I understood completely. He woud be there in prayer and spirit, he told me. As a nurse, I wanted all the details... was he able to eat and drink, how did the kidney removal surgery go, was he urinating okay (he wasn't offended by my personal questions!), what were they doing for pain management, were the nurses treating him well.... And to all of this he was honest... the nurses were wonderful, the doctors also very good, but unable to give him any positive news. He was frustrated by the amount of fluids they were expecting him to drink in such a short amount of time and he was keenly aware of the drastic changes in his own physical abilities even in the short amount of time he was in hospital. He said that only a few weeks ago, he was able to take a walk around the grounds of the friary at Villanova for 30 minutes. Now, as he sat in the hospital chair, he doubted he would even be able to do 2 minutes down the hallway. He said the pain medication was definitely helping and joked he could get used to the euphoric feeling of the medication! But in all of our conversation, I was overwhelmed by his serenity and peace with the thought of death. He said that his prayers were no longer for more days on earth, but just for the courage to endure the pain of what might be ahead. He said he was peaceful, not scared at all at the idea of leaving this world. He mentioned his sister and brother and worried about them.... As I left his hospital room that day, I was left with a renewed sense of what a peaceful death really means... And I will end my reflection with a quote he mentioned three or four times while I was with him. A quote which he said summed up his emotions precisely.... "For all that has already come, thanks. And for all that has yet to come, yes."

Reflection by Nancy Cronin:

I had so wanted to meet Fr. Eddie since my first trip to South Africa in June. I feel a connection anyway, due to the fact that I saw with my own eyes all that he accomplished at St. Leo's. I saw evidence of his love, dedication, and compassion in the computer room that he built, the new church and I'm sure many Christians jumped on board while he was there. I heard nothing but loving stories about him during my stay. God Bless you, Fr. Eddie, and we'll share our SA stories someday in heaven.
Reflection by Liam O'Doherty:

My heart is heavy upon hearing of the passing of Ed Hattrick. His holiness, simplicity, love of Christ and of all God's people were an inspiration to me. Ed was leaving Nagasaki just as I arrived in 1979, so the only time we actually lived together was less than a year just before he left Nagoya in 1989. Nonetheless, his dedication, ardor and wisdom were big influences on me. I'm sure that his eternity will be full of much joy, basking in the Presence of the Lord and rejoicing with so many brothers and sisters he has pastored and served.

Reflection by Teresa Moffett:

Fr Eddie is one of the very few people I have met who is able to see the good in everyone. In the time I have known him, I have never heard him say anything negative about anyone.

He has always been an example of humility, as well as having a great sense of humour and I will miss his example more than I can say.

He is truly one of the best people I have met.

Reflection by Hadmud and Bob Moffett:

I am sure many of us here this evening have a picture before us of Eddie at the altar, celebrating Mass in his quiet, gentle, reverent manner. His presence at the altar was in itself, sufficient to inspire us – the tranquility, serenity and devotedness, born of his many years in Japan, before our very eyes. His prolonged, early morning period of meditation set the scene for each new day.

But he was not only a quiet, gentle man – he was also a man of action – actions both seen and unseen.

One day, an Augustinian visiting from the States – it could have been Fr. Toni – asked Eddie if he could come with him on one of his trips into the Valley. They set off, Toni in his clerical garb and Eddie in his casuals, to take some food and clothing to a poor old woman. On the way they, picked up Cecelia to translate. Well, you know what the roads are like in the Valley.

At one point, the road came to an end. To avoid rocks lying in the grass, Eddie asked Toni and Cecelia to walk in front of the car to be on the look-out. – Eddie was then in his middle 70’s. The procession was interrupted by a big herd of long –horned, black cows which didn’t look too friendly to Tony, so he beat a hasty retreat to the car until Cecelia called the all clear. But the comfort of the car didn’t last for long – they had to walk a kilometer or two till they came to the kraal and delivered the food and clothing. On the way back, a sweating, panting Toni said: ‘Eddie, it’s wonderful what you are doing for the Church!” Eddie replied: “Oh! She isn’t a Catholic – just a poor old woman.’ “But couldn’t you have just sent someone with the food and the clothes, Eddie?” “Well, the witness is the important thing,” responded Eddie.

In the parish, Eddie was a man of action too, but in a much less obtrusive way – while he was parish priest, the sense of community grew enormously, thanks largely to the re-generated Alpha course, the Café series, which continues to flourish, the many SCC-groups, which followed the Alpha courses and the very active youth group and their choir. I said to him one day: “The parish is really alive again – you’ve done a wonderful job!” He said: “Bob; I merely took the cork out of the bottle and released the energy of the laity.” Well, we all know some priests – present company excluded of course – who would rather keep the cork firmly in the bottle!

But Eddie wasn’t always entirely serious – he said to me once that God must have had an excellent sense of humor to design something as extraordinary as an elephant or a hippopotamus - one of the last things he did before going back to the States, was to fly to the Addo Elephant Park to wonder at those amazing beast.

But it was perhaps with his profound homilies that Eddie made his deepest impact. When he was a young man in the States, his ambition was to be a writer, but this dream was put on ‘hold’ for the many years he spent in Japan. When he came to Kloof, that energy was released and he delighted in revealing his own struggle to deepen his relationship with God for our, as well as his own benefit through his homilies. Many people requested printed copies each week, and copies were emailed to families in America, UK and Australia and the little booklet, with a selection of his homilies is still used by several prayer groups

The homilies are a revelation of Eddie’s life-long desire to discern the will of God for himself and when Fr Don Reilly, his Provincial, informed him on his last visit that the time had come for him to return to the States for the sake of his health, he wept quietly, because he had an enormous affection for Kloof and the people of the Valley, but he obeyed without question.Sadly, it would seem that God’s will was fulfilled and to the letter.

Eddie invariably began his homilies with a humorous story to focus our minds for what lay in store, so I thought to finish in the reverse order and end with one of his stories which he told last Easter on the theme of ‘Compassion”:

A man had been in goal for a few weeks for stealing a ham. Christmas was approaching, so his wife went to the Judge pleading for an early release. ‘I quite understand my dear – I’m sure he really is a good husband and you just want him back home”... .’can’t stand the sight of him!” interrupted the wife…’but the children, surely he misses the children’ he continued. ‘He can’t stand the children either’ carried on the wife. ‘Then why do you want him released early!’ he asked surprised.” We sure would like some more ham’ responded the wife.

While lying in his hospital bed in Villanova recently (Tierney, one of the volunteers last year, quoted his words): he said:

For all that has already come, thanks;

For all that is yet to come, yes!

May he rest in peace and may his memory continue to inspire us.

Kloof, South Africa, 16th October 2007
Reclection by J A Kearney:

Fr. Hattrick was one of the most wonderful and inspiring, yet unpretentious, priests I have ever had the privilege to meet. He clearly derived great pleasure from contact with his parishioners and his inimitable humour always left one feeling jovial. His sermons were memorable for his use of imagination, relevant stories, and intricate (often ingenious) construction. His sense of humour also often helped to lead one into the more profound aspects of his reflections. I'm very grateful that Kloof parishioners managed to collect several of his sermons so that they are nov available in book form. May Fr. Eddie now be enjoying fully the mercy and love of the Lord which he so compellingly preached about.

Reflection by Tom Padberg:

We are all indebted to Fr. Ed for his dedication to the Gospel on our behalf as brother Augies and as brothers in the Body of Christ. His reward will indeed be great!

Reflection by Fray Jessie D. Balorio, OSA:

The Augustinian order remained what she is now because of ones constant respond to the call of time and to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Father Fray Edward Hattrick is a concrete example of the Augustinian zeal, always responding to the needs of the time. He was an instrument of the Living Word who speaks beyond the language of men. Now his own language was clearly heard after he left his earthly body and soon will be talking to God about the love, joy, peace and his struggle. He will continue to communicate to us in a language where most of us would understand.May the Holy Angels of God welcome you, and may our Lord Jesus received into the world where the language of love will never end.