LEGACY OF DOM BASIL MATTHEWS
HE HAS LEFT HIS INDELIBLE MARK AS MONK, PRIEST, AUTHOR, FOOTBALL PIONEER, DEBATER, and EDUCATOR.
By Seigmund Assee
Trinidad Guardian
April 16, 1999
Page 27
Dom Basil Matthews received his secondary education at St Mary's College. After completing his studies at St Mary's, he entered the monastery at Mount St Benedict where he pursued studies for the priesthood.
In 1935, he was ordained priest in the Order of St Benedict, one of the first Trinidadians to be elected to that sacred office.
Gifted with a well-modulated singing voice, he often took the role of lead canto at solemn liturgical services at the monastery. From the earliest days of the establishment of the monastery, people from all over Trinidad and from all walks of life journeyed to 'the Mount' to seek advice from the monks on a variety of problems, many of them involving family issues.
As the monastery developed it became a virtual centre for counselling, even before that word became a common part of the local vocabulary.
Dom Basil was one of the assigned counsellors and his experiences in that role led to his publication of Crisis of the West Indian Family, one of the earliest sociological works on Caribbean family problems.
Dom Basil will be particularly remembered for two things. The first is his establishment of St Benedict's College and, through that school, his great contribution to local football.
The second accomplishment is his 1955 famous intellectual debate with Dr Eric Williams, which centered on the interpretation of Aristotle's "ideal state" and other relevant issues.
In 1953, Dom Basil saw the need for a school in La Romaine and laid the foundation for what evolved into St Benedict's College in 1956.
His main purpose in establishing the school, as he revealed afterwards, was "to cater for children from the countryside who could not make it out to town and did not have a chance at even passing the Common Entrance Examination."
He said that soon after starting the school he found that the children had talent but lacked a sense of self-worth because they lacked the opportunity of getting into a 'big school.'
He saw it as his job to build up their won self-respect and self-worth, and their motivation to exploit their human talents.
St Benedict's was the first composite school in the country, offering, in addition to the usual academic subjects, commerce, accounts, typewriting, and domestic science. Many observers scoffed at the introduction of these subjects in a 'college'.
Discovering musical talent among the students, Dom Basil introduced music into the curriculum, using English musical directors to lay the groundwork for that subject.
Major Rupert Dennison, former director of the Police Band, afterwards took up the position vacated by the departing expatriates.
The monk turned school principal also saw the value of sports for building the self-esteem of his students. The result was an impressive record in football, producing such national stars as Warren Archibald, De Leon, Steadman, David, Cupid, Reuben and others. It was the Dom's boast that they were exporting professionals to the soccer leagues in the United States.
In the 70's, 'the Dom' (short for Dominus, a title traditionally given to Benedictine priests) left for the United States to work in educational systems in the New York archdiocese.
He spent a year on a committee that looked after the economic upkeep of schools in New York. Also serving on that committee was the former US Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance.
During his stay in New York Talladega College, Alabama, he requested assistance for faculty relief.
He also did some work at Fordham University, one of the educational institutions at which he obtained one of his degrees.
With the emergence of the 'black is beautiful concept,' Howard University requested Dom Basil's services to develop an "intellectual academic base for the integration of black experience into the curriculum of the University".
While working on that project, he was assigned to the Graduate School of Social Work where he was Chairman of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment, and later Chairman of the Graduate Studies at the School of Communications involving print and broadcast media.
He also lectured at various Universities across the United States. After an absence of eight years abroad, Dom Basil returned home, worked as an executive with Motilal Moonan, and in 1980 announced the founding of an Institute of Human Relations.
The purpose of the institute was to serve as "consultants and training officers in the area of management development in business, industry, education and sport."
"One of his main ideas was to show that there was a relationship between the Trinidad work ethic and productivity."
He refuted the argument being propagated by some that the Trinidadian worker was lazy, pointing to productivity in large oil corporations and Carnival, and the diligence of Trinidadians in the US and Canada.
In 1981, news was received in Trinidad that Pope John Paul II had consented to an application by Dom Basil made three years previously for a release from his priestly vows. The application had been forwarded through Archbishop Anthony Pantin and Abbot Hildebrand Greene of the Abbey at Mount St Benedict.
Apart from a few visits back home, the former monk spent most of his time in the United States. He died there at a nursing home on April 7, after a long illness. He was 87.
Apart from his principalship at St Benedict's College, he taught for several years at the Abbey School at Mt St Benedict, and was a lecturer for the Extra Mural Department of the University of the West Indies at St Augustine.
He also served as a vice-president of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association for several years. May he rest in peace.
