Fr. William Bourke was the last of the Canadian Jesuits to be sent to India. He died in Gayaganga, India on November 29, 2019, at 94.
(Note: This article was originally published by Ignis: South Asian Journal of Spirituality)
Read PDF version here.
By Fr. John S. Kennedy, SJ
Fr William Bourke’s lifelong journey was filled with curiosity, constantly asking, “What is out there? “Who is out there?”1 These questions danced on Fr Bourke’s mind when he was a child playing in his backyard. The fence around his house demarcated the miniature universe. He wanted to know what lies beyond the familiar—the fence. He lived at 111 Edward Street, Halifax. His mother mellowed down to his constant request for exploration and granted him the freedom to venture ‘around the block.’ That was his first taste of exploration, a small step in the vast world that he knew.2 In the Autobiography, St Ignatius called himself a pilgrim, “That was his self-image: a man on a ceaseless quest, always forging ahead; and not at all inclined to look back, even as he neared journey’s end.”3
In the light of the quoted passage, Fr Bourke, a pilgrim, was born on May 28, 1925, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His father, William James Bourke, was originally from Ireland. His mother, Edith Waller, was born in Halifax in 1893. They were married and had four children. The eldest was Fr Bourke, and the three daughters were Mary Kathleen, Margaret Eileen, and Sheila Maureen.
Fr Bourke’s contribution to the Nepali language and culture is very inspiring because, as a priest, he did lots of other works along with this. His spiritual life, one can notice, expressed in his work, has been the bedrock of his contributions. His foundational questions (What is out there? Who is out there?)4 testify to his spirit of magis and deep connection with his creator. We ponder what empowered him to accomplish this extraordinary work as we explore his life and work. What lessons does his life offer us? In what ways does his life and work inspire us to live a life worthy of our calling? For this purpose, I have consulted the primary sources available in the province of archives and internet resources. A special note of gratitude to David Mackett, Fr Bourke’s nephew, for sharing some of Fr Bourke’s memoirs, enriching this discourse. For clarity’s sake, we will see his life and work in three parts. The first focuses on his earlier life, the second on his spiritual life, and the third on his work and its impact.
A quest for a more significant life
Fr Bouke asked hope-filled questions. To find an answer, he would move the mountains, or he would move to the mountains. His life was embedded in the spirit of magis, a quest to know who was/is/will be at the End. His questions expanded his horizons; the apparent end became the beginning of a new horizon. In the Ignatian sense, he was a pilgrim; nothing would satisfy him except Him.
Fr Bourke’s School days
In 1940, Fr Bourke was in the halls of St Mary’s for Class 10, the Halifax, a Jesuit-run school on the brink of war. Night after night, the eastern sky would be set ablaze as tankers in the far distance met their untimely end off the coast. His mother often spoke of the “lascars,” the unfortunate Indian merchant marine sailors brought as survivors to the shore. Fr Bourke recollects that it was from his
mother that he learned his first Hindi word. The students’ lives were punctuated by the chaos unfolding on battlefields for the next five years. In St Mary’s, the Jesuits and some men and women made some sense of a world gone insane. They were the students’ guiding lights. At that time, he understood that to be a Jesuit is to understand that the world is his parish – to be global in perspective, to care about this world and its inhabitants.5
What is in a name?
Fr Bourke always had a problem with his first name and even considered getting it legally changed. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name, would smell as sweet.” Well, for Christians, names matter. It also mattered to Fr Bourke. For God calls us by name. “I called you by name… you are mine” (Is 43:1). Let us dwell on his name, which reveals some of his personal history and uncovers his astute, probing mind. Fr Bourke says he was always called ‘Brother.’ All his sisters called him that way. His Dad called him “brother” and, in his letters, wrote, “Dear Bro.” 6
In the Novitiate – My name is “Brother.”
When Fr Bourke entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1948 at St Stanislaus College, Guelph, he found that everyone was called “Brother.” When the Novice Master asked his name, he answered that his name was “Brother,” which made the novice master smile. In India, he traveled up the Teesta River Road from Siliguri to Gangtok. “Bro” was everywhere. “BRO” stands for “Border Roads Organization.” He read the sign boards relating to BRO, for example: “BRO works today for your better tomorrow.” “BRO believes, ‘Work is Worship.” 7 He thought that they naturally named their firstborn, “William James.” In the hospital, a very missionary-minded nun added a third name, Augustine, after the name of St Augustine of Canterbury, the missionary bishop sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 597 AD to preach the gospel in Saxon England.8
Indelible Halifax experience
As a young adult, Fr Bourke, standing on Citadel Hill and looking East over the Atlantic, asked, “What is out there? “Who is out there?”9 He graduated with a BA and B.Com (1947) from St. Mary’s, the Jesuit-run college in Halifax.10 As a boy, he asked what was beyond the fence. As an adult, the questions become larger. These foundational questions set him on a journey without journeying. Later, he finds an answer: “to see the world beyond imagination – as God sees it – messed up, complicated, almost beyond hope at times.”11 St Ignatius suggested, “The whole work of the Redemption is due to the gratuitous initiative of God:- “Let us work out the redemption of Mankind,” it calls at the same time for the constant collaboration of man in each of its several stages.”12
Venturing for a mission
In 1953, Fr Bourke was considering applying for the new mission in Darjeeling, India; Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the peak of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Hillary was asked, “Why did you climb it?” “Because it is there,” was the reply.
Fr Bourke says, “Why did I want to become a missionary in the Himalayas?” someone might have asked me in 1953. I would have replied, “Because they’re there,” Thinking more of the ‘adventure’ part of the idea than of the ‘divine’ part, but over the years, it has become truly a divine adventure,
one that goes on every day on heights that soar much beyond even the mighty Everest.13 Fr Bourke was neither deaf to His call (SpEx 91) nor oblivion of his foundational questions.
Arrival in Darjeeling
1954, Fr Bourke arrived in Darjeeling on Christmas Eve with his companions. While addressing students at the Gregorian University in Rome, Pope John Paul II said, “I know that you pursue an open and courageous search for the truth, free of any prejudice and personal interest, with eyes fix end on the central mystery which is the Christ…”14 After reaching Darjeeling, Fr Bourke said, “I see the highest mountains in the world and wonder what’s behind them. I’ve seen the plains of India from north to south and the kaleidoscope of peoples in them and know that God loves them all.”15 He saw himself as a small yet integral piece of divine design of the big picture.
Fr. William Bourke, SJ, Darjeeling, India, 1967.
He tried to discern His wishes for him and for everyone he met. From the hills of Darjeeling, he could look East, West, North, and South and ask the same question he once asked on Citadel Hill, “What’s out there?” “Who’s out there?” Darjeeling has continued what began in Halifax over half a century ago.”16 Jesuits are “constantly driven to discover, redefine, and reach out for the magis. For us, frontiers and boundaries are not obstacles or ends, but new challenges to be faced, new opportunities to be welcomed” (GC 43, D 26, 27). Fr Arrupe, in other words, calls it “a holy boldness, or “a certain apostolic aggressivity,”17
Spiritual impressions
We all have “spiritual impressions” in our lives. These might be our earliest memories, images, or pre-verbal memories of our parents or caregivers. We might have seen these but understanding them transcends the mere perception. But later, when we dig deeper into ourselves, they come alive. They often involve and foster a deep connection or awareness of the divine.
My father kneeling beside his bed
Edward Street, a sanctuary of purity etched in Fr Bourke’s memory, was where he blossomed under the tender care of his loving parents. “When I kneel by my bed before sleeping at night, I picture my father kneeling beside his bed. I can’t explain how I wandered the corridor at his bedtime.
Maybe I couldn’t sleep, or maybe I was intrigued by the silence of the night in the house. But I do know that as I walked softly along, I suddenly saw through the door of my parent’s bedroom the
kneeling figure of my father, leaning on the bed”.18 This occurrence was singular, yet the image it left was indelibly imprinted in his heart.
Celebration of the Eucharist
Fr Bourke held a special place in his heart for his family. During the Mass, he would pray, placing portraits of his mother and father on the altar, just beneath the crucifix.19 A loving symbol of his enduring bond with his roots, even as he served in a land thousands of miles away from his birthplace. His nephew, David Mackett, cherishes his memories of him, affectionately referring to him as “Uncle Bill.”20 It could remind a Jesuit of Fr Aruupe’s Daily Mass in which he “joined all of creation gathered around his Savior, and, through liturgical texts, he asked only to be the faithful servant for the greatest possible glory of God in the work and meetings of the day ahead.”21
A walk to remember
Fr Bourke recollects that in the heart of Darjeeling, where the roads ascend and descend to the rhythm of the hills, he found himself accompanied by the memory of his dad. It was as if he were walking in his footsteps, tracing Dad’s journey up and down the hill of Sackville Street in Halifax. His dad walked daily to work and back home four times a day. “I like to think that here in Darjeeling, I am relying on his genes in my legs to carry me up the steep roads, though I do recognize that my knees, the right especially, are beginning to show signs of wear.”22 Yet there is a promise, “For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Gen 28:15).
The mystery of me in Darjeeling
Fr Bourke was asked, “Why did you come to Darjeeling? And how did you come to compile a thesaurus such as Sahi Shabd?”. The answer was,
“The “why” of our lives, as you are all aware, is and will remain a mystery. But my faith tells me that God directs all the events of my life, even though, at times, I cannot see where He is leading me. My father was an immigrant from Ireland who finally settled down in Canada, but he could just as well have stayed in the West Indies, where he first went outside Ireland to work… Because he settled down in Halifax, Canada, where there was a Jesuit college, I came into contact with that Society, of which I am a member today.”23
A vocation built into the tradition of the Society
Fr Bourke, in his Madan Puraskar acceptance speech, shared, “To join the Society of Jesus immediately puts one in touch with the tradition, which goes back to 1540, when Ignatius of Loyola and his first companions banded together to serve God in whatever way and in whatever place they were needed. This tradition brought Belgian Jesuits to Darjeeling in 1888, where they found the well-known St. Joseph’s College. The same tradition brought Jesuits from Canada to Darjeeling after the Second World War, just when I left college and joined the society.”24
The Jesuits “made the promise or vow in order that His Holiness might distribute them for the greater glory of God… and the greater aid of souls” (Cons 605). “This is the same tradition, just like Fr. Cacella and Fr. Cabral walking through Kathmandu in the 17th century on their way to Lhasa.
Through them, my companions, I feel immediately linked to the history of this city, of which you are the living witnesses.”25
Man on a mission
Father Fr Bourke was a Jesuit missionary in India for 65 years.26 He held various positions in the service of the Lord. He dedicated his life to serving the indigenous people of this region, not only in the matter of faith but also in the fields of education, language, and culture. He lived his spiritual exercises, “Those who desire to show greater devotion and to distinguish themselves in total service to their eternal King and universal Lord, will not only offer their persons for the labor, but go further still” (SpEx 97). His day was filled with a multitude of tasks – he was multitasking. “The entire life of Ignatius was a pilgrim search for the magis, the ever-greater glory of God, the ever-fuller service of our neighbour, the more universal good, the more effective apostolic means. “[M]ediocrity has no place in Ignatius’ world view” (GC 34, D 26, 25).
Administrative Work
Fr Bourke, besides being a teacher, was the headmaster of St. Peter’s School in Gayagunga (1962-1973) and expanded the primary school into a secondary school.27 1981 he was appointed Principal at St. Robert’s School, Darjeeling. He continued his noble mission of training young minds, leaving an indelible mark on the learners’ souls. His administrative skills led to various leadership appointments. Some important ones were Regional Superior of the Darjeeling
(1974-1980) and Director of the Bellarmine Institute of Language (since 1994). He was the Chancellor of the Darjeeling Diocese and later the Vicar General of the same Diocese. In short, there were a few important positions in the Darjeeling Region where he did not serve at one time or another.28
Studies in Indian Languages
A scholar arrived in Darjeeling, his heart brimming with a thirst for knowledge. He first started with Hindi at Manresa House, Ranchi. Next, he took a correspondence course in Hind. 1979, he passed the Hindi Pravesh Examination with flying colors. Two years later, he completed the Hindi Parichaya Examination. 1987, he completed an Urdu course. Fr Bourke showed a stubborn resolve and eventually became fluent in Nepali, Hindi, and Bengali and could “get by” in Urdu, Sadri, and several other languages. He would spend hours in front of the mirror, practicing his articulation to master each dialect.29
Publication of the Nepali Bible
“The word of God is living and active” (Heb 4:12). Translating the living word into another language is a monumental task. It requires linguistic ability and a deep knowledge of the cultural and historical contexts of both the source and target language.
The endeavor to translate the Bible commenced in the 1970s, steered by the steady hand of Father Francis Farrell, SJ. As the years passed, this project bore fruit in the form of the New Testament in numerous printings (the renowned ‘rato‘ Bible) and five distinct versions since 1999. The Nepali translation of the Bible played a vital role in spreading the Good News to the Nepali-speaking world. When St Francis Xavier was sent to the East, St Ignatius told him: “Go, set the world alight.” (GC 35, D 2, 25). Fr. Farrell and Fr. Bourke set this part of the world on fire with the Word of God.
Fr Bourke founded the Bellarmine Institute of Language30 in 1994 and carried forward the legacy of his predecessor, Fr Farrell. Today, the Nepali Bible graces the homes of every Nepali Catholic family. We journey with people sharing the faith we have received. “Thus, our pilgrimage will lead us again to share more and more deeply about the joys, hopes, griefs, and anxieties of all God’s people” (GC 34 D 3, 74).
In 1999, the complete Catholic Bible, the ‘raknay‘ or non-portable Bible, was unveiled in both hard and soft covers. In 2006, the ‘boknay‘ or portable Bible was launched in a soft cover on July 30th. The Good News promotes just life, a shared life received from God. “No promotion of justice without communicating faith transforming cultures collaboration with other traditions.” (GC-34 D1, 47). The pocket Bible, encompassing the New Testament and Psalms, was made accessible to the masses in a soft cover. In 2003, the Children’s Bible in Nepali, adorned with illustrations, was released. “The fire that was set alight then continues to burn in our Jesuit life today, as was said about Saint Alberto Hurtado, “a fire that kindles other fires.” With it, we are called to set all things alight with the love of God” (GC 35, D 2, 25).
Sahi Shabd – first Nepali language Thesaurus and other publications
The genesis of the thesaurus was rooted in a simple yet profound need. Language was required to enter their world, touch the people’s hearts, and provide them with education, spiritual nourishment, and a path out of poverty. Fr Bourke thought he could do something no one else could—give people the tools for writing.
In 1994, the first-ever thesaurus of the Nepali language, christened “Sahi Shabd” or “The Right Word,” was published. A journey of hard work and dedication over four decades culminated in this monumental publication. Jesuits “express a profound respect for indigenous cultures and to compose dictionaries and grammars of local languages, and pioneering studies of the people among whom they worked and whom they tried to understand” (GC 34, D 4, 10). Fr Bourke found the friends and associates with their inspiration, who carried me through the difficult years of the 80s, as the final draft of the manuscript took shape… St Roberts’s family of staff and students and all who have associated so much with the preparation of Sahi Shabd. 31
Fr Bourke continued working with Nepali collaborators and published “Proverbs for Today.” His Mom always used to say something like, “Don’t depend on others; do it yourself; no one else is going to do it for you (whatever that be, but studies especially).” This was said mainly in the context of the 1930s, the Great Depression,32 and yet it worked his mission.
The “Madan Puraskar” is Nepal’s top literary prize, given each year for the best publication in Nepali. It was instituted in 1955 in honor of General Madan Shamsher J.B. Rana. He received that prize in 1995.33
Conclusion
In conclusion, we need to focus more on what God has done in Fr Bourke’s life than on what he did. God gives us talents to be used at His service for His people. Among many works he did, translating the Bible into Nepali and the thesaurus are vital in people’s lives. One is a religious text, and the other is a secular text. Both are in the hands of people to expand their lives to touch the unknown and make it known as an experience.
The continuation of the Bible translation started by Fr Farrell and continued by Fr Bourke facilitated people’s personal and direct engagement with the scriptures in their native language. It has standardized the language for faith sharing. It has contributed to developing a shared cultural identity among the Neapli-speaking populations. It democratized the faithful’s interaction in understanding the history of salvation and their self-inclusion. It has allowed them to interpret the Bible for themselves and seek more guidance and clarity. For the linguistic community, the translation of the Bible is a treasure. It has had far-reaching effects on literacy, language development, cultural identity, and the practice of faith.
Fr Bourke’s Sahi Shabd is a tool for all who work with words: orators, journalists, politicians, students, and poets to look at the world fresh and express themselves with newness. It has a significant impact on both personal and professional communication. A thesaurus helps with synonyms and antonyms for words, enhancing written and spoken communication. It expands one’s vocabulary and thus understanding of reality in one’s life and others. It can improve writing skills by offering various ways to express similar ideas precisely and creatively. For lifelong learners, a thesaurus is a valuable tool for knowing the language’s richness and complexity.
Newness in life is attained through longing for a holy life. The Bible answers to the questions of one’s heart. “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). Renewal is God’s dream and desire in the seeker’s life. St Ignatius saw everything new (AB 30). It is God’s ongoing work in every human being that continues. Jesus showed us a new way of being a servant of the community, a new way of relating to God, and a new way of being. The thesaurus helps to communicate that newness in the medium of the language. In this way, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Rom 14:7-9).
William James Augustine Bourke died November 29, 2019, in Gayaganga, India, at 94, yet continues to live with the people of God in memories and deeds.
Funeral mass for Fr. William Bourke, SJ, November 20, 2019, at St Joseph’s school, North Point, Darjeeling. He was buried at the Jesuit cemetery in Darjeeling. Photo: Darjeeling Jesuits
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1 Interview given to Saint Mary’s Maroon & White magazine, January 2012.
2 Fr Bourke’s memoir, Chapter One: The Sea and the Hills, 9.
3 Luis Gonçalves da Câmara, A Pilgrim’s Testament The Memoirs of St. Ignatius of Loyola, trans. Parmandanda R. Divarkar, (Saint Louis: The Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1995), 2.
4 Interview given to Saint Mary’s Maroon & White magazine, January 2012.
5 Fr Bourke’s memoir, Chapter One: The Sea and the Hills, 8.
6 Fr Bourke’s memoir, Chapter One, 8.
7 Fr Bourke’s memoir, Chapter One, 6.
8 Fr Bourke’s memoir, Chapter One, 6.
9 Interview given to Saint Mary’s Maroon & White magazine, January 2012.
10 https://mattersindia.com/2020/05/jesuit-uncle-who-served-india-for-65-years/ (Accessed June 2, 2024).
11 Interview given to Saint Mary’s Maroon & White magazine, January 2012.
12 Herve Coathalem, A Guide To The Complete Spiritual Exercises, trans. Charles J McCarthy, (Taichung (Taiwan): Kuangchi Press, 1961), 147.
13 Fr Bourke’s memoir, Chapter One, 7.
14 Jean-Claude Dietsch, One Jesuit’s Spiritual Journey, Trans Ruth Bradley, (The Institute of Jesuit Sources, St. Louis, 1986), 69.
15 Interview given to Saint Mary’s Maroon & White magazine.
16 Interview given to Saint Mary’s Maroon & White magazine.
17 Pedro Arrupe, Our Way of Proceeding, n. 12; AR 17 (1979), 697.
18 Fr Bourke’s memoir, Chapter One, 5
19 https://mattersindia.com/2020/05/jesuit-uncle-who-served-india-for-65-years/ (Accessed June 2, 2024).
20 https://mattersindia.com/2020/05/jesuit-uncle-who-served-india-for-65-years/ (Accessed June 2, 2024).
21 Jean-Claude Dietsch, One Jesuit’s Spiritual Journey, Trans Ruth Bradley, (The Institute of Jesuit Sources, St. Louis, 1986),
22 Fr Bourke’s memoir, Chapter One, 5.
23 The “Madan Puraskar” acceptance speech, 1996. https://nepalitimes.com/news/canadians-missionary-zeal-for-nepali
24 https://nepalitimes.com/news/canadians-missionary-zeal-for-nepali (Accessed June 2, 2024).
25 The “Madan Puraskar” acceptance speech, 1996.
26 https://mattersindia.com/2020/05/jesuit-uncle-who-served-india-for-65-years/ (Accessed June 2, 2024).
27 https://www.canadianjesuitsinternational.ca/rip-fr-william-bourke-sj/(Accessed June 2, 2024)
28 https://www.canadianjesuitsinternational.ca/rip-fr-william-bourke-sj/
29 https://mattersindia.com/2020/05/jesuit-uncle-who-served-india-for-65-years/
30 https://mattersindia.com/2020/05/jesuit-uncle-who-served-india-for-65-years/
31 The “Madan Puraskar” acceptance speech, 1996.
32 Fr Bourke’s memoir, Chapter One: Things Aren’t Always, 35
33 https://mattersindia.com/2020/05/jesuit-uncle-who-served-india-for-65-years/ (Accessed June 2, 2024).
