When Fr. Bart, as we affectionately know him, came to our parish 8 years ago at the age of 45, he was fairly new in this country, awkward in his English skills, and fairly new in parish ministry. But then, here was a man whose life had been full of change and interesting contrasts from the time he was born in an unexpected place under unexpected circumstances.
When Bart was born in 1955, his family was living in Manzanillo, Colima, on Mexico’s west coast. His birth, however, took place in Atemajac de Brizuela, a small town about 100 miles away, because his parents were traveling and stopped there at a friend’s place. Bart’s mother, Rosa, late in her pregnancy, stumbled and hurt herself and began to give birth on the spot. While Bart’s father, Raul, started out to a nearby large city for a doctor, a midwife helped Rosa give birth, all the while praying to St. Bartolome for the baby’s well being. For a while it was touch and go, and Rosa vowed that if the baby was well, she would dedicate him to God and name him Bartolome.
The baby was fine, and was christened German Bartolome Vazquez-Johnston. German came from St. Germanus, and the Johnston from his mother’s maiden name, she having been the daughter of an English father and a Mexican mother. As a child, Bart chose to go by the name German. He did not like Bartolome because of its similarity to Bartolo, a name in Mexican culture that invites being made fun of.
German was the third child among four. The eldest, Raul, now operates the family insurance investigation business started by their father. Older sister Lupita does accounting for the company. Younger sister Adriana is a housewife. All live in Guadalajara, and this is where Fr. Bart usually visits on his times off from our parish. Fr. Bart has five nieces and nephews.
When German was 10, the family moved to Ciudad Satelite, in Mexico state, where Fr. Bart notes that he spent his last year of elementary school in one named after John F. Kennedy. He would go on to vocational school and then to the National Polytechnic Institute, where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1976.
His family members were nominal Catholics, and German knew very little about the Church in his early years. His only exposure to the Faith was when his maternal grandmother, Ramona, would occasionally take him to Mass. Fr. Bart remembers, with a laugh, that he did not like it when the priest preached too long!
Although not practicing his Faith in his early years, German enjoyed doing social work through an organization he belonged to, the Leo Club, the youth arm of Lions International, to which his parents belonged. As a young bachelor, German had good jobs and enjoyed good times with his friends, both male and female. He especially loved disco dancing, all the while managing to avoid the traps of drugs and drinking.
At age 28, he underwent a remarkable conversion when one night, driving along, he felt himself being asked, “What are you doing with your life?” A friend took him to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which was a profound experience for him. From that he developed a religious fervor, which led him to want to enter religious life in some capacity. He became acquainted with monks at a nearby parish run by Olivetan Benedictines, and one day met the abbot general of the order, who upon learning of German’s ambition, invited him to return to Italy with him, for 1 year. German returned with the abbot general to the motherhouse, the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, on a mountaintop near Siena.
The 1 year turned into many. German loved monastic life and never looked back. He tells how he arrived there with his suitcase full of his nice clothes. When he awoke the next morning the suitcase was gone, replaced by simple monks’ garb. After his novice master told German the story of Bernard Tolomei, the order’s 14th Century founder, he suddenly liked the name Bartolome (in Hebrew: son of Tolome), and adopted it as his religious name.
In time, Bart would go on to Rome to study at Sant Anselmo College. As a transitional deacon, he returned to his home area in Mexico, where he soon met and accepted an invitation from Fr. Louis Hasenfuss to come to Holy Trinity Monastery at St. David. Bart was ordained there on All Saints Day in 1993 by Bishop Manuel Moreno. During this time, now Fr. Bart realized he loved parish work. His order directed him back to Italy in 1995, and assigned him to work in Florence at a newly opened novitiate. After that, Fr. Bart asked to leave the Olivetans and join the Diocese of Tucson. For 5 years, he was on loan to our diocese. The order reluctantly let him go at Bishop Gerald Kicanas’ request in 2003. Fr. Bart was assigned to St. Andrew's as Parochial Vicar on 1 July 2000.
Not surprisingly, Fr. Bart’s focus here has been mainly with our Hispanic Community, especially through the Legion of Mary and Hispanic Council. He is also a great help to Fr. Greg in the routine parish work of saying Mass, hearing confessions and visiting the sick. If he could have one wish fulfilled, Fr. Bart says, it would be to have the laity share deeply the joy he finds in the presence of Our Lord in the Mass, especially the Eucharist.
Fr Bart was sworn in as an United States Citizen on August 12th, 2011. If you’d like to send him a note, his address is: St Joseph the Worker, P.O. Box 157, Wellton, AZ 85356.