BARADAT Paul (Father)

Born on 14th May 1922 in Caubios-Loos and baptised 2 days later, he was one of 9 siblings of which a sister (two years his senior) is still living and is now in her 100th year.

He was born a year before the beatification of our Founder, in the aftermath of the First World War.

He made his first religious profession at the age of 20 years during the Second World War. There were some very difficult years which impacted his childhood and youth in a deeply Christian family ; his uncle, a Betharram Father, Léon Baradat, died at 92 years old in 1971. Paul Baradat had therefore much reason to choose Betharram. His first scholastic years were influenced by the war since he made his final profession in December 1945 in Betharram - and not in Bethlehem.

On 4th July 1948, he received the Presbyteral Ordination in Jerusalem with 9 other religious brothers, several whose names resonate amongst our elders: Prévost, Berhouet, Capblanc, Condou, Bignolles, Tipy, Casenave, Séguinotte. That same year, 14 young people celebrated their first religious profession in Balarin.

There were many vocations in the aftermath of the Second World War ! A private presbyteral ordination. The war between Jews and Arabs had started and the 50 scholastics of Bethlehem prepared to pack their cases to live out the exodus and take the boat, ‘Providence’, at Beirut, passing through Alexandria to disembark in Marseille. The last 9 ordained in the Holy Land returned to Betharram and the scholastics went to inaugurate the scholasticate of Floirac. Father Paul Baradat was therefore the last to be ordained in the Holy Land 71 years ago.

For 30 years, he was a teacher at the Notre Dame School or at the Apostolic School here in Betharram: during the Council, he followed a year of retraining in Paris in order to come back to Betharram.

Then from 1977 to 1981, he was the curate at St Julian’s in Pau with Father Casenave, the Paris Priest. In 1981, he rejoined Betharram at the Monastery, providing the sanctuary duty with Fathers Marsaa-Poey and Verley, in this building where his uncle had spent a great part of his life.

Then from 1989, he was part of the Maison Neuve community here, providing secretariat services for insurance for several years.

He led a life of tact, showing himself to be a teacher close to the pupils that we were and even lenient towards the more spirited among us. The congregation joins him in his prayer, with his nephew, Father Michel, with his family happily present all throughout his life. May he help us to obtain vocations, which we need so much, around this place of Betharram which has given so many Betharramite religious. A glorious past giving hope that we might believe we can have a radiant future.

Father Paul was buried on 30th December at the Betharram Cemetery.

Laurent Bacho SCJ