Father Maurus Fleming died on March 1 at St Clare’s Home in Newport, Rhode Island. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on December 3 1925, he was the son of the late Patrick J and Mary M Day Fleming.
Fr Maurus was educated in parochial and public schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He studied for a time at Maryknoll then entered the Benedictine Community at the then Portsmouth Priory where he completed his theological studies. He was ordained to the priesthood in Quebec in 1953.
He earned his Master’s degree in French at Laval University in Quebec, Fr Maurus studied at the Sorbonne in Paris on a Fullbright Scholarship from 1956 until 1957. He received a doctorate in human development from the American International University in San Diego, California, and was a licensed psychological counsellor.
He served the Church for many years as a parish priest in California, and later in Texas where he offered bilingual Masses in Spanish and English. He returned to Portsmouth Abbey in 1992.