BROTHER JOHN MULLER, FSC

1933 – 2023

Born John Alfred Muller in Flushing NY on August 26, 1933
Died at De La Salle Hall in Lincroft NJ on  June 4, 2023
Entered the Barrytown NY Novitiate on July 3, 1951
Received the Religious Habit and Name Benilde John on  September 7, 1951
Pronounced Perpetual Vows in Barrytown NY in August 1958

Words of Remembrance for Brother John

Given by Brother David Van Hollebeke, FSC

Mass of Christian Burial
Manhattan College Community, Brothers’ Chapel
Bronx, New York
June 9, 2023

Good Morning.

I have lived with Brother John Muller as a Christian Brother for seventy-two years. As you know, we have a Vow of Obedience. You may see a Brother break it for the first time! I really did not want to do this. I am very nervous. I do wish I had the talent of a Bishop Sheen. He was a mesmerizing speaker, and I may have to stop half-way through this life history of Brother John to change my shirt and take a drink as Jackie Gleason did on TV.

John was born in Queens to Francis and Ann Muller. As a young man he did the usual things, delivering the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper, and as a glimpse into his future, being a caddy at the local golf course.

Bright and intelligent, he went to Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School under the direction of the De La Salle Christian Brothers. There he joined the track team. Track was an important part of John’s life. But since he was not fast enough, he became a fan and manager.

At the end of his senior year in 1951, with the blessing of his parents, he went to Barrytown, New York, to join the Christian Brothers.

That was the first time I met John. That meeting blossomed into seventy-two years of friendship. I LOVE JOHN! Are you ready this morning to meet BROTHER BENILDE JOHN MULLER! That was his formal religious name.

A side bar: There was a Brother Benilde, teaching in France, who was the first Christian Brother canonized a saint after our Founder John Baptist de La Salle. We will get back to this.

John’s academic abilities and intelligence were most evident when he graduated from The Catholic University of America, Summa Cum Laude – Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta – the National History Honor Society.

Our Brother John began his teaching in the fourth grade at Ascension School on Manhattan’s West Side. And now a true story from that period. A very young nun who taught the third grade knocked on John’s classroom door. She was blushing! “Brother, I need your help!” John followed her to the boy’s bathroom. She said “A young man needs your help. His zipper is caught on a particular part of his anatomy. Please free him!” John succeeded in the task. This was certainly an adventure for a beginning teacher!

From Ascension, John went to Good Shepherd School. He mastered teaching in these two assignments. John then was assigned to Lincoln Hall, New York, as a cottage prefect for anywhere from twenty-four to thirty-four boys who were assigned there by the New York City Courts. Strong discipline was needed,

and Brother John certainly provided that for the six years he stayed there. He was on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. After Lincoln Hall he was assigned to Cardinal Spellman High School here in the Bronx where he taught history. While there, he earned a Doctorate in Political Science at Fordham.

After that time, he came to the Pinnacle [as it was known to the young Brothers at that time] – Manhattan College as professor, dormitory prefect and head of the Thomas More Law Society. He became Assistant to the President of the College where he would take notes at the meetings. After a January meeting, sometime in February, the President made a statement. John took exact notes and said: “Brother, that is not what you said back in January.” John was in a new job later that year!

He was also the Vice President of Development but then went to Rome for our General Chapter to work on our new Rule. After returning from overseas, John taught at the Resurrection School in Harlem where he also kept the books for the school.

Now let us turn to some of John’s loves. First, his family, whom he loved deeply. He kept a detailed family history and was especially proud of his numerous nieces and nephews.

The second of John’s loves was the Brothers. He loved being with his Brothers. This was evident by his commitment and fidelity to the Rule, the Community and its religious exercises.

The third was teaching – he especially took pride in his students, following their careers and always remembering them and their families in prayer. John always taught the correct way.

Let us now turn to his passion. GOLF! Here we can note his “exact way” of doing things. If a golf ball was one inch from the hole, there was no gimme. John would say: “Putt it out!” On one occasion, the ball went into the woods. I went to pick it up, walked out to the fairway and dropped it. John was not pleased. “Hit it where it lies!” We looked out for ourselves. John, however, always played the ball correctly. “Hit it where it lies!”

Brothers Ken Fitzgerald, Jerome Sullivan, John and I were the foursome. We took a two week vacation every summer, traveled to Ireland, Scotland and upstate New York where we played golf, ate, drank and relaxed. John and I would cook the meals and make pancakes for breakfast. After I put the batter on the grill, John would precisely add an exact number of blueberries on each pancake. John also made eggs sunny-side up. If an egg broke and the yolk ran – he would immediately start over and cook a perfect egg.

But let us return to John’s religious name. When the French Brother Benilde was beatified, Pope Pius XII stated that Benilde became a saint not only by praying but because he went “through the terrible daily grind” and “by doing common things in an uncommon way.”

Pope Paul VI stated this again when Benilde was canonized. That was how Brother Benilde John Muller lived his life.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.

Live, Jesus, in our hearts . . . Forever!

ASSIGNMENTS

1952–1956
Washington DC
The Catholic University of America (scholasticate)

1956–1959
New York NY
Ascension School

1959–1961
New York NY
Good Shepherd Elementary School

1961–1966
Lincolndale NY
Lincoln Hall

1966–1967
Bronx NY
Cardinal Spellman High School

1967–1968
New York NY
Fordham University (post-graduate studies)

1968–1990
Riverdale NY
Manhattan College

1990–1991
Renewal/Sabbatical (1st semester)
Santa Fe NM
Sangre de Cristo Center (renewal – 2nd semester)

1991–2003
Riverdale NY
Manhattan College

2003–2008
Harlem NY
Resurrection School

2008–2021
Riverdale NY
Manhattan College Community (resident)

2021–2023
Lincroft NJ
De La Salle Hall (resident)

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS

Thursday, June 8, 2023
Visitation – 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Manhattan College Community · Brothers’ Chapel
4415 Post Road, Bronx NY 10471

Friday, June 9, 2023
Visitation – 9:00 am to 9:45 am
Funeral Mass – 10:00 am (private for the Community & Family only)
Manhattan College Community Brothers’ Chapel
4415 Post Road, Bronx NY 10471

Interment
Gate of Heaven Cemetery
10 West Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne NY 10532

Brother John died suddenly on Sunday evening.

The District of Eastern North America remembers Brother John with memorial liturgies according to the tradition of the Institute. Through their prayers, communities and individuals entrust Brother John to God’s loving care.

† May he rest in peace. †