A brother, a leader, and soon, a teacher

This monk and mayor will go to Rome to learn to support his religious brethren.

By Helen Anne Travis, Times Staff Writer
Published February 24, 2008

Brother James Hallett sits in the choir stall in the church at St. Leo Abbey on Friday. Hallett will travel to Rome this week.
	[Keri Wiginton | Times]

ST. LEO - A tall man in black emerged from an ornate church next to a university. He passed a gaggle of female students cutting across the church's courtyard.

The students wore short shorts, big jewelry and makeup.

The tall man wore glasses and a habit that hung from his neck to his black shoes.

He is a monk and a mayor, and Jan. 31, someone called him and said "get a passport immediately."

Weeks before, Brother James Hallett heard rumors he would attend a summer monastic program in Rome.

But during that phone call, he learned he should be ready to ship off to Europe on March 1.

He called his sister Grace and asked her to pick up a copy of his birth certificate from the Warren City, Ohio, health department. He needed it to get a passport, he told her. She wanted more details. So did he.

Just a week before departure, he laughed and said, "I have more questions than answers."

The details have come slowly.

He knows that in March, he and another Benedictine brother from St. Leo Abbey will leave for a three-month monastic formators program. Afterward, he'll be better trained to help new monks assimilate to life at the abbey.

Why Hallett?

"Because he has been working in the same position for almost 20 years," said Abbot Isaac Camacho. "He needs a break."

Hallett handles the abbey's finances. When he returns, he may take on more of a teacher role.

The Italian program's Benedictine scholars and authors will provide inspiration and teaching. But there will also be memories of a man who helped Hallett transition to life as a monk.

In 1988, Hallett left the cold weather and his accounting career in Newton Falls, Ohio, for St. Leo. Father David Draim interviewed Hallett and recommended him for acceptance into the abbey.

Draim left the abbey in 1996 and died in an automobile accident January 2007.

"I'm sure he'd be thrilled to know I'm still here after 19 years and for whatever reason, I'm going to Rome," Hallett said.

* * *

Two boys in long baggy shirts walk by the cream-colored walls of the abbey church. You can hear rap music from their headphones.

Hallett talks about his past travels.

There was the one-year stint in the Army that took him to Japan, Korea and Hawaii. Ten years ago, he walked over to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls for lunch. That was his last trip out of the country.

Now, he can go a week without leaving the abbey except for brief trips to the bank or Town Hall.

He's been the mayor since 2004. It's not uncommon in St. Leo to have brothers and sisters on the commission. Outside of the resident students at the town's university, the St. Leo Abbey monks and sisters from Holy Name Monastery across the street make up a good portion of the town's population.

No one stepped up to run against him or the other commissioners up for re-election this year. The town's election was canceled.

The mayor pro-tem and commissioners will handle most of the town business while he's away. He'll only miss three meetings, as the commission convenes just once a month.

Sister Donna DeWitt, a St. Leo commissioner, laughed when asked if the town will suffer without a mayor.

"I don't think we'll fall apart," she said.

Hallett's already joked that his absence will be a bigger deal than his presence.

But in May, commissioners decide who will be the mayor. Hallett expressed he would like to serve again.

He has to find out if he can vote while out of the country.

* * *

If you equate big churches with Europe, then the St. Leo Abbey church, with its stained glass and tall bell tower, might not be a far stretch from what Hallett will see in Rome - minus the Spanish moss sweeping down from the trees lining the abbey church's courtyard.

He seems calm about his trip, the sights and the Italian food. That might be a facade.

"If you know him, you will know that he's very excited," said Camacho. "But that's his demeanor. He's always peaceful."

Hallett hears he'll come back changed, a new person in some way.

"I'm calmly optimistic to come back more spiritually whole," he said.

He's also looking forward to some little things.

He grew up near a church and a Chevrolet dealership. The church had an obvious effect on him. But he's also been interested in cars since childhood. He wants to see what Rome's car dealerships look like.

And while his most of his time will be spent in religious studies, he does take his municipal service seriously.

He plans to find City Hall.

Helen Anne Travis can be reached at htravis@sptimes.com or 352 521-6518.

[Last modified February 23, 2008, 20:18:27]