Community ‘devastated’ by sudden passing of Br Stephen

By Catherine Sheehan

The small community in Dover was shocked and saddened by the unexpected passing of Br Stephen Joseph Varga LEB on 25 November from sudden heart failure.

A consecrated brother of the association of Christ’s faithful, the Little Eucharistic Brothers of Divine Will, Br Stephen was well loved by his community. He will be particularly missed by his fellow ‘Little Brothers’, Br Gilbert Joseph and Fr John-Joseph.

“Both myself and Fr John-Joseph are devasted and shocked by his loss as he loved us and we loved him and we did everything together over these last nine years,” Br Gilbert said. “We had a lot of laughs and fun together, even though we are three totally different personalities.”

“I will miss everything about him,” Br Gilbert added. “He has been our rock and solid friend and brother over these last nine years and I will miss his constant loving support.”

The Little Eucharistic Brothers of Divine Will at the establishment of their community as a Public Association of Christ’s Faithful in 2021. Photo: Mark Franklin

Fr John-Joseph described Br Stephen as “a man of prayer” and “a man of work”.

“He was Jesus and Eucharistic focused, thoroughly Marian, and developed a close devotion to St Joseph in the past eight years,” Fr John-Joseph said. “He loved the notion of God as “light,” and the concept of eternity and eternal life.”

“His death was sudden, but not unprovided,” he added. “The Lord took him suddenly, but I believe he was found ready. He died the day after the Feast of Christ the King – he loved the theme of God’s Kingdom, and Christ’s Kingship, reflected in his choosing St King Stephen of Hungary as his patronal religious name.”

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for Br Stephen on 6 December at St James’ Church in Cygnet. Fr John-Joseph was the celebrant, with Huon Valley Parish Priest Fr Warren Edwards and South Hobart Parish Priest Fr Michael Tate as the main concelebrants.

Archbishop Julian Porteous attended the funeral and expressed his condolences to the Varga family.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for Br Stephen on 6 December at St James’ Church in Cygnet. Photo: Paul Gao

“He was taken unexpectedly from you,” Archbishop Julian said. “No doubt you feel the loss of a chance to say farewell to a beloved family member.

“To the Little Eucharistic Brothers of Divine Will I am aware that you feel his loss greatly. Br Stephen was an integral member of your small community based in Dover. His practical skills meant that much of the day-to-day management of the house and property was in his hands. I am grateful for his work in the interior restoration of St Mary Our Hope church in Dover. 

“And to the Parish Community here in the Huon Valley I know many of you had great affection for Br Stephen. I am sure his deep faith and spiritual wisdom has been a blessing to many.”

In his homily, Fr John-Joseph spoke of how Br Stephen had come to define “his whole existence” by the Eucharist and had been transformed by it over the years.

“He has served at the altar with me every day as an acolyte. What is more, in the past ten-years he spent hours and hours, thousands of hours before the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist.

“From the day he joined us brothers to the last he was always himself, and his family who knew him so much longer could tell you this—but Br Gilbert and I will attest that he became more who he was, not less, in the course of the ten years we knew him, and this is the kind of transformation our faith, and the power of Jesus in the Eucharist entails—a fuller becoming of who we were made by God to be.”

Fr John Joseph incenses Br Stephen’s coffin. Photo: Paul Gao

Br Stephen was born Joseph Varga in Budapest, Hungary, in 1954 and while he was still a baby his family escaped from the communist regime in Hungary and fled to Switzerland. They eventually moved to Sydney, Australia where he grew up and attended Catholic schools. He lived married and family life for a period of time and raised two children, Justine and Brent, before embarking on consecrated life many years later.

He worked for some time as a store manager and briefly drifted away from his Catholic faith before returning to it and deciding to make God the centre of his life. It was at that point he began to feel called to religious life. He heard about the Little Eucharistic Brothers and was attracted by their focus on the Divine Will.

He joined the Brothers in February 2015, taking the name Br Stephen Joseph of the Immaculate Heart. Br Stephen made his final vows in Dover in 2022.

Community leader Br Gilbert (left) with Br Stephen at his final vows in 2022. Photo: Supplied

Chair of the Huon Valley Parish pastoral council, Rachel Bradley, said Br Stephen was widely known and loved in the Parish.

“He sang in the choir, served on the altar as an acolyte, and did much of the renovation and decorating work at Dover’s church after the fire,” she said.

“He would always help willingly with anything that needed doing in the parish. He also was a great friend and mentor to many people in the parish.

“He could often be found after Mass, sitting in a pew with someone, catching up with what had been happening in their life, listening to their worries and problems and offering wisdom, support and encouragement. He seemed to be the unofficial counsellor to at least half of the parish.”

Clergy of the Archdiocese farewell Br Stephen outside the church. Photo: Paul Gao

Br Gilbert said many people had expressed how much Br Stephen had meant to them.

“Since he died so many people have shared with us how much he impacted them and was a mentor and friend to them and a number of men have been almost in tears talking about how much he meant to them.”

Fr John-Joseph reminded those mourning Br Stephen that according to the Catholic faith there is always the hope of being reunited with deceased loved ones.

“We lack no confidence in the trajectory of Br Stephen’s soul, his soul was pointed to heaven, and Jesus, as we hear in the Gospel, has a room in the Father’s House with his name on it.”

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