The paranormal has always been a subject of debate, over whether or not it is acceptable and/or provable. However, some have experienced things beyond our understanding and thus believe it wholeheartedly. Fr. Alphonsus Trabold, O.F.M of St. Bonaventure was one such believer.
Trabold has become a legend of sorts at St. Bonaventure, as well as his collection of books in the Friedsam Memorial Library. In the main reading room of the library, there are several glass cases on the far-side of the room, holding volumes on subjects ranging from angels and demons, to psychic children, to ghosts and even black magic. To some, this collection would be distasteful, or even sinful, but Trabold saw the spirit realm in a different life, and he longed to understand it.
Sadly, Trabold passed away in April of 2005 at 80 years old. He gave his collection to the library upon his passing, but there are still some faculty that remember his life. In hopes of uncovering who Trabold was, Fr. Dan Riley shared his memory of his fellow friar.
“Alphonsus was actually on the faculty here when I came here as a student,” Riley said, “So I remember him teaching theology. I’m not remembering being in one of his classes, but I remember my classmates enjoying him and sort of laughing. He was always a pleasant guy and joked about things, and we later called his course, ‘Spooks!’”
Trabold taught in the theology department for over 30 years before retiring, and he had a particular course in the paranormal.
“He always left the row in the front open for his ‘friends’ as he would say. And if the door blew open with a breeze, or shut because of wind, he would say ‘Oh! One of them came in!’ or ‘Oh, one of them left!’” Riley said.
The remarkable truth about the late friar, is that he never believed that his occult studies were in contradiction with his holy passion. He felt that the supernatural is something to be understood and that the darkness must be known, so that he and his fellow Christians can help those in the clutches of pain and evil, according to Riley. He was so well educated in the paranormal that he was consulted on a few local hauntings, and even a possible possession.
“As a Franciscan, we’re open to it in a sense, we want to find a way with it,” Riley said. “So that anybody who’s caught in any darkness in their life will be welcomed into the light. That they would find peace rather than turmoil, and they will be called out of violence. I think it’s an openness, not just about, but from it. From any place that might be injurious to a person.”
It’s difficult to know such a private person, especially when they can no longer speak for themselves. But it seems that all the memories of Trabold are happy ones, about what a uniquely holy man he truly was. He sought to merge his two passions, to use his knowledge of darkness to walk those in need into the light.
“He was a very holy man, a very thoughtful man, very pleasant-going,” Riley said. “He was a fairly private man, so I think he took his life with himself. He was in community, thoughtful about other friars. I think he enjoyed solitude and his privacy, too.”
It gives a certain life to those who’ve passed on, to hear about who they were, what they enjoyed. Trabold was a unique and thoughtful person, with a passion for learning what some could not understand. He was a private, thoughtful man, with something to teach the world.
By Anastasia Smith, Staff Writer
smithan18@bonaventure.edu
