If you ask Hugh Bearn whether an expat congregation is any different than a typical village parish, his response is straightforward. “I have been a priest for 35 years and it seems to me that people are the same the world over, driven by the same impulses and affected by the same concerns – the only difference is the wrapping.”
The Bearn family – Father Hugh with his wife Alison, youngest son Freddie, and, of course, their West Highland Terrier Cameron III – arrived in Monaco in April 2023. St. Paul’s Anglican Church Monte Carlo may seem like a world away from his former gig at St. Anne’s Tottington in Lancashire, UK, where he served “27 glorious years of dedication and energy” according to a tribute upon his departure, but Father Hugh seems to have adjusted to the sunny lifestyle here just fine. “With the kindness of others we have settled in very well thank you.”
Father Hugh spent 24 years as a volunteer hospice chaplain, which seems the antitheses of serving the wealthy and privileged Monaco community where it is sometimes difficult for people to remain grounded. From where he stands, there is no secret to making “a habit out of Joy” in this one life we each have. “The response that I would give as a priest is to quote Jesus’ two great commandments to love God and our neighbour as ourselves. There are so many ways in which to do that – I think that I would run out of words. St. Therese of Lisieux said, “That shall be my life, to scatter flowers, to miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
The middle child of four siblings grew up in Oxford, where the family home was over the road from a monastery and from a young age sensed a calling to the priesthood. His vocation has taken him on a faithful journey beyond a hospice chaplain, to Army chaplain, Chaplain to the late Queen – and now King – and Chaplain at St. Paul’s Monte Carlo.
“I have had the privilege of serving the Church over many years and I have been blessed in meeting and sharing in the lives of so many people. I think that I might write a book with the title Tales from the Vestry. Two very early ones involved ministering to a lady in Christie Hospital in Manchester and another with the most-lovely family in Heaton in Bolton whose son committed suicide and whom I still hold very close to my heart. Truthfully, there are too many people that come to mind whom I have tried to serve and have, without realising it, have formed and molded my priesthood and to whom I owe an enormous debt.”
And then there are the four-legged creatures. “We have always had dogs in our family. Alison and I have had three West Highland Terriers in 34 years of marriage all with the same name – Cameron. Dogs are very intuitive as we say in Lancashire, very knowing. As for sensing our faith or helping to teach us about God and love, well that remains, I think, a divine mystery.”
In April, Father Hugh coordinated “Operation Pews & Paws,” donating some 60 x 8-metre church pew cushions to the SPA (Société Protectrice des Animaux) Monaco. “A couple from St. Paul’s kindly funded the replacement of all of the old furnishings in Church. I dislike waste and our throw away culture in the West, and was very happy to help. By the way, I have an additional cushion if anyone would like to collect it.”
WATCH VIDEO ABOVE IN FRENCH: Karine Manglou from SPA Monaco talks about “Operation Pews & Paws.” (By the way, the new SPA Monaco refuge in Peille was inaugurated by Prince Albert and Princess Charlene on September 18.)
At St. Paul’s Monte Carlo at 22 avenue de Grande-Bretagne, “The congregation is multinational, with a varied age, and the Sunday School continues to grow,” says Father Hugh. Regular Church of England services take place every Sunday, and during the week, with special events and concerts peppered into the calendar, like the upcoming Exeter College Oxford Alumni Choir on October 6 at 10:30am and 3pm pm and the Danish Boys Choir – Les Petits Chanteurs de Frederiskborg – on October 12 at 2pm, both of which are free entry. Then there’s the not-to-be missed Christmas celebrations in English, the nativity play, as well as the traditional Christmas Eve (7:30pm) and Christmas Day at 8.00 am and 1030 am services. (See info and dates below.)
Of course, the big news out of St. Paul’s Monte Carlo is its centenary in 2025 and along with the support of the dedicated Church Council, plans are being formulated.
The Chaplain in Monaco, who once described himself as “short of height but high of profile”, has an open vicarage door policy: he is ever available for a pot of tea and a chat. But plan to stay a while, for whatever you wish to discuss with the Father Hugh, a delightful detour of dialogue will ensue. And for the record, I’d be the first to buy his book.
Article first published September 24, 2024.
St. Paul’s Monte Carlo Church Calendar
Sunday September 22, 10:30am:
Thanksgiving service and dedication of a stone memorial for 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Winston Churchill.
Monday Sept. 30, 6pm:
Centenary launch at Metropole Hotel.
Sunday October. 6, 10:30am & 3pm:
Exeter College Oxford Alumni choir singing. Evensong at 3pm.
Saturday Oct. 12, 2pm:
Danish Boys Choir – Les Petits Chanteurs de Frederiskborg – free entry.
Sunday Oct. 13, 10:30am:
Lord Chartres Confirming Bishop.
Sunday Oct. 20:
Harvest Festival to support St. Famille in Nice.
Friday Oct. 25, 7:30pm:
Trafalgar Night social evening at the Vicarage.
Friday November 7:30pm:
In the English Library Padre David Coulter former Chaplain General of the British army talk on the faith of Earl Haig.
Remembrance Sunday Nov. 11:, 10:30am:
Remembrance Service followed by service at Churchill bust on avenue de Grande Bretagne, Evensong 6.00pm.
Saturday December 7:
Handel’s Messiah full orchestra and choir.
Sunday Dec. 15:
Nine Lessons and Carols.
Tuesday Dec. 24, 7:30pm:
Christmas Eve service.
Wednesday Dec. 25, 10:30am:
Christmas Day services.
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