Douglas F. Venne, MM

On December 28, 2009, in faraway Monipuripara, Bangladesh, a saintly priest, once the parish priest of Compostela, Davao de Oro, died serving the Muslims and Hindus. He was 81.

Born on June 20, 1928, in Racine, Michigan, USA, Fr. Douglas F. Venne, M.M., was the son of Russell and Ruth Zenner Venne and had four sisters. He was ordained as a Maryknoll priest on June 13, 1959 and was assigned to the Philippines where he built small Christian villages in seven parishes and did manual labor among the tribes, building pathways through the mountains.

In a brood of six, his only brother, R. Thomas Venne also joined the priesthood. When Fr. Doug died, he flew to Bangladesh to officiate the requiem Mass for his brother.

Energetic and athletic, while assigned in Compostela, he always had time playing basketball with the high school students of the Assumption Academy of Compostela notwithstanding a damaged eye he suffered when his second-hand car, carrying an emergency patient, careened and hit the concrete wall of Bacnotan (now Holcim) at Tibungko, Davao City.

The patient did not survive and Fr. Doug almost did not make it.

In 1967, he was appointed as the diocesan director of Mass Media for the Tagum Prelature. In this role, he conducted surveys to assess radio listenership and preferences in the area, laying the groundwork for creating a diocesan radio station, later given the call sign DXCD (i.e., CD for ‘community development’). The enterprise was aimed to bridge communication gaps in the region, which was characterized by challenging terrains and dispersed populations.

Short in height for a regular American, he moved like a soldier in boot camp and was always a sight to behold whenever he played full-court with teenagers when not attending to parish obligations. Despite having only one eye, he was impeccable in doing cross-passes and was always a willing mentor to students willing to know the rudiments of basketball.

He was at times impatient but always had his way of presenting himself as not satisfied but not angry. Whenever he felt his expectations were not met, he continued with his task, dedicated to fulfill nuptial rites, officiate a Mass, or administer baptism.

But it was Fr. Doug’s exposure to the tribal people that really shaped his outlook about the value of missionary work among the underprivileged sectors, an experience that in 1975 encourage him to volunteer to go to Bangladesh to join one of Maryknoll’s newest missions.

Believing it was vital for Christians to live among the Muslim and Hindu population to assist them better understand who Christians are, he and four other Maryknollers formed a fraternity. He spent five years working as a laborer in the fields with farmers while teaching adult literacy. Later, her moved to the village of Pouli, where he lived for 24 years while administering basic medicines, leading literacy efforts and devoting himself to prayer.

He lived a life of simplicity and holiness, residing in a small hut alone. His domicile only had bare clay as floor, and he slept on a hammock, with very few possessions. At the corner of his shack was a small altar with a crucifix where, facing it, he would say the daily Mass in privacy. For a quarter of century, this was his everyday routine.

Fr. Doug’s mission work was not for the faint of heart. While he survived the possible threats from extremists, his daily grind of working with the non-Catholic poor and visiting them in their rickety homes was both a touching experience and a reflection of humanity for him.

When he passed away, a funeral Mass was offered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Mymensingh, Bangladesh and burial followed in the cemetery exclusively set aside for priests.

As a lasting remembrance from this saintly one-eyed priest, I have kept the Missal he gave me over fifty years ago. It now forms part of my little library on Christianity and Theology. In the roster of the Maryknollers, Fr. Doug’s memory will continue to live on. (33)