Br. Bruno Karpinski, S.J.

By Fr. John Locke, S.J.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1920 Br. Karpinski joined the Society in 1942. Early in his life Bruno went to Patna where he began a long career as a printer, taking over the management of Sanjivan Press. For thirty years Sanjivan Press was Karp’s life and the voice of the old Patna Mission. In 1974 superiors decided to close Sanjivan Press, and Karp answered a call to come to Nepal.

Karp was no stranger to Nepal. On several occasions he had come to help in times of special need, the most notable was at the time of the great move of the high school From Godavari to Jawalakhel, 1968-69. So for Karp it was something of a homecoming. He took up residence at Godavari School where he looked after maintenance, served as minister of the community at times, and took up the teaching of “craft” to the boys. A genius at making use of odds bits of wood he begged and coerced out of merchants, he taught the boys how to use their hands to make things they could present to their parents or make use of giving them a sense of confidence and accomplishment.

With his Polish humour and his fund of stories, Karp was the life of the community. In 1991, he answered a call to go to his ancestral land when one of the Polish provinces asked for someone to help teach the novices English. After a year in Poland he returned to the U.S. where he now resides at Colombiere.