Paul Meuten
Brother Paul Meuten, FMS, passed away peacefully at the Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NY on September 16, 2024. He was 87 years old and in his 69th year of Marist Religious Life.
Brother Paul entered the Juniorate of the Marist Brothers in Furth, Germany in 1949. In 1952 he went to the International Juniorate in Grugliasco, Italy. He received the habit in 1955 in Bairo, Italy and made his profession of first vows there in 1956. In 1956 he began his scholasticate at Marist (then Marian) College in Poughkeepsie, NY and received a BA in History in 1960. He made his profession of final vows at Marist College in 1961.
From 1960 to 1962 he was a teacher at Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood, NY, during which time he also completed an MA in History from St. John’s University. From 1962 until 1979, Brother Paul served in several capacities in the Philippines. He was a teacher, high school principal, college instructor, dean, university president at the following Marist Brothers establishments: N.D. of Marbel, N.D. of Jolo College, N.D. of Kidapawan College and N.D. of Dadiangas College. He also served in the planning office of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines. During this time, he professed the vow of stability in 1972 in Marbel, Philippines.
In 1979, he made his Second Novitiate in Fribourg, Switzerland and from 1980 to 1982 he did graduate studies at St. John’s University, Queens, NY. He returned to the Philippines in 1982 to the Marist School in Marikina City and in 1987 did a renewal program at Hawkstone Hall in the UK. From 1987 to 1990 he was at N.D. of Marbel University and then served at the Marist General House in Rome, Italy as Director and in the social secretariat from 1990 to 1995. He returned to the Philippines from 1995 to 1998 where he worked on the Philippine Library Materials Project. The Library at the University of Notre Dame of Dadiangas is named the Brother Paul Meuten Library in his honor.
Brother Paul came to Bayonne, NJ in 1998 and served as Assistant Provincial Treasurer there until his retirement in 2010. He officially transferred to the Province of the United States in 2004. In 2019, he moved to the Marist Brothers Champagnat Hall Community in the Bronx, NY where he pursued his love of history and music right up until the time of his death. Brother Paul is survived by family members and his Marist Brothers.