Br. Bruno Tröndle (1947-2023)

On the morning of September 13, 2023, our confrere Brother Bruno Tröndle died in the St. Katharina nursing home in Werne at the age of 77. The day before, he had been discharged from the hospital in Werne, where he had been hospitalized for two weeks. He had been a member of the General Curia.

Bruno Tröndle was born in Bad Säckingen, southern Baden, the son of housewife Hannelore Tröndle. His father was a French soldier from Hanoi. From 1953 to 1960 Bruno attended elementary school in Laufenburg, and from there he already had contact with the Capuchins in Bad Säckingen. In September 1966 he arrived at the postulancy in Stühlingen to prepare for admission to the Capuchin Order. After his novitiate year he was transferred to our house of studies in Münster, where he was given the duties of cook, sacristan and porter. He made his solemn profession in January 1972 in the parish church of Holy Cross in Bad Säckingen, entrusted to the Capuchins.

The two sojourns in Rome 1982-1989 and 1994-1998 were interrupted by five years as porter in our Citykloster Liebfrauen in Frankfurt am Main, where he was again involved in the pastoral care of artists, as in Münster. As porter at the General Curia in Rome, Br. Bruno naturally had numerous contacts with confreres, religious superiors and even bishops from all over the world, especially from mission countries, who visited several times to discuss the most diverse issues with the general administration of the Order. He was a very friendly porter and made himself known throughout the world, and at General Chapters and other meetings he made excellent use of his talents as a server in the dining hall and during evening recreation. He also established contacts with the Vatican and managed to procure many friends and acquaintances tickets to papal audiences or letters of congratulations from the Holy Father. Even today, in the General Curia people talk about ‘fra Bruno’, the amiable doorkeeper from ‘Germania’.

In 1998, Fr. Bruno returned to Germany, to our friary in Münster, to assume the role of porter once again. He also continued his beloved contacts with artists and actors. In the early 2000s he was again in Frankfurt Liebfrauen for some time, but soon returned to Münster. His health was no longer so strong. To the best of his ability, he manned the door from time to time. In his last years he was cared for in the friary’s infirmary.

With sadness, but above all with gratitude and hope for new life in God's eternal glory, we bid farewell to our brother Brother Bruno and entrust him to the prayers of those who knew him, were close to him and esteemed him. Thank you, Brother Bruno, for your life.