A coroner's court sitting at Milford Haven Town Hall on Thursday of last week heard details of the circumstances leading up to the death of Brother Dominic Maria Morgan, of Caldey Abbey.

At the request of Mr. Michael Howells, presiding, the coroner's officer, Mr. Jeremy Davies, read a eulogy received from the Abbot, Father Daniel.

Of English, Irish and Welsh descent, Brother Dominic, OCSO (Order of Cistercians of Strict Obedience), was born in New York in 1922 of a well-known American family.

After studying briefly at a preparatory school in England, he returned to the United States and was educated at St. Paul's School in New Hampshire.

During World War II, he served in the US Air Force as a pilot, then returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to study at Harvard University, which was when he began visiting the centre for catholic students and others - the Benedict Centre - at Harvard Square. He was received into the catholic church there in 1947.

The movement based at the St. Benedict Center took the name of Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1949 and, after many vicissitudes, they relocated some 50 miles away to Still River, Mass in 1957.

The nucleus of the movement eventually adopted the Rule of St. Benedict and later became the St. Benedict Abbey at Still River within the Swiss-American Congregation of Benedictines.

Brother Dominic was extremely active in the movement from its very beginning, especially working on the farm at Still River. He was also a pioneer in the apostolate of selling catholic books which he, and other Brothers, took by car all over the United States.

However, in 1989 - seeking a stricter way of life - he came to Europe and, after spending some months at Mount Melleray in Waterford, Ireland, he entered Caldey in October 1990. He was clothed as a novice on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception two months later and made his Solemn Profession on the same day in 1995.

Brother Dominic Maria was a most committed brother, but also someone who was very much his own man - his greatest passion was to live out the Cistercian vocation and his heartfelt devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus, was evident to all.

His passion was not restricted to the spiritual life, but also manifested itself in his work and especially around Caldey Abbey. He managed to cast no fewer than 55 elegant benches, which he placed all over the island and, for many years, he took on the responsibility of maintaining all the fences on the farmland. He was also the untiring faithful barber to the community.

The Abbot concluded: "In all this, Brother Dominic was able to express his love, not only for his Brothers, but also for the islanders and the many island visitors. We will miss him greatly but, in faith, we know that his hope and faith are now truly brought to fulfilment in the Lord."

Mr. Jeremy Davies added that before Brother Dominic died on December 2 last, aged 86, he had spent two weeks as a patient at Withybush General Hospital, Haverfordwest, where he had been diagnosed as suffering from mesothelioma - a form of cancer related to exposure to asbestos.

The coroner, Mr, Michael Howells, returned a narrative verdict, giving the cause of death in accordance with the medical evidence.