Father Florian, the Benedictine monk who was a prince
Father Florian gives an afternoon service in Illeret, Kenya. He took his vows at St. Ottilien Archabbey, where he adopted the Benedictines' unofficial motto, “Ora et Labora” — “Pray and Work.” This has become his mantra for his time with Kenya's ethnic Daasanach community, one of the smallest tribes in Kenya. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian was born Prince Franz-Josef of Bavaria in 1957 and he says despite his royal heritage, he and his six siblings had a normal childhood. Their farmhouse on the outskirts of Starnberg, Germany, was rumored to be a “house of rubber” because they could always fit one more person. No doubt his great sense of hospitality was nurtured there, along with a desire for a life away from the big city.
Now a Benedictine monk, Florian first came to Illeret, Kenya, in 2002, with the hope or turning the outpost mission in to a parish of its own. One thousand kilometers from the country’s capital, the now-established St. Peter the Fisherman’s parish sits on a small hill overlooking a town of several thousand members of the Daasanach community of Lake Turkana.
Father Florian, a Benedictine monk, leads an afternoon service in Illeret, Kenya. A Bavarian prince, he has lived in Kenya for over 20 years and has been working in Illeret with the Daasanach, a semi-nomadic tribe, for more than a decade. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian is greeted by children after returning to Illeret, Kenya from a recent trip to Nairobi. The distance between the two cities is about 1000 km and takes almost three days to travel. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian and some of the parish boys walk from the parish house to the church for afternoon prayers. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
The dining room of St. Peter the Fisherman parish in Illeret, Kenya. Father Florian is known for wearing his German hat, except during meals and church services. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Cristine, the parish cook, rolls a flat bread for cooking in Illeret, Kenya. The region is arid and supports little agriculture, so much of the food must be brought in by vehicle. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian takes a quiet moment to think before breakfast in Illeret, Kenya. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian prepares for a Sunday mass service in Illeret, Kenya. About 150 Daasanach community members come to the service every week. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian greets an altar boy and gives him affirmation at the end of a service in Illeret, Kenya. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian gives an afternoon service in Illeret, Kenya. He took his vows at St. Ottilien Archabbey, where he adopted the Benedictines’ unofficial motto, “Ora et Labora” — “Pray and Work.” This has become his mantra for his time with Kenya’s ethnic Daasanach community, one of the smallest tribes in Kenya. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian often travels to remote areas for ministry work and always keeps a travel kit with him to carry out the sacrament of the Eucharist. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian looks out over Lake Turkana after finishing a Sunday afternoon mass in Selicho, Kenya. The Bavarian prince gave up his inheritance to become a Benedictine monk and serve in Kenya. (Christine Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian confronts a Daasanach government official. The two passed each other on the road and got out to talk, Florian scolding the man for not representing the people well. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Even in the ten years that Father Florian has lived with the community, he has seen serious changes in the environment. “This is not a desert yet,” Florian says as he watches wind carry waves of sand across the horizon. “But it will be soon.” (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian was born Prince Franz-Josef of Bavaria in 1957 and he says that despite his royal heritage, he and his six siblings had a normal childhood in rural Germany. Their farmhouse on the outskirts of Starnberg, Germany was rumored to be a “house of rubber” because they could always fit one more. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian projects a black and white movie from the 1950s, “Bread and Wine,” on the side of the church building in Illeret, Kenya. Florian has been working in the area since 2002 with the Daasanach tribe. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Father Florian’s parents raised all their children in the Catholic Church. He recalls sitting behind the safety of his grandfather and surrounded by his favorite toys, listening to the stories of a family friend who was a missionary in Papua New Guniea. This experience sparked his interest in also becoming a missionary, though he doesn’t remember exactly why. (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
Florian is often the first one to morning prayers. Although many children hang around the compound, only seven boys live at the mission full time. They have various reasons for being there, whether orphaned or needy, but they are all treated the same. Several of them have lived with the Father for the better part of the last decade. “Father Florian is like a father to me. He sends me to school, clothes me, feeds me,” one boy said. “I feel just like his son.” (Christena Dowsett/The GroundTruth Project)
The Daasanach are one of the smallest tribes in Kenya. According to Ethnolougue, which lists all the languages in the world and their populations, there are approximately 60,000 speakers of the Daasanach language stretching across Kenya and Ethiopia.
The Benedictine’s unofficial motto is, “Ora et Labora” — “Pray and Work.” One could point to the new water system Florian has helped put in, the mechanics garage he built from scratch, the poor he helps take care of, or even the boys he sends to school; but Father Florian is adamant that he does not give handouts.
For the last 13 years, Father Florian has made his home among the Daasanach with the hopes of inspiring these two ideas in others: pray often and work hard.
Note from the Photographer
I have worked with the Daasanach community for several years, and I would always hear about Father Florian. We would meet in passing during my trips, but we never talked much. It wasn’t until a friend of mine mentioned that Father Florian was a German prince that I took notice. I did some research and, sure enough, Father Florian had royal blood in his veins. As he later explained, it didn’t practically mean much, other than a title, but I still thought it was fascinating to stumble upon a prince in the desert, serving the community there as a Benedictine monk.
The Daasanach community is close to my heart because I feel like they are caught between worlds. They’re a small tribe but a fierce one. And although they span across both Kenya and Ethiopia, neither government could give a hoot about them. They are physically isolated so they cling to each other for support, but there is also a lot of corruption among their leaders. The only way to any major town is by car, or days and days and days of walking. Famine, starvation and flash flooding are common. It’s the same pattern every year: the goats die and then the people.
When I decided to follow Father Florian, it was more in the hopes to bring awareness to what’s happening with the community. He, obviously, has a heart for them too, and he knew that this was my intent. He has a fascinating story but it is part of a much larger story at play here. My goal has been to highlight several key ideas and people in the community and turn it in to a giant project that gives a realistic perspective of what happens in tribal community life. So far, I’ve only been able to follow two people because of time and money — Father Florian and a fisherman named Irgiena.
For the images of Father Florian, I spent two weeks at his side. Every day looked the same and completely different. It was a variation of church and work and play. He is a stoic man, with many heartaches, who also enjoys a good laugh. I saw his love for the community often, but I think his love for the children was most evident. They were as much his kids as anyone else’s.
I hope to continue to work on this project over the years to come. The larger project can be viewed here.
Photographer Biography
Christena Dowsett is a documentary and non-profit photographer based in Seattle, Washington. After graduating from the University of North Texas with a degree in photojournalism, she worked several years working in East Africa. She is now a photographer with the development organization World Concern.