Meet the man keeping the language of Latin alive

[Music] it's a rare sound these days a Roman Catholic Mass said in Latin the language was once at the heart of Western culture for centuries most books and official letters were written in Latin today it is considered a dead language except to those who are trying to resurrect it brook silva-braga is here with one man's efforts to keep Latin alive Brooke good morning good morning well one estimate puts the number of truly fluent Latin speakers in the world at just a hundred people but one man has made it his life's work to save the language from extinction and where he's doing it is as unlikely as how he's doing it in the basement of a nursing home in Milwaukee the world's best Latin lessons are given for free virginity nearby in the middle of the table that's father Reginald Foster you have to do this sooner or later Momo's a priest who lacks patience and sure a teacher dominates his classroom away the man who has managed to convince hundreds of people sit loose to dedicate their lives to a language no own living his passion is what drives us he's like the rock star of the Latin world so it's just great to be in his orbit why are you so good at Latin is it just the time you put in you see where I'm sitting on I but you sit on your butt and study Latin as long as I am you'll be a master too it just seems too hard no every poor person derelict prostitute anyone else in Rome it's forgotten if they could do it well I figure do it I also say when the Roman said to their dogs dad pets come here sit down and eat your dinner vanie look conceding adheenam to armed su-mei and take your dinner and Ladin the dog Victor though as a young man foster the son of a Milwaukee plumber became a priest in Rome with a knack for the language and in 1970 got a call from the Vatican they wanted him to translate Latin for the Pope for the next 40 years he wrote speeches and letters in the names of four popes pretend that you're the Pope what would you say I said well I have some ideas one of Foster's ideas was rejecting the trappings of the church instead of a priest's habit he dressed like a working man instead of a mattress he slept on the floor his Latin was so good the church tolerated foster but the high profile job didn't quite satisfy him upstairs in the office was useless it was reading those letters so I said I want to do something useful she said glad in my way his way meant scrapping the traditional method of memorizing tables of text and instead treating Latin as a living spoken language it was a radical departure in approach something out of the world of fantasy a monk in Rome speaking Latin Jason pedak own had studied Latin by rote but never heard anyone speak it out loud he has scores of students who've become Latin teachers several have become Ivy League professors that has affected a change on the culture of the way Latin is taught foster would still be teaching and translating at the Vatican if a bad fall hadn't landed him in a wheelchair just as an appearance in Bill Maher's 2008 documentary Religulous landed him in hot water with the church Foster was flown home to Milwaukee never to return to Rome third chapter are these senses now 78 he's working on textbooks to share his method there I am 19 years old but is devoid of sentiment we asked if he had photos of his life and he said he'd thrown them all in a dumpster years ago luckily a neighbor climbed in and saved them why would he throw all this out this is the history of your life and it's gone past finished oh it's done forgotten goodbye Toto just accept it isn't really Foster's old students not only carried on the Latin summer classes in Rome Jason pedak owns non profit the Padilla Institute now brings Latin into underserved American classrooms open these kids English vocabularies in the process wait guys go guys guys guys guys wait and on a recent Saturday high school students swept through New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art for a Latin scavenger hunt the Gospel of father Reginald Foster is winning converts how long have you been studying out five hundred and fifty seven days so she won't forget race Milliman wrote the date on her shoes in Roman numerals number second 2016 and I walked into that classroom and like my entire life changed people say it's a dead language it's roaming around it's not dead you were ready for that I am always ready seeing a young person that excited even if he doesn't want to admit it I think would make Reginald really really happy and I think that in her he will live on and the tradition will live on it's not right that's what you've tried to change I am changing I'm really done teachers know and foster is willing to teach anyone who shows up in Milwaukee no experience needed his method is also taught in a London summer program and his second book in that five volume series is now headed to the printing press and he says he has no plans to stop teaching amazing it's Fugit carpe diem yeah that's all I know I know he said even a dog could learn it but I took it all the way through high school and it was murder he says people are learning it the wrong way I think he's probably right because it didn't work for me Silva Braga thinks

Channel: CBS Mornings

Views: 1,215,835

Keywords: video, cbs, news, Roman Catholic mass, Latin, language, dead language

Id: bh8K4L1TGzQ

Length: 6min 28sec (388 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 09 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/bedwere]

I had the honor and pleasure to meet him twice. Yes, he's still alive, u/seaweedWorkers

https://gladivs.blogspot.com/search/label/Pater%20Reginaldus

[u/improper-latin]

He’s on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLouiBGZR_4WOItpHg6QJ85VQcBjHXnU88

[u/Coagulus2]

My magister took a summer course from him in Rome. Says he is a brilliant guy, and my teacher says his own Latin has never been better than it was then.

[u/[deleted]]

This guy is amazing. My Latin teacher got to meet him and she talks so brightly of this man!

[u/Leonardptxr]

Disappointed it's not about Luke Ranieri.

[u/epomzo]

It's very American for them to exaggerate and say that this one guy in a basement in Milwaukee is the OnlY PeRsoN keeping Latin alive.

[u/[deleted]]

i watched the video a while ago. is he still alive?

[u/PippinIRL]

This is so cool. Does anyone know a bit more about the specific method he uses to teach students? I always encourage mine to practice speaking the language and trying to have basic conversations but it always comes back to remembering the conjugations etc. ! Would love to make it more fluid!

[u/WeirdFish9]

Not available in my country :(