Martinus was born in Haarlem on November 24, 1930. He passed away at the MUMC on September 18, 2026. He came from a family of six children. His mother died when he was eight years old. His father remarried, and his second wife took good care of all the children in the family. His father was a paver in Haarlem and rose early every morning. After work, he would go to the vegetable garden to gather produce for the meal. The children attended school in Haarlem and received a Catholic upbringing. Martinus went to the Lambertus School.

In 1945, after the war, Martinus went to Voorschoten to study with the fathers, staying at the Berenstein estate in the wooden shed. His ‘second mother’ told him, "You can't study on an empty stomach." At sixteen years old and weighing less than 45 kg, he was simply underweight.

In 1946, he went to the juvenate of the FIC Brothers on Tongerseweg here in Maastricht. At the time, there were five boys from Haarlem: Piet van de Putte, Kees Zonneveld, Eef Havenverkort, Jan Hetem, and Martinus Mooren.

Once in the novitiate, he was required to complete a full year before he could begin vocational training. Illness prevented him from doing so. His path depended not only on that requirement but also on the judgment of his novice master, Brother Lidwino, and Brother Loyola - then the director of the teacher training college - who had said to Martinus: "I had shoemaking in mind for you." And so, he became a highly skilled and respected shoemaker.

Cris made his profession in the Congregation of the FIC Brothers on August 15, 1951, taking the name Brother Crispinianus - a name referring to one of the two patron saints of shoemakers, tanners, and leatherworkers. To us, he has long been known as brother Cris, while to his family, he is uncle Tinus. He worked for several years as a shoemaker at De Beyart, at the teacher training college on Tongerseweg, and at the boarding school for children of bargees in Nijmegen. As a shoemaker, he would have liked to apply his craftsmanship in other provinces, but the Congregation needed him in the Netherlands. Cris was deeply disappointed to be told that "shoemakers are not needed in the missions."

He became an assistant at the Central Library (later incorporated into the Maastricht City Library). He managed the reading room, handling tasks such as the lending and return of requested books - meticulously processing the necessary paperwork for each transaction. He worked there until he moved on to support the offset printing shop and reprographics department at De Beyart. Although already well over fifty, Chris undertook a three-year training course in Utrecht. The qualifications he earned demonstrated his excellent command of the printing trade. Chris devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work - an attitude he also brought to helping others whenever the opportunity arose.

Cris spent the greater part of his life at De Beyart. He knew the building from cellar to roof. Unfortunately, he struggled greatly with all the changes following the reorganization of De Beyart; he missed his old home. Cris lived a simple life but was never bored.

In his final years, he filled his days with puzzles, reading the newspaper, doing odd jobs in his room, collecting items, and chatting with the nursing staff, caregivers, the brothers, and the FIC team. He enjoyed reminiscing about the past.

Cris was a great storyteller when it came to life in the old days - recounting tales about the 'Juliaantjes' who came to help at home when his mother was ill, the KPV political party one was expected to vote for, and the handball club where his sister played as goalkeeper. He also spoke often about the brothers and what life was like back then - such as how, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, you could get a key to go out for a bike ride. One brother always got a key, as he went archery shooting at De Schark.

In recent years, Cris was frequently ill. He would often speak of "fluid in the lungs," noting that "nothing could be done about it." Nevertheless, several courses of antibiotics managed to pull him through multiple winters. Brother Cris was a fighter with immense willpower. He passed away quite unexpectedly on the evening of Friday, September 18. He had broken his hip following a fall in his room. Together with the doctors, he decided against surgery; the pain was under control, and he was expected to return to De Beyart. Sadly, that was not to be.

We are grateful for all he meant to the congregation, his fellow brothers, family, friends, and acquaintances.

May he now find the peace of the Lord whom he served so faithfully.

Bro. Kees Gordijn