Marshall Boykin

Broleo Marshall Boykin

A Trappist monk, he helped a wealthy Texas widow, Sarita Kennedy East, write her will that left the largest portion of her estate to a charitable foundation. She called him her spiritual advisor. When she unexpectedly died, her Bishop and others brought suit against him claiming he unduly influenced her. The Archbishop of Philadelphia, appointed by Rome to investigate and settle the dispute, branded him a "wayward monk." Some accused him of a meretricious relationship with the widow. His Abbot banished him from the Trappist Order. He became an eremite; his cause the Church''s promise to Mrs. East. His name, Brother Leo, an anathema to some, may have been forgotten by many; the legacy has not.