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Bishop Cremin and ex-student
priests.
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Mrs Francis, Donnelly,
and Grixti: flowerpower!
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Musicians and choir.
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Brother Mark and other
Patricians.
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It
was at the beginning of 1967 that Brother Mark returned to Ryde. In May
of 1968 Brother Mark took over as Principal of Holy Cross when the then
Principal, Brother Patrick Lovegrove, was elected Provincial of the Australian
Patrician Congregation ö more on that in a couple of paragraphs. Brother
Mark remained principal until the end of 1970. He moved on to Fairfield
where he remained for the next eighteen years, he was principal there from
1987 to 1990.
Always believing that Fairfield
was a lovely place but Ryde was his home, Brother Mark returned to Ryde
in 1991 and has been here ever since; and as far as he is concerned he
will be here evermore. Brother retired from the classroom in 1998 but continues
to minister to staff and students alike in many different ways.
After forty years in schools
who could possibly reasonably estimate the contribution that Brother Mark
has made to education and to the lives of thousands of young people? No-one
of this earth. All we can do is to congratulate him on his forty years,
and to thank him for having given so much of himself to others.
Brother Patrick Lovegrove
also has very special links with Holy Cross. He may not have been a student
here himself, but he has had family members here. He taught here in 1960
to 62 and then returned in 1966 for a fourteen years stint: three as principal
(1966-68) and the rest as leader of the Patrician Brothers in Australia
and Papua New Guinea (1968-80). In 1980 he was elected as leader of the
Patrician Brothers throughout the world. He returned to Holy Cross in 1988
for a short spell before he took over the principalship of St Patrickâs
College at Blacktown. He still is principal.
Again it is impossible to
assess the affect of Brother Patrickâs fifty years of Patrician ministry,
you would have to ask the thousands of people whose lives have been touched
by his, and then that would only give you a fragment. Again, we thank Brother
Patrick for his great generosity in giving over his whole life to the service
of others. We hope that the years to come are as fulfilling for him as
the years that have been.
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A
couple of Sundays ago - May the 7th to be precise ö the College hosted
the jubilees of religious profession of Brother Patrick Lovegrove and our
own Brother Mark Ryan. Brother Patrick celebrated fifty years as a Patrician
Brother and Brother Mark celebrated forty years.