On Sunday the 16th of December (yesterday) we had the long-awaited, much advertsied, gathering of Brothers and friends at Holy Cross College, Ryde. Beautiful day (well, most of it), very comfortable amenities, and a genuine feel of family, made it a day that every one was delighted with.

Close to seventy-five attended, people with all sorts of associations and history with the Brothers. Ages ranged from six to that plus eighty.

Most of those who attended the day.

Starting punctually at 10:30 am, Br Aengus divided the assembly up into groups which spent 30 minutes or so sharing their Patrician stories. It was a great way of getting the ball rolling, a great-getting-to-know-you (again) activity. A shame we could not have got all the stories down on paper. Next Br Stephen Sweetman gave a little-bit-of-this-and-a-little-bit-of-that presentation on the history of the Brothers. After a cuppa and a group photo session, Mr Michael Krawec, spoke about the main bicentenary celebrations for 2008. The “formal” input session concluded with a short presentation by Aengus on Patrician spirituality and then a prayer. It was then into lunch over which many more Patrician stories and memories were shared.

An amazing coincidence was the out-of-the-blue arrival of a niece of Br Cyril Boland, who was visiting from Ireland and was looking for her uncle’s grave.

So, thanks to all who came. We know many others would have liked to have been with us, but it’s just a busy time of the year. Thank you to the Ryde community for hosting the day, to all the other Brothers who pitched-in on the day, and to Holy Cross for making the college available.