Vancouver College - Collegian Yearbook (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada)

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COMMEMORA TION TO THE WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS IN NORTH AMERICA Vancouver College has remained alive for the past fifty-four years thanks to the work of the Christian Brothers. As students, none of us has really seen or felt the coming to life of our school or the striving of the Christian Brothers to keep it running as it has been for over half a century. Where exactly did Vancouver College come from? How did it get started? The answers to these questions are found in the establishment of the Christian Brothers in North America. Although 1876 marks the opening of the first of the Brothers’ schools in North America, the Christian Brothers were originally asked in 1831 by Bishop Fleming of St. John’s to send out a group of religious teachers. Because of the great demand for their services in Ireland, Brother Edmund Ignatius Rice found it im- possible to meet the request, and the project was tem- porarily dropped. The Brothers ' s residence at Vancouver College, founded 1922. Br. Howland. Superior of the Brothers at Vancouver College, along with Br. |.F. McGowan, Left; Provincial Superior of the Brothers for the Western Province of the IJ.S., and Br. J.l,. Kelly, Bight; Superior General o( the Congregation of Christian Brothers. In 1847, Dr. Fleming was successful in getting four members of the Franciscan Brothers Community to travel to Newfoundland, but after a few years they left, and the schools were left in the hands of lay teachers. In 1863, the Benevolent Irish Society called on Bishop Mullock to take up the matter of sending a number of religious teachers to Newfoundland, preferably a group of Irish Christian Brothers. Again, because of com- mitments in their native land, the Brothers were unable to send a group out at that time. In 1875, the Benevolent Irish Society stressed the fact that the Christian Brothers’ coming to North America was absolutely necessary for the continuation of the present schools. Bishop Mullock appealed to the Christian Brothers to take charge of the schools, and at last the application for their services was received. Rev. Brothers Hoope and Macdonald were sent by the Superior General to survey the educational problems and to study the local conditions. As a result of their study, they arranged to take charge of the schools from January of 1876. The four Brothers making up this first community were Brothers Holland, Prenderville, Mit- chell and Tully. 2

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rHE STUDENTS OF VANCOUVER COLLEGE PRESENT INTRODUCTION 2 JUNIOR CLASSES 12 SENIOR CLASSES 32 GRADUATES ACTIVITIES SPORTS BUSINESS 52 84 120 144 YEARBOOK STAFF Editor-in-Chief Michael Varelas Juniors Editor Jonathan Smyth Assistant Owen Davis Classes Editor Dave Dube Assistant Mike Coady Graduates Editor Tim Koss Assistant Rick Thibault Activities Editor Jerry Eberts Sports Editor Joe March Assistant Peter Irving Business Editor Rob Shipman Assistant Tom Body Photography Ed Auersperg Assistants Ron Gipps Dave Giers Darkroom Chief Doug McConnell Assistants Dave Longpre Dave Forster John Benetti Mike Galambos Peter Galambos Moderator Br. J.P. Rowland Our ta 7ltr. J)t. Piecidcutce atf ' rtycuwaef Stuclia cutcC pr. D. TK urae far 76eir Serviced ta t e @a££eyiau ’ 76 .

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Mount St. Francis Monastery, the Brothers, first house in North America. It is the residence for the Brothers who teach at St. Patrick ' s Hall, St. John’s. The introduction of the Christian Brothers into the schools of Newfoundland raised the attendance from sixty-six students to over three hundred in the first month of their instructions. The increase in students was so incredible that “...many others who had applied for admission had to be denied entrance for lack of ac- comodation. The system was far superior to anything which had obtained in the classes since their establish- ment in 1832.” This problem of expansion was solved by the subcription of $13,000 by the Benevolent Irish Society to erect a new school. In July of 1877, the cor- nerstone of St. Patrick’s hall was laid. The construction of this structure began only six months after the first foundation of Mt. St. Francis Monastery had been laid. Three years later, both buildings were completed, and although this extra space was provided, overcrowding was still a large problem. As a result. Holy Cross School in St. John’s was erected in 1890. From here, the Christian Brothers moved strongly across Newfoundland, then slowly spread into the rest of Canada and the United States. In August of 1889, the Brothers officially took over St. Bonaventures College. In 1898 Mount Cashel Orphanage was opened in N ewfoundland. In 1906, the Brothers’ first American school was opened in New York City. Since then, a number of schools have been opened in the States, coming as far west as Washington. Br. J.S. Nash, Left; Assistant Superior General of the Brothers, along with Br. Bates, our school principal. In 1915, St. Louis College in Victoria was taken over by the Brothers. It had previously been run by the Oblate Fathers and the Sisters of St. Ann. From here, the in- fluence of the Christian Brothers spread to Vancouver, where Vancouver College was opened in 1922 in Rosary Hall on Richards Street. In 1924, the College moved to its present property. From this time on, the Christian Brothers have opened a large number of schools across North America including O’Dea High School in Seattle, Iona College in New Rochelle, Cantwell High School in Montebello, Los Angeles, St. Joseph Academy in Antigua and St. Mary’s Academy in Dominica, to mention just a few. For one hundred years, the Christian Brothers have been going strong in North America, spreading their good works across the continent. We pay a special tribute to them in their centennial year and hope that their work will persist for centuries to come. 3