Edmund's Charism Is Planted in the Americas

As early as the 1820's Bishops from North America were requesting the sons of Edmund Rice to minister in the new frontier of the Church. The need was so great in Ireland at the time, that Blessed Edmund was unable to fill their needs. Newfoundland (1876) The first overture that came from Newfoundland requesting Christian Brothers occurred in 1831 asking for “even one brother” to direct schools that had been established by the Benevolent Irish Society.

All Saints, New York (1906) The name of Father James Power stands out in in the history of the Brothers coming to the United States. He was a man of vision and of support to the Brothers. As an old boy of the Brothers in Waterford, Father Power requested some Brothers to teach the boys in the upper grades at All Saints School. Within a couple of years they had legally incorporated as the Christian Brothers Institute, and taken initial steps to become citizens. By 1909 they had established a high school, All Hallows. By the time of the establishment of All Hallows in 1909, the Brothers were established firmly in New York, and could begin to move their horizons further as they planted the charism and vision of Edmund Rice. Briscoe Memorial, Kent. WA. (1911) The move from the small enclave of Christian Brothers in Newfoundland and in the New York area to the West Coast of the United States, took tremendous faith and courage. The jump of 3500 miles to Briscoe Orphanage in Kent, Washington was undoubtedly seen as an expansion across the Canadian and U.S. continent. Within a few short years the expansion continued into Canada as the Brothers mover to Victoria, British Columbia. Expansions and Missions Over the years, schools and communities began to be established across the continent, linking up the Congregation and its ministry like stops on a train line: Chicago, Butte, Montana, Seattle, Washington, Salinas and Montebello, California, and Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.

A similar type of expansion in the New York area and the Northeastern United States also accompanied this move westward. The Christian Brothers of North America first moved beyond our continent in the 1950's when two Brothers who left for St. Boniface Mission in Kimberley, South Africa in 1950. When Austin Loftus was appointed as Provincial of the American Province in 1954, he and his council immediately began to put into place a plan for unprecedented expansion and growth. Austin was ‘a man on the move’ and definitely had a vision to make the Brothers part of the rapid expansion of Catholic education in the Americas. That vision was far reaching as it included the seeding and preparation of the eventual creation of three provinces from the one that had existed for some 60 years. In a little over six years, Austin and his Council entered into 16 contracts for schools in Canada and the United States, as well as the West Indies. Three From One The creation of the three distinct Provinces of Canada (Canada was made a vice-province in 1963), Eastern United States, and Western United States in 1966, was a restructuring to facilitate the life and mission of the Brothers in North America. It was a time to realize how much we had been blessed here in the Americas.. We were three provinces, but we were of one source. The pool of meetings expanded over the years, Provincials brought their whole team to meetings with other Province teams. Programs concerned about the aging brothers led to concern for the “ordinary Brother.” A Shoot Begins to Grow programs were offered for several summers. These eventually included Brothers from South America as well, thus broadening the global expanse and dimension of what we are about as Christian Brothers in the whole of the Americas. Programs begun in one province began to be developed in other provinces as well. We shared, we learned, we struggled with the same problems. In all of this we were most likely and probably unknowingly preparing ourselves for a new way of being Congregation and province; a collaborative model was born during these times that has led us to the Cornwall Assemblies and Declaration (July, 2004).