From the District Archives . . .

December 31 1885

1885: At the request of Rev. Mooney (Pastor), Brother Stephen of Jesus and two other Brothers arrived in Newburgh (NY) in the Hudson Valley to take charge of St. Patrick Parish School.

Brothers of the Christian Schools, Journey in Retrospect: A Century of Service 1848-1948 [Barrytown, NY: New York District], 1948, p. 82.

December 30 1815

1815: Pope Pius VII wrote a personal letter to the Superior General (Bro. Gerbaud) on this date encouraging him to send Christian Brothers to the region of what would become known as the Louisiana Purchase; Bishop Dubourg of New Orleans was the ecclesial authority in that vast area at that time. Several years later, three Brothers were sent to Ste. Genevieve (MO).

Brother Angelus Gabriel (FSC), The Christian Brothers in the United States 1848-1948: A Century of Catholic Education (NY: Declan McMullen, 1948), p. 49.

December 29 1839

1839: Two years after the arrival of the pioneering four Brothers in Canada (1837), they were able to purchase the estate and former summer residence of the Governor of Montreal (October 1839). The chapel was blessed on this date in December. “This establishment became the real cradle of othe Institute in America.”

Brother Angelus Gabriel (FSC), The Christian Brothers in the United States 1848-1948: A Century of Catholic Education (NY: Declan McMullen, 1948), p. 66.

December 28 1873

1873: The new Sacred Heart College, then located at the corner of Eddy and Larkin Streets in San Francisco, was dedicated. The main speakers were Archbishop Joseph Alemany, the distinguished Brother Justin, and John Burnett, son of the first governor of California.

Brother Angelus Gabriel (FSC), The Christian Brothers in the United States 1848-1948: A Century of Catholic Education (NY: Declan McMullen, 1948), p. 470.

December 27-28 1936

1936: The 50th anniversary of the relocation of the St. Louis District’s novitiate from Carondolet (MO) to Glencoe (MO) was celebrated on these days

Bulletin des Ecoles Chretiennes, Vol. 25, July 1937, pp. 298-299. See also Brother Angelus Gabriel (FSC), The Christian Brothers in the United States 1848-1948: A Century of Catholic Education (NY: Declan McMullen, 1948), p. 601.

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