Giving - and receiving - the gift of a Catholic education

In April 1988, I accepted the invitation to join the newly formed Legatus initiative. The mission of Legatus was complementary to my mission, and so I welcomed this opportunity to collaborate with other Catholic executives.

Tom often reminded members in the early days that when one encounters Christ, it causes us to see life in a new way! “When you encounter Christ you have to change.” Legatus members know that God did not create us just to be “nice” people. He gifted each of us unique talents to be shared with our brothers and sisters around the world. Tom cautioned us when he said, “When we share our God-given talents we may even be considered at times to be disrupted in the temporal order!”

In 2014 , the Bishop of Cape Coast, Ghana, asked the Brothers of Holy Cross to build a Catholic coed high school in his diocese. Thus, my superiors in the Congregation of Holy Cross asked me to change course and assist the Ghanaian Brothers in responding to their bishop’s request. While I was discerning this request with local Legatus forum members, they assured me that they would continue to accompany me on this great journey with their prayers and generous hearts.

Thus, I did not make the 5,600 mile journey alone, nor was the project just my own work. There were many members of the Legatus community who partnered with us, including the Weingartzs, the Pattons, the Carrols, Pultes, Schallers, Samonies, Mersinos, Braddicks, Farrars, Schenas, Leonis, and the Raineys. Several Legatus members have already visited the new school, and others have worked together to advance the mission of St. Brother André High School, and to fulfill their promise to the bishop to care for the “brilliant but poor” students of Ghana.

After my arrival, and following extensive conversations with confreres and
educational leaders and families, we concluded the school was most in need of a multifunction “student center” to serve a thousand students simultaneously as a dining hall, assembly hall, chapel, and a place to recreate. In short order, I drew up a vision and design of the St. Joseph Pastoral Center, and it is now a newly constructed reality, already blessed by Archbishop Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckel. Daily, as the center slowly
progressed because of COVID-19, the students at St. Brother André School met with the faculty in offering prayers of thanks for the generosity of
those Legatus members whose compassion and commitment made this multi-function building a reality.

A member of the very first graduating class in September 2020 from St. Brother André High School, Robert, shared an unsolicited “surprise” letter of gratitude with Brother Francis. Robert wrote:

“My name is Robert, Jr. I am seventeen years in age. I hail from Brong Ahapo region of Ghana. I currently reside in Lapaz.

I came to St. Brother André School in 2018. This was an initiation to a new family, the Holy Cross family. I am currently a senior and undertaking the Ghanaian National test to graduate (WASSCE).

When I first came to this school, I was lacking self-confidence. I had problems with depression, and I lost my father soon after my arrival. I became traumatized, but the love at St. Brother André High School was so great, and the counseling opportunities Brother Francis provided were of great help for me.

Brother Francis also gave me names of sponsors to pray for, to whom I am very grateful. For if not for our sponsors, I really do not think I would be achieving my dreams and goals today.

St. Brother André School narrowed my perspective to see good, and helped me to select a goal. My goal is to become an economist. After completing high school I will further my education in a tertiary institution. I want to help people just as St. Brother André School has helped me.

I want to thank the Brothers of Holy Cross, the Legatus members, my sponsors, and my colleagues in St. Brother André School for the wonderful time, the love, care, and affection showed toward me. God Bless you all, and all those you love, Robert.”

In conclusion, the Brothers of Holy Cross believe the students are messengers of God and we tell them often “that we are blessed by their presence.” In reality, we are forming a “family,” a home where givers and receivers feel mutually welcomed and appreciated. In fact, we could say all of us who have partnered to make St. Brother André School a reality are givers and receivers and have become the “Inn” where Good Samaritan took his new friend he discovered on the roadside of life.

BROTHER FRANCIS BOYLAN, C.S.C. , Great Lakes At-Large member
and Legatus member for over 30 years, has served as president of Holy Cross Services, a child advocacy organization, for over 40 years. A member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, he holds a graduate degree from the University of Michigan, and has received several awards in response to his efforts on behalf of children and families.