200 years ago in 1818, Father Andre Coindre, the founder of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary, who was blessed with the charism bestowed upon him by the Holy Spirit, convinced a group of lay men and women to open a school in Lyons, France called the Pieux-Secours, which, translated from French to English, means Pious Relief. The school was both a place of learning and a sanctuary for boys.
150 years ago in 1869, Brother Athanasius, a Brother of the Sacred Heart, seized an opportunity to open a school in New Orleans in the French Quarter. That school, known as St. Aloysius, stood in New Orleans for 100 years.
In 1954, Cor Jesu High School opened on Elysian Fields Avenue, on the campus in which you sit at this very moment.
In 1969, these two schools were merged, and a new school was born. Brother Martin High School opened its doors for the first time 50 years ago this week, on this very campus.
Today, August 13, 2018, Brother Martin welcomes over 1,100 students onto campus and, through the charism of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, continues to educate young men for life. This is a historical and monumental year for our Crusaders.
Student Council President Eliot Canty led our school comunity in prayer.
Let us call to mind that we are in the presence of God:
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord, We gather together this morning in thanksgiving for all you have granted us.
With humility and awe, we thank you for Your grace in our city and in our lives;
We give thanks to the Holy Spirit for the gift of the charism of our founder, Father Andre’ Coindre;
We pray in thanksgiving for Father Andre’ Coindre and his lay partners - men and women - who made possible the establishment of the Pieux-Secours 200 years ago;
We pray in thanksgiving for 150 years of educational tradition of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans;
and we remember with fondness our namesake, Brother Martin Hernandez, whose name has carried the torch of our mission on Elysian Fields Avenue for 50 years.
As we begin this school year, let us vow to journey forward like these first Crusaders with courage and confidence by striving to do our best in everything we do.
We ask all of these things in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Ametur Cor Jesu! Ametur Cor Mariae!
