Mags GarganDe La Salle Brothers from different parts of Ireland came together in Castletown, Portlaoise recently, after a six day retreat given by Fr Charles Cross, CP. They were, in effect, saying goodbye to their Irish Province, which was established in 1947, and joining with brothers from Great Britain and Malta in a new combined ministry of “human and Christian education” of the young. The new provincial is English, Br Lawrence Hughes.
In a nostalgic ceremony of prayer, reflections, Mass, social and a pilgrimage around the grounds in Castletown, the oldest brother in the province, 96-year-old Br Norbert Mullins, lit a symbolic fire “to remind us of the love and passion that influenced the brothers of the province, and of the protection and education they gave generously to so many young people, not only in Ireland, but in many other countries throughout the world”.