• In New Orleans, Holy Cross Brothers founded a home and trade school for boys orphaned by the rampant yellow fever in 1835. Today the Brothers’ mission continues through Holy Cross School, a middle and high school for boys. In 2005, severe flooding from Hurricane Katrina necessitated relocation. The community expects to be on the new campus for the 2007-08 school year.

In Austin, the roots of St. Edward’s University go back to 1878; its educational character derives from the Brothers’ experience of “formation.” This time of reflection — integral to each man’s exploration of his vocation — helps each candidate discover his strengths, his fitness for community life, and potential career paths. This focus on the individual became the defining attribute of the University.

In 1951 Brothers of Holy Cross went 500 miles up the Amazon River in Brazil to take responsibility for the only boys’ school available for miles. Today Colégio Don Amando educates 1,400 boys and girls, many of whom go on to university studies. Brazilian Brothers have assumed management of the school. During the 1960s the Brothers also established Colégio Notre Dame in Campinas, São Paulo, which continues today.

Beginning in 1986, the Province again led the way by developing congregational formation programs. We opened Moreau House as a residence for Brother candidates and the Brother Charles Andersen House as post-novitiate residence.

In the early 1990s, the South-West Province took the lead in school sponsorship. Through this initiative, the founding Brothers became a sponsoring organization and empowered each Board of Directors to administer and plan for their school, within the context of the mission and heritage of Holy Cross.

This innovation precipitated a creative response from our lay colleagues, who established the Table meetings. A group of presidents and principals of the schools, Board members, and representatives of St. Edward’s University and the Provincial Council, this group meets regularly to focus on shared issues, the transmission of mission and preservation of heritage, and the coordination of key events in the life of our family. The results have been exciting: the Holy Cross Conference for Student Leaders, the Holy Cross Mission Seminar, and the high schools’ summer Social Justice Immersion Program.

In March 2006, Holy Cross educators from all over the country came together in Austin for the inaugural convocation of The Holy Cross Institute at St. Edward’s University. A nexus of educational leadership and spiritual growth, the institute provides instruction, research, and scholarship, orients newly appointed presidents, principals, and board members to the Holy Cross tradition, and promotes idea-sharing among all Holy Cross institutions. As a community of practice, the institute is dedicated to the formation of lay men and women who sustain our heritage and mission. For more information, visit www.holycrossinstitute.org.