Congregation Leader, Hugh O’Neill, visits Manchester

The Christian Brothers senior leadership team flew in from Rome for a Board Meeting held in St. Ambrose College in Hale Barns.
Congregation leader Brother Hugh O”Neill talked with leading Christian Brothers and lay people from around the world to discuss how best to continue the work of the Blessed Edmund Rice. There are some 970 brothers worldwide with their influence seen right across the developing world, particularly in Africa, India and Latin America, where they work with the local populations to improve education, awareness of health issues and social justice.

Brother Hugh O”Neill said: “The carism of the Blessed Edmund Rice is summed up by the three words: presence, compassion and liberation. We must all be be aware of the divine in our lives and be present in the moment so we can understand what is happening to our fellow man. We must bring this compassion to our encounters with others and not just pass them by or ignore them but value the importance of each encounter.”.
Talking about how Catholic faith based education is increasingly valued both in the U.K. and overseas, he said: “There is a longing in the world for meaning and we believe our education helps children to be open and experience what is beyond themselves.”

He is pictured with St. Ambrose pupils Christian Villarruz, 12. and Oliver Johnson 11, Brother Clement Sindazi, who is working in Zambia, Roisin Maguire Director of Education for the Christian Brothers Schools,
Ms Maguire said: “The Christian Brothers have and are doing a wonderful job in handing over the carism of Edmund Rice to lay people and showing by example, prayer and teaching the timeless value of Edmund Rice’s values. He wanted to give the voiceless a voice and that is what their work is all about in the developing world. This wonderful ethos informs pupils in all our schools in the U.K. and overseas and helps develop tomorrow’s leaders.”
Brother Clement added: “I joined the Christian Brothers because I saw how effective they were in my own country in helping to combat AIDS and HIV and help the poor with practical problems.”

Matthew O”Neill concluded: “It’s is an honour to welcome Brother Hugh and his team who inspire and inform our pupils and whose example we try to follow in our work with the disadvantaged both locally and internationally.”