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Brother Aidan's Extracts


CHARTRAND, BISHOP AND STUDENT

Brother Marcian, one of our foremost classical scholars and teachers, used to tell of a boy he had in his Latin class at Cathedral High School, Indianapolis in 1929. The lad felt a call to the priesthood, but had much difficulty with getting his Latin. He told Bishop Chartrand about it and the Bishop urged him to give the subject one more trial. Some weeks later he returned to the Bishop and said he simply couldn't get the Latin. "Well," said the prelate, "you must not have a vocation to the priesthood then. Suppose instead you become a Brother of Holy Cross. Brothers, as you know, don't necessarily need Latin."

"That would be still worse, Bishop."

"Hows that, Dick?"

"Then I'd have to know everything."

The kindly Bishop, the noblest and greatest episcopal friend our Brothers ever had, always took a keen delight in relating the incident when some of his clergy were around.


‹— Brother Aidan's Extracts —›