Meet Br. Kevin
The Midwest District interviewed Br. Kevin Fitzgerald, a Senior Brother who is serves as a transport volunteer for other Senior Brothers in the Benilde- La Salle Community.
What inspired you to become a Christian Brother?
I was interested in religious life of some sort and was encouraged to try the Christian Brothers while in conversation with my mother who knew the Brothers who had been had at De La Salle, Joliet, Ill. until 1933. I attended Joliet Catholic High School but never took an interest in the Carmelite priests or brothers who conducted the school at the time I attended, 1953 to 57,. (It was the same school only the name was changed when the Brothers left there in 1933. At the time I really did not know what I wanted to do with my life and at age twenty I was searching. At the time further education did not seem to be an interest. I was not really interested in the priesthood either. So I thought I would look into the Christian Brothers. I made the move to "try the Brothers" and really enjoyed the experience and found the prayer life, and companionship a good experience and have never had the desire to leave it. After the postulancy and novitiate and the realization that these young men were headed for teaching after the scholasticate years (college years), I wondered if I would like being a teacher. It was after my first day of "practice teaching" I concluded that this was really the life for me, and I enjoyed the classroom for the rest of my life: particularly religious education. I pursued masters degrees in religious education, social justice, and sacred scripture. I am now retired and really enjoyed the religious lifestyle and the classroom experience. It was the first day of teaching I remember coming down the steps from second floor at St. Mel High School, and I said to myself, "I really like this." and I have never turned away from it. I feel I have been very blessed. I, now retired, taught in five Brothers Schools and enjoyed each of them.
How have you continues to live your vocation after retirement? What else would you like to accomplish?
Early in my vocation, practice teaching and my first year as a teacher was in the inner city of St. Louis. Brother Tom O‘Brien was the Master teacher. Br. Tom always got up before the sun for time of personal meditation and Spiritual Reading. He had a good balance of prayer life and Apostolate. I took his advice to heart, “Focus on the students. The subject could be any subject. Focus on the students.” Soon I was acting like a Special Ed Teacher – ten years before that label was even invented.
Brother John Johnston was a Brother I learned so much from. He offered workshops for Young Brothers who were past the Scholasticate but had not yet professed their Final Vows. He had a way of saying what I knew in my spirit, but didn’t yet have words for. I went to as many of those weekend workshops as I could. One time he looked up, and said, “You’ve heard all this before.” I replied, “and one thing you say is that the Young Brothers only remember 10% of what they hear. I am trying to hear it 5 times.”
A Senior Brother who inspired me was Brother Norbert Roseberry, with his white hair, he always looked older than he really was. I never lived with him, but knew of him. As Young Brothers started their first year of teaching, many were sent to the school where he served as Principal for his mentoring. He finished his days in Jefferson City, so beloved by the town that one year he was a Grand Marshall! I don’t have the qualities to be a Principal. I do have the qualities to have many quietly notice me, and keep long-time contact with me.
What is one wish you have for the next generation?
I can't help but wish and that my students come to realize what a gift it is to have a solid relationship with Jesus the Christ, and to pass that on to others particularly the less fortunate.
What does the Kabara Challenge mean to you?
The Kabara Challenge is a wonderful opportunity, it seems to me, to be able to say THANK YOU to God for the opportunity to have been educated by dedicated men, women and Christian Brothers who are committed to a Lasallian Education that is unique in the Catholic Education Tradition. As a retired Brother, I have seen the care older Brothers have received "in community with other Brothers", and the opportunities they receive in their final years: physical and psychological. The Brothers regularly tell stories of their associations with other Brothers, lay teachers, and former students. As a retired Brother our opportunities for deep and lasting relationships are many. Thanks to the Kabara Challenge our elder years are rich because of the goodness of our former many students.