Holy Cross Traditions

List of 5 items.

• Origins of the Congregation of Holy Cross

  In the aftermath of the French Revolution, there was a great need to educate the people of France. In 1820 Father Jacques Dujarié, a French priest, brought together a group of religious men to teach in parish schools. These men became known as the Brothers of Saint Joseph. In failing health, Dujarié commended his brothers to the spiritual guidance of Father Basil Moreau in 1835. On March 1, 1837, Father Moreau combined the Brothers of Saint Joseph with some auxiliary priests, thus forming the Congregation of Holy Cross in the small village of Sainte-Croix, France.

   

  In 1841, at the request of Indiana Bishop Hailandière, Father Moreau sent six brothers and their religious superior, Father Edward Sorin, CSC, to the United States, where they founded the University of Notre Dame the following year.

• Holy Cross Comes to Cleveland

  Holy Cross Comes to Cleveland: A Partnership in Catholic Secondary Education. James A. Gutowski, Ph.D.

  A history of the partnership between Holy Cross and secondary education in Cleveland by Gilmour's Director of Academic Services Dr. James Gutowski.

   

  In 1943 Bishop Edward F. Hoban came to Cleveland, Ohio, as coadjutor bishop to Archbishop Joseph Schrembs. Hoban’s efforts to expand Catholic high school education in Cleveland began at the same time that the Brothers of Holy Cross, led by Brother Ephrem O’Dwyer, C.S.C., sought to become an independent province within their congregation. Over the next twenty years, this confluence of institutional needs induced brother and bishop to develop a unique and productive working relationship that served the needs of both.

   

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• Mission to Educate

  Throughout its history, the Holy Cross mission has been to work as educators in the faith, serving the Catholic Church by educating the heart as well as the mind.
  
  Fr. Moreau emphasized the importance of education in his writings, inspiring Holy Cross schools on five continents, which to this day follow his charge, “We shall always place education side by side with instruction; the mind will not be cultivated at the expense of the heart. While we prepare useful citizens for society, we shall likewise do our utmost to prepare citizens for heaven.”

• Focus on Hospitality

  The Holy Cross tradition also places a special emphasis on service, hospitality and inclusion in honor of Saint Andre Bessette, CSC. A Brother of Holy Cross with unwavering trust and reliance in Saint Joseph, Brother Andre welcomed all who came to him and became known as the "Miracle Man of Montreal" for all the miraculous healings he performed, all in the name of Saint Joseph. Brother Andre was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

• Practice of the Charisms

  Gilmour Academy embraces the gifts, or charisms, of the Congregation of Holy Cross, anchoring our practices and guiding our community in the 21st century and beyond. View slideshow below to learn more.