Scottish Catholic Observer

THE 200th anniversary of the Marist Order was beautifully marked last week as pupils at St Joseph’s College, Dumfries, held a celebration in honour of its legacy.

The school community joined together on May 28 for Mass celebrated by Bishop William Nolan of Galloway, followed by a re-enactment of a centenary lunch held there in 1917.

After a decades-old napkin was discovered in a forgotten corner of the school, bearing the date of May 23, 1917 and with the full menu of a centenary lunch written on it, deputy headteacher Gwen Ferguson had the idea of marking the Order’s 200th anniversary.

St Joseph’s College was founded in 1875 by the Marist brothers before becoming a local authority school in 1983.

The Order was founded in 1817, educating 900,000 students at their peak, and a number of former schools in Scotland were taught by the Order, including St Mungo’s Academy, Glasgow; St John’s High School, Dundee; and St Mary’s School, Calton.

One of the Order’s brothers, Br Walfrid, was the founder of Celtic Football Club, and is buried in the graveyard next to the school.

The school’s long history with the Catholic Order meant staff and pupils wanted to mark the anniversary in a special way.

The sun shone as they celebrated Mass with Bishop Nolan, school chaplain Fr Gerald Donnelly and Fr Ralph Mancini in the school’s memorial chapel, built to remember former pupils who died during the First World War.

The congregation featured Brs Douglas of Dundee and Julian from Glasgow, as well as a number of past pupils and friends.

Kevin Jones, principal teacher of social studies at St Joseph’s and a former student at St Mary’s College, Blairs, selected the hymns for the Mass, ­organised the musicians and sang the psalm, which proved an emotional experience for those present as the congregation ­concluded the Mass by singing Salve Regina in line with the Marist tradition.

Following the Mass, guests were treated to a wonderful menu that resembled the 1917 centenary meal as closely as possible, while seven of the school’s third-year pupils took part on the day as part of a work experience placement with the Easterbrook team.

Physics teacher and former pupil Sean Barbour acted as master of ceremonies while his wife Anne, also a former pupil, maths teacher and president of the past pupils’ association accompanied him while wearing the chain of office.

Headteacher Bernadette Jones delivered the vote of thanks to all those present, before presenting Br Douglas with a relic of St Marcellin that he will take to India to the project with which he is involved. Teachers Gwen and Robert Ferguson were also presented with gifts, after organising the day’s events.

After lunch, the Dumfries community was welcomed inside for an opportunity to view the hundreds of exhibits on display and meet former pupils.

A Celtic football strip signed by the first team and given to the school in memory of Br Walfrid fetched £520, bought by Joe Gunning as a birthday present for his brother.

The day concluded with entertainment from the school band, community choir and a young dancer and magician.

The staff-pupil band played an emotional rendition of Wish You Were Here as a film of pupils and staff no longer there was shown in the background, making a touching finale.