Last week schools that are part of the Marist Brothers family marked the bicentennial of the founding of Marist Brothers and the 80th anniversary of the establishment of Marist Brothers High School.
On Friday, the archbishop of Suva, Peter Loy Chong was accorded a traditional welcoming ceremony in front of a crowd of over 800 guests of former scholars, parents, and students at Marist Brothers High School.
In his speech Chong spoke about the importance of education and how Catholic schools had played a pivotal role in Fiji
“The Catholic brothers and the whole Catholic education has been at this work for almost 130 years and we want to thank them as pioneers of the education,” he said.
The Marist Brothers helped establish an education system in Fiji. They established Marist Brothers Primary, St Marcellin Primary School, St. John’s College Cawaci, Marist Brothers High School, St Bedes College, and Napuka Secondary School.
Chong said that one of the many challenges faced at Catholic schools in Fiji is the reduced number of Marist Brothers serving at the schools.
Brother Terrence Costello was also the bicentennial celebrations and while he is in Fiji he will be setting up up a governing board as part of a plan to address the challenges ahead, including the diminishing number of Brothers who are available to serve in Catholic schools.
“My main focus is to get this governing board established so that our schools can get clear direction of its history and traditions,” he said.
On Sunday the celebration concluded with a march from Marist Brothers Primary School at Suva Street to Marist Brothers High School at Flagstaff.
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