St Joseph's Nudgee College

September 26, 2011

St Joseph’s Nudgee College welcomed Archbishop of Brisbane John Bathersby DD back to the College recently when he was a special guest at two Nudgee College Old Boys Association events.

Archbishop Bathersby, who attended Nudgee College from 1951-54, revived memories from his school days when he joined a weekly College assembly to present Signum Fidei Awards to Old Boys Mr Lawrie Cusack and Mr Jim Gray.

The Signum Fidei Award is considered the most prestigious amongst the Old Boys and is presented for outstanding service to the extended College community. The first Signum Fidei Awards were presented in 1989 to Paul Maclean and Archbishop Bathersby.

“What Lawrie Cusack and Jim Gray have achieved in life shows how very deserving they are of the awards they have received today. I am delighted to have had the pleasure of presenting the awards,” Archbishop Bathersby said.

Details of Lawrie and Jim’s contribution to Nudgee College and the wider community are available from the NCOBA website.

In addition to presenting the awards, Archbishop Bathersby also spoke about his background and encouraged those present to “use life in the best possible way”.

“Life is precious and goes so quickly. Live your life to the best of your ability and learn how marvellous Jesus Christ is and the world he has left for us,” he said.

In a rare coincidence in timing, Archbishop Bathersby returned to the College less than two weeks later to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for himself. The Mass also acted as a reunion for the Archbishop’s classmates of 1952 and 1954.

“Nudgee College made a big impact on me and to be back here with you all is wonderful. It is lovely to see what has become of our school,” he said.

Archbishop Bathersby’s sentiments were echoed by College Principal Mr Daryl Hanly.

“Nudgee College is what it is today because of the legacy of Old Boys like yourselves and the Christian Brothers,” he said.

“The strong emphasis on faith, in particular, that today’s students enjoy is largely because of this legacy. It is something you should all be very proud of. I thank you for this legacy and welcome you back to your school.”

Image Gallery

Click an image to see a full version: