Marist Brothers Darlinghurst Old Boys Union

Blue & Blue

Welcome to the fourth edition of your B & B for 2005.

Annual Mass & Dinner:

This is a final reminder for the annual Mass and Dinner which is to be held at St Patrick’s Church Hill and afterwards at The Bowlers Club of NSW, York St Sydney on Thursday 3 November. Please get in early by sending back a completed RSVP on the attachment.

Please note that Mass will be at 5.30pm not 6pm.

Dinner will be 7 for 7.30pm.

From the editor:

There has been little in the way of feedback from you the members since the last issue of the B&B in August. Never fear, your trusty Ed has some backup which I hope you find interesting.

Firstly, there is a report from old boy priest Fr Denis Hallinan O.P. who sends his greetings from Italy and informs us of his background in the Dominican Order and of his most recent studies overseas.

Old Boys, especially those from the 40s and 50s will be saddened to hear of the passing of Br Cassian on 28 Sep after a very short illness. Enclosed is a copy of the eulogy delivered at his funeral. This was kindly provided by Br Norman.

From Fr Denis: (July 05)

“My time in Perugia is nearing an end, but I am happy to send greetings to all the Darlo old boys, especially those from the year of 1946.

Last year I celebrated 50 years in the Dominican Order and 46 years of priesthood. The apostolate over those years ranged from teaching at Blackfriars Priory school in Adelaide, to administration of University Colleges in Melbourne, Armidale and Canberra on to being Novice Master for twelve years and also local attaché at the Apostolic Nunciature in Canberra.

The offer of a sabbatical brought me to Italy where I have been for the most part studying the local language and culture. As you know there is a large Italian speaking population in Australia and our Parish in Adelaide has an Italian Sunday Mass each week.

Also for years I have been trying to read in the original language of “Divina Commendia” of Dante Alighieri. I arrived in time for a refresher course in Italian at a residential language school at Castelraimondo, a small town in the Marche, with the help of a small grant from the Dante Alighieri Society in Melbourne.

This was followed by a relaxation period in Rome, where I was fortunate to be able to stay with the Irish Dominicans at the Basilica of San Clemente, not far from the Colosseo. I had the opportunity to travel several regions of Italy, from Pompeii in the south to Aosta and Trieste in the north, mostly in connection with Dante lectures and displays.

From January to June I was enrolled in the intensive course at the University for Foreigners in Perugia, the capital city of Umbria, to qualify for the University Diploma in Italian Language and Culture. Thousands of students from all over the world come each year to this hilltop city with its fascinating medieval Centro Storico; Chinese and Japanese are now in the majority.

I have stayed with the Italian Dominicans who staff the Basilica of San Domenico, from where there is a panoramic view of Assisi, about twenty kilometers away.

I return to Melbourne shortly, with some uncertainty about my future location.

Kind regards,

Fr Denis Hallinan O.P.”

No doubt Fr Denis will keep us updated on his present whereabouts when he gets this copy of the B&B. Thank you Fr Denis for the most interesting story about your recent experiences.

Hope to see many of you at the Mass and Dinner.

Warren Thomas
President