170 Years of Service as De La Salle Christian Brothers

Our 1999-2000 Jubilarians share a combined 170 years of educational service to youth and to the Brothers of the District of San Francisco.


Brother Ignatius Kenny (left). Teacher, Principal, Director, member of the formation staff at the Juniorate and Novitiate at Mont La Salle, gardener - in his 75 years as a Brother, he has done it all. Now in retirement at Mont La Salle, Brother Ignatius continues to greet all he meets with the smile and 
respectful attention that have earned him the moniker, "Gracious Ignatius, the Gentleman's Gentleman." A native of San Francisco, Brother Ignatius served at Saint Peter's and Sacred Heart Schools in San Francisco (now Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory), at Saint Mary's College High School in Berkeley, and at Brothers' schools in Sacramento, Los Angeles, Fresno, and Bakersfield.

Brother Theophane Ke (center). As a boy in Vietnam, Brother Theophane never suspected that he would be living as a Brother in the United States. At an age when most people would be thinking about retirement towards the end of an arduous career, Brother left his homeland to begin a new life in America. During 70 years as a Brother - the last 25 at Saint Mary's College - he has mastered at least four languages and continues his ministry through the poems and prayers he e-mails to the many alumni he has taught at both Saint Mary's College and in Vietnam.

Brother Lawrence Haley (right). With only 25 years as a Brother behind him, Brother Lawrence feels like the new kid on the block next to Brothers Ignatius and Theophane. A native of Richmond and graduate of De La Salle High School in Concord, Brother Lawrence has served the District in various capacities, and is currently a teacher and Director of the Brothers' community at La Salle High School in Yakima, Washington. Between teaching assignments at De La Salle, Concord, and at Brothers' schools in Los Angeles, Fresno, and Milwaukie, Oregon, Brother Lawrence was a member of the founding community at the LEO Center in Oakland. He also assisted with the research that will result in the opening of the two newest District educational initiatives to be of direct service to those marginalized by poverty: a new Catholic high school in North Portland, Oregon, and a middle school in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.


Special thanks to Brother James Joost, FSC, District Director of Vocations, for this article.