Br. Brian Henderson Profiled in Catholic Standard and Times Article

(The article and photo below appeared in January 30, 2003 issue of The Catholic Standard & Times—The Archdiocese of Philadelphia and is reprinted with permission.)

He’s A Brother to Kids Who Need Him Most

By Lou Baldwin, CS&T Staff Writer

The first school opened by St. John Baptist De La Salle, founder of the Christian Brothers, was for very poor boys in 17th-century France. This initial charism continues down to the present day, and, in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, is very apparent at St. Gabriel’s Hall, Audubon.

Here, the Christian Brothers teach and minister to more than 200 court-adjudicated delinquent boys, most of whom come from deep poverty. “All of my experience has been with inner city kids, mostly of modest means,”said Br. Brian Henderson, the director of St. Gabriel’s Hall and “happily a Christian Brother for 22 years.”

The boys at St. Gabriel’s “have the added burden of having run afoul with the community,” he said. “But kids are kids, we try to help them rediscover their goodness, build upon that goodness.

Being in the classroom working with kids like ours is great, and somebody has got to do it. They are nice kids, and you try to give them a sense of God’s love. We try to tell them ‘You are worth caring for, you should be treated with respect and care.’”

Like generations of local Christian Brothers before him, Brother Brian, originally from St. Irenaeus Parish, is a graduate of West Catholic High School, where he was active with the community service program.

He owes all that he has been in life to his parents, Larry and Priscilla Henderson. “The older I get the more I appreciate what they gave to me, ” Brother Brian said.

Although he had also considered the priesthood, the strong sense of community and interdependence he saw among the brothers was what most attracted him to their vocation. “I liked the idea of a community with a particular focus on service, ” he said.

He began the discernment process while attending what was then La Salle College. After two years, he formally entered the Christian Brothers Scholasticate. His teaching career took him to St. Gabriel’s and his own West Catholic as a religion teacher, to Calvert Hall in Towson, Maryland, and St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, where he was dean of students and assistant principal. In 1999, he returned to St. Gabriel’s to serve as residential director and for the past two years, director.

The personal satisfaction is “living with great hope of discovering the goodness in young people,” Br. Brian said. “Of all the employees, I’m the least important, the line staff is most important because they work directly with the boys.

“St. La Salle wrote of the importance of faith and zeal,” the brother said. “He put a lot of focus on having faith, realizing we are doing God’s work. Zeal is important too, having enthusiasm and passion, knowing God will help us.”

Although the numbers of new brothers have dwindled for the Christian Brothers, Brother Brian does not fear for the future. “I think our charism is alive, relevant and inviting,” he said. “I don’t look at our aging with dread. Our life is evolving and there is that mystery of the future. It’s a wonderful life. As long as there are kids, there is a place for the heritage we have from St. La Salle.”