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A Holy Cross education begins with a rigorous and full development of the mind. Moreau himself was a committed student who took his studies seriously and engaged energetically in the intellectual debates of his day. He perceived early on that it could only be detrimental to both Church and society were Catholics to refrain from engaging the scholarly questions and controversies of the age. Like John Henry Newman after him, Moreau believed firmly in the complementarity of faith and reason, each opening new avenues of understanding to the other.

Having come of age in the wake of the French Revolution, Moreau knew firsthand that an education which imparts knowledge without values and faith can produce people with sharp intellects but malformed hearts. He was undoubtedly influenced by a wise spiritual advisor who counseled him, “Our first rule must be to disregard what only tickles the ears; it is hearts that we must win.” For him, the development of the heart was the indispensable complement to the formation of the mind — together they shape a person of wisdom and integrity.

Zeal was the term Fr. Moreau used to express the virtue that actualizes the development of our minds and the cultivation of our hearts for the good of others. An education of minds and hearts can only set the world on fire if it has truly enkindled within a person the desire to act boldly. He benefitted personally from the opportunities that followed to develop his intellect into a powerful means of bringing the Gospel to others.

But he always understood that it was one’s longing for God and commitment to a life of faith that sustained the use of those gifts for the good of others. Ultimately, he believed Holy Cross schools should help a young person come to a clear understanding of his or her vocation in the Church and in the world, irrespective of our individual roles or responsibilities.

Moreau realized that he would never have become a priest but for the influence of his family and also his parish priest who first recognized the stirrings of a vocation and arranged for his education. If people associated with Holy Cross speak frequently today about the “family-like” atmosphere they encounter in our parishes and educational institutions, that is directly traceable to Fr. Moreau’s own lived experience.

It is that family-like atmosphere that constituents typically identify as the most distinguishing feature of a Holy Cross apostolate. It is, however, an elusive and ephemeral quality, felt more easily by people who have experienced it than readily describable, even for those who have enjoyed a long association with Holy Cross. Though it is arguably the community’s most appealing quality, few would claim to know precisely how to manufacture it. Instead, we trust it will arise when we dwell together as brothers in unity.

Moreau’s spirituality was rooted in the desire to be an apostle, to pick up his cross daily and conform himself wholly to the person of Jesus Christ. He sought to make the Congregation an extension of his zeal for mission and devotion to union with mixed results, but his influence continues to permeate how Holy Cross expresses itself today. Were it not for Moreau’s faith and fortitude no matter how great the obstacle or how dark the hour, Holy Cross would not have survived its own founding trials — and we would not have inherited the rich tradition of hope-in-the-cross that forms our Ave Crux, Spes Unica identity.

While the work of Holy Cross began in education and parish ministry, our mission takes across borders of every sort. For the Province of West Africa, our mission includes ministering in parishes, schools, colleges and universities, Holy Cross family ministries, Health Centres and Formation Houses with preferential option to the poor — Educating the Mind and the Heart to give Hope.