An end to 175 years of ministry in Mobile

By ROB HERBST
The Catholic Week
MOBILE — The Brothers of the Sacred Heart are departing Mobile after 175 years of ministry, but they are leaving a lasting legacy. 
McGill-Toolen Catholic High School honored the remaining two Brothers of the Sacred Heart who had been serving Mobile and the school — Brothers Paul Mulligan S.C. and Celestine Algero, S.C. — on April 29 as the two are relocating. While the Brothers of the Sacred Heart were founded in France in 1821, they began their U.S. ministry in Mobile after five brothers sailed 111 days from France to Mobile at the request of Bishop Michael Portier in 1847.
Brothers of the Sacred Heart have taught at 11 institutions in Mobile alone as well as Montgomery. They’ve also educated countless men who became priests, including four who eventually became bishops.
“You’ve educated so many priests and bishops, doctors and attorneys and businesspeople of all walks of life,” Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi said. “Even more importantly, you’ve educated mothers and fathers, husbands and wives and they have brought into their families, into their circles of friends, into their businesses, lessons that they learned from you. The impact that the brothers have had will not end today.”
Brother Paul has been a fixture at McGill-Toolen, serving from 1956-59 and again since 1988. Brother Celestine is professor emeritus at Spring Hill College and said he’s served at McGill-Toolen since 2010. The two listened to many words of appreciation, were greeted by well-wishers and also received gifts from McGill-Toolen. For Brother Paul, that included a letterman’s jacket and camera because he was such a staunch supporter of McT athletics and was often seen taking pictures at events.
It was certainly a bittersweet day for many, but it was also one Brother Paul will remember.
“When I was 14 years old I decided to become a Brother of the Sacred Heart and today is one of the standout days of my whole career as a brother of the Sacred Heart.
“And I made my first vows in 1956, a couple years back,” he joked.
Now “84 years young – I don’t say old anymore,” Brother Paul will head to Bay St. Louis, Miss., and minister at St. Stanislaus College. 
“I’ll be semi-retired, but I’m not going to sunbathe, let’s put it that way,” he said.
Brother Celestine, who most recently served in supervision of new faculty/academics at McGill-Toolen, will head to Louisiana and find out what the next venture is. He’ll take with him many fond memories.
“Very happy memories of Mobile and McGill — particularly here at McGill, the teachers and the faculty. I have the highest praise for the teachers here,” he said. 
According to McGill-Toolen President Fr. Bry Shields, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart have been at McGill Institute and now McGill-Toolen for 93 years. 
They were invited by Archbishop Thomas J. Toolen to take over operation of McGill Institute in 1929, 31 years after it opened.
Among the impacts it made on the school was an emphasis on school spirit and extracurricular activities. Before they arrived, Fr. Shields said McT didn’t have any athletic teams. 
“Many of the things we associate with McGill-Toolen, we can trace back to the Brothers of the Sacred Heart,” he said. “Every time you go to a pep rally and think about school spirit, you can think about the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. … Thanks be to God for the Brothers of the Sacred Heart and so many others who worked so hard to develop our school into what it is today.”
With making such an impact on Catholic education and society in Mobile for 175 years, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart’s departure is difficult to picture.
 “I say it for everyone – I can’t imagine the Mobile archdiocese without the Brothers of the Sacred Heart,” Superintendent of Catholic Schools Gwen Byrd said. “I can’t even imagine it, but the time has come.”
Brother Ronald Hingle, S.C., Provincial of the United States Province, described the brothers’ departure from Mobile as “a difficult day for us.”
“It’s a sad day because as brothers, while we leave the mission here in Mobile, we know it will continue for many years to come, at least we pray for that, but we won’t be here to be a part of it,” he said. “It touches our hearts, our relationships with each of you ... those God-centered relationships mean the world to us.”