The Reverend Brother Brigant Cassian

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, FSC (born 1889, Brittany, France – 31 October 1957, Hong Kong) was the priest and education worker in Hong Kong. He was born in Finistère, Brittany, France in 1889. He was educated in Likes College of the Brothers at Quimper, following by the Junior

Novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the Brothers at

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

in 1900 and completed his senior Novitiate and Scholasticate at Vauxbelets, Quernesey by 1907. He started his missionary career by going to Singapore and started teaching there in 1908. During the First World War he served in the Infantry at Salonika, Sofia, and Verdun. He was rewarded the Médaille militaire for the military service. After the war he returned to his teaching post in Singapore. Brother Cassian joined the staff of

St. Joseph's College, Hong Kong St. Joseph's College also referred to by its acronym SJC is an elite Catholic all-boys secondary education institution run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Central Mid-Levels district, Hong Kong. It was established ...

in 1921. For then he had taught for 11 years until in 1932 he was transferred to the newly opened La Salle College and became the second Principal of the College . Brother Cassian also participated actively in the public service in Hong Kong. He founded the Hong Kong Teachers' Association and became the President for three years. He was also the co-founder of the Hong Kong Schools Musical Association. In 1954, he helped founding a political organisation

Hong Kong Civic Association The Hong Kong Civic Association is one of the longest-existing political organisations in Hong Kong. Established in 1954 by a group of teachers, professionals and businessmen, the Civic Association was one of the two semi-political parties to ...

and became the Chairman of the Association. He also helped founding the

United Nations Association of Hong Kong The United Nations Association of Hong Kong () was a political organisation formed for promoting the values of the United Nations to Hong Kong residents. It was founded by Director of Sincere Co. Ltd Ma Man-fai in 1953. It allied with the Reform ...

, which later became the political group striving for self-government of Hong Kong. He died in 1957 of stomach hemorrhage and graved at the St Michael's Catholic Cemetery in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. In recognition of his service to the public he was honoured by many decorations notably the Order of the British Empire and the Légion d'honneur.

Citations

References

Bro. CASSIAN, Brigant FSC 加斯恩修士
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassian, Brigant Hong Kong people of French descent 20th-century French Roman Catholic priests Members of the Order of the British Empire Hong Kong Civic Association politicians 1889 births 1957 deaths