Brother Charles Howard, F.M.S., AM (29 October 1924 – 14 January 2012) was an Australian Marist Brother who held the office of worldwide Superior General of the order from 1985–93. His religious name during much of his Marist career was Brother Elias. He was the only Australian to date elected to lead the Marist Brothers' worldwide organisation.

Biography

Early life and teaching career

Howard was born in Melbourne on 29 October 1924. His family relocated to Sydney during his youth and he attended the Marist Brothers school in Randwick, Sydney. In 1942 he pronounced his first vows and received the religious habit. He was on staff at

St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill , motto_translation = Strive Strive for better things , established = , type = Independent single-sex secondary day and boarding school , educational_authority = New South Wales Department of Educati ...

from 1955–56 and at the Marist juniorate in

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is situated at an elevation of . The town ...

. He was headmaster at St Joseph's from 1962–67Newsletter from Headmaster SJC Jan2012
and was also headmaster at

St Gregory's College, Campbelltown , motto_translation = What you sow, so shall you reap , established = , type = Independent single-sex and co-educational comprehensive and specialist primary and secondary day and boarding school , specialist = Agricultural s ...

Religious formation and leadership

He had studied for a period with the order in France in 1961 and in Rome in 1968 participating at the General Chapter as a delegate. In 1968 he pursued studies in catechetics at

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

, Belgium. Subsequently, he went to

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

, for further studies in psychology. In 1972 Howard was appointed Provincial of the Sydney Province and served in that role and as Provincial Superior of the Marists in Eastern Australia until 1976, when he was elected to the General Council of the Marist Brothers in Rome. In 1985, he was the first Australian to be elected Superior General of the Marist Brothers, and served as Superior General until 1993. Major undertakings during his mandate included the creation of the International Finance Commission, the new Marist presence in Eastern Europe and the establishment of international scholasticates for Africa (MIC) and for Asia (MAPAC). After his Generalate was over, he spent years in novitiates at Kutama (Africa) and Lomeri (Pacific). For a period he was the delegate visitor for the Sector of India. In 1997, he was declared a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in recognition of his service to the Catholic Church and the community, particularly in the fields of education, social justice and reform. In 2000 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamatio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Charles Marist Brothers 1924 births 2012 deaths Religious leaders from Melbourne People from New South Wales Members of the Order of Australia Australian expatriates in France Australian expatriates in Belgium Australian expatriates in Italy Australian expatriates in Ireland

Biography

Early life and teaching career

Religious formation and leadership

See also

References