This year has been declared the Year of the Brother in honor of St. Andre.

Due to its Holy Cross heritage, St. Edward’s University is full of brothers who live on campus to educate the students of the university and serve the community. The celebration of Year of the Brother began on Oct. 17 and will continue to Oct. 17, of next year.

A Brother of Holy Cross is a layman who consecrates himself to God through three vows: poverty, celibate chastity and obedience. He lives in a community, prays often and serves others as an apostle who testifies to the Catholic faith and helps those in need, said Brother Gerald Muller, who has been a Brother of Holy Cross for 66 years.

“Our work as Holy Cross brothers is educating people in the faith and standing with the poor. We are counter-cultural people in a consumer-materialistic world,” Muller said.

Holy Cross brothers spread the Catholic faith by example—praying, teaching, nursing, counseling, administrating and serving those in need with their individual talents and gifts, he said.

Brother Larry Atkinson said that the main difference between fathers and brothers is that fathers are ordained to administer the sacrament of communion.

Atkinson graduated from St. Edward’s in 1970 with a degree in French. He said that since he attended the same university as the students he works with, he is able to relate to them better. Atkinson said that the brothers’ mission is to engage with students to help them develop to their fullest capacity—spiritually and physically.

Atkinson explained why St. Edward’s does not have sisters on campus: The Vatican said that men and women must work separately within the congregation. There are Holy Cross sisters who work closely with the St. Edward’s Campus Ministry, but no sisters live on campus and work closely with students at St. Edward’s, as the brothers do.

Atkinson said that having the sisters and brothers work separately has actually given freedom to women to direct their own ministries, whereas if they worked together with men, they would not have as much independence.

The brothers live in St. Joseph Hall and the Moreau Province. There are 20 retired brothers in assisted living quarters behind Teresa Hall in the Brother Vincent Pieau Residence, Muller said.

“What most people do not realize is the Congregation of Holy Cross owns St. Edward’s University. The Board of Directors and President Martin run it, but the deed to the property is in the name of Congregation of Holy Cross—brothers and priests—the real owners,” Muller said.

Muller is in his 34th year as a professor of music at St Edward’s. He currently teaches music history. Thirty-three years ago, he was a music department of one.

“My favorite part of being a brother at St. Edward’s is teaching and interacting with young people, passing on not only the faith but my expertise in music and the arts,” Muller said. “I also enjoy fronting a rock band on campus called Brother Muller and His Brothers. At the age of 85, I think I am the oldest active rocker in the U.S.A.!”

The brothers at St. Edward’s are able to interact with students through many different mediums. In the past, brothers have been residence directors and deans and have worked at Facilities (previously known as the Physical Plant) on campus. The brothers have held almost every position available at St. Edward’s. Currently, the brothers occupy various positions on campus: professors, assistant deans or members of Campus Ministry.

Brother Richard Critz is a member of the staff for the administrative office of the School of Natural Sciences.

“Throughout my life as a religious man, I have had the deep satisfaction of understanding, often in retrospection, that God has placed me where I was needed as a brother,” Critz said. “I really enjoy the sense of common purpose, the broadly shared mission of our St. Ed’s community and the way we work together to help our students succeed. It is awesome to see students discover and develop their