St. Pius X High School of Montreal - Class of 1966: May 2016

St. Pius X High School 50th Anniversary Reunion

A beautiful shot of St. Pius X High School for the 1965 Falcon Yearbook taken from "the Brothers' Side"

Literary Version

September 1962 to June 1966

1962 was only 17 years after World War II and 9 years after the Korean War – a time marked by an acceleration of social change in the West as well as in the whole world. The war speeded up technological advancements and in the absence of men gone to war many women discovered their ability to accomplish remunerated labour and to enter professions. The post war years also witnessed profound changes in social values, trends, and behaviours. Society became more mobile and forms of communications evolved, such as expanding the reach of free phone calls and reasonable rates for a wider range of long distance calls.

The 1950’s saw the emergence in the West of a greatly expanded middle class made comfortable by the manufacturing revolution the war had engendered. This affluence contributed to the emergence of a new demographic – the teenage years – as parents increasingly sought to spend more of their new earnings on their children. In the 1960’s teenagers continued to manifest their presence through social trends like the proliferation of music groups appealing to them and seeking their favour.

Conscious of the rapid changes worldwide and desiring the Roman Catholic Church to continue to present to the modern world the timeless relevance of Jesus Christ and his message for “Peace on Earth”, Pope John XXIII in 1959 called an ecumenical council, the first in almost a century. Our high school years coincided with this historic Second Vatican Council as it took place from October 11, 1962 to December 8, 1965.

The Sisters of Saint Anne who were responsible for our girls’ school, the Christian Brothers of Ireland who were responsible for our boys’ school, and our chaplains Father John Brayley (1959-1964) and David Gourlay (1964-1970) shared with us their insights into this time of change. Three days after the Council began we witnessed the Cuban Missile Crisis from October 14 to 28, 1962. On November 22^nd 1963 we probably all remember sitting in class as our principals announced on the public address system, ending the school day early, that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. The 1960’s witnessed more dramatic events.

American astronauts circled the globe and before the ‘60’s ended they landed on the moon. The Viet Nam War developed as did the protest of many young Americans – many of whom came to Canada. Canada got a new flag under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson and our school raised it in solidarity with all of Canada on February 15, 1965. The American Civil Rights Movement began to loom larger as we heard songs that later in the late ‘60’s became associated with the Hippie Movement which proposed to be the new normal as we all went to college and university and witnessed campus revolutions all over the world as 1970 came.

While at St. Pius X we enjoyed a variety of music from American groups like The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Animals, Peter Paul & Mary, Simon & Garfunkel and such British invaders as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Dave Clark 5, Gerry & the Pacemakers, and Petula Clark.

In addition to “home movies” projected in the auditorium at the end of term exams, some of us – with parental permission – went on school outings. In May or June 1965 we rode buses to the Parliament in Ottawa, to Upper Canada Village, and finished with a boat tour of the Thousand Islands with an explanation of how the construction of the St. Laurence Seaway had flooded a number of small Ontario towns. We went to downtown movie houses to see movies such as the Ten Commandments and the Sound of Music.

Our 4 years at St. Pius X High School for Girls and Boys gave us some excellent mentors in the Sisters of Saint Anne, the Christian Brothers of Ireland, and our numerous lay teachers. We loved some of them and we still remember them very fondly; others perhaps were not quite so memorable. Sadly, a few were not so great, particularly for a few of us who experienced anything from simple harassment to traumatic memories.

Nonetheless, we made friends, sometimes for life. We were profoundly marked, mostly for the better.

50 years is a long time; yet in some ways it almost feels like yesterday. We have lived lives with incredible moments and achievements as well as all the ordinary seasons of life. We have contemplated the beauty, we have felt the pain, we pushed the boundaries, we traveled the globe, and we scrutinized the heavens with our many questions.

We have contributed to society, we have touched countless lives, we made too many mistakes, and over the years we have fallen down and picked ourselves up innumerable times. We have affirmed our faith in God through Jesus Christ or, alternatively for some of us, we have given our life meaning by grounding our life projects in the value of the human person; while still others have taken roads less traveled.

There may be others, but at least one among us, Robert Scully, has become a media icon, a face and voice seen, heard, and even trusted worldwide. We have founded families, we have explored our humanity, we have shared the adventure with loved ones, and we have built legacies.

We left behind the naiveté we shared with the rest of society in the 1960’s, which was best symbolized in the Expo 67 World Fair in Montreal. It was an optimistic conviction that our generation would soon resolve all of humanity’s problems with advancements in science, technology, and diplomacy.

As world events rudely awakened us, we found that the world, life, and humanity require collaborative not armchair solutions. With time we also discovered that life and its mysteries contain an inherent simplicity that points to our meaning and purpose. We have been blessed to acquire some wisdom and we still have time to share what we have acquired with those coming after us, if they are willing to receive it.

We would like to propose to you that “The best is yet to come.” It may be a Frank Sinatra song, but this idea of open ended hopefulness may have first come to our awareness at Cana in Galilee of Palestine, in the Holy Land, when Jesus turned 160 gallons of water into the best wine the people at that wedding feast had ever tasted. Jesus gave a sign that with God the best is always “yet to come” and that in Him, Jesus of Nazareth, God had come to Earth to inaugurate a new era. The Brothers and Sisters and many of the lay women and men who taught us shared the conviction that this is true, that Jesus is who He claimed to be.

As Canadians we have been privileged until now to enjoy the freedom to adhere to this conviction and make it our own, or to walk another path. Whatever path we have chosen, we have probably all come to know that we are part of something far bigger than ourselves, and our freedom is of great value. Shall we pray?

“Father in Heaven and Creator of us all, thank You for the time we have so gratefully received and lived until now. There rises within us a vibrant “Yes!” to all that is yet to come. Each in our own way we desire to put all that we have in service to our loved ones and to our world. May our poor efforts effectively serve your powerful work lifting up each person and all of humanity. Bless us O Lord and these, thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

stpiusxclassof1966@gmail.com

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