The School Crest
 The
Crest was designed in 1950.
The CELTIC CROSS is an emblem
of the Christian Brothers and the symbol of their Irish origins, and of
the Cross of Christ whom we all follow.
The BOOK symbolizes learning
and teaching, our quest for knowledge, wisdom and understanding. The book
is open, that we may be open always through new learning, to a search
for truth.
The ALPHA and OMEGA tell us
that our beginning and end is God (I am the first and the last, the beginning
and the end - Rev.22.13), that we owe all to Him: Who has God, wants nothing
(St Teresa, Doctor of the Church).
The STAR and RAYS are symbols,
firstly, that both our teaching and learning are to be directed by God;
the star, symbol of unfading hope and faith; the rays shining on the book
directing our endeavours.
The STAR is rich in symbolism,
recalling as it does enlightenment and guidance in the Star of Bethlehem,
Jesus the Morning Star (Rev.22.16;2 Pet 1.19), and Mary Star of the Sea.
It was, however, a passage in the Book of Daniel which inspired both the
inclusion of the star and the school motto:
They that are learned
(i.e., in the law of God and in true wisdom which consists in knowing
and loving God - hence Servire Deo Sapere (est) on the scroll below: To
serve God is to be Wise 1), "Shall shine as the brightness of the firmament
(..et qui in iustitiam erudiunt multos - quasi stellae in perpetuas aeternitates
2) and they who instruct many unto justice shall shine like stars for
all eternity. (Dan 12.3)
Thus the star symbolises also
the reward of teaching directed by God.
It was early one morning in
l950 between 2.00 and 3.00a.m. when Brs. F J Levander (Headmaster) and
J S Campbell who had been working all night on the design of the new crest,
finally and triumphantly came upon this concise statement of hopes and
aspirations. The est (understood) in the motto, was omitted for balance.
In the Brothers' Annals of
Gregory Terrace, Br Levander wrote in l950:
A new Crest was
designed for the school. This was preferred to mutilating the Congregational
Crest. Until then, Terrace had used the original Congregational Crest
and this had been updated in l920. We may regret the omission of facere
et docere, the Congregational motto, but this is assumed from the beginning
and need not be included in the crest of a particular school.
RED and BLACK are the school
colours, worn with courage and pride, to which we attach loyalty and honour.
No symbolism was intended in
the formation of the bar at the top: it merely completes the shield-design.
If one is free to imagine, the two blank spaces in the bar could symbolize
future areas as yet unrealized, in which we hope to grow and develop.
Footnotes:
- Br Levander in his 1950
Annual Report translates the motto less literally: He who serves God
is truly wise.
- This Latin has featured
prominently for many years on the front sanctuary wall of the smaller
chapel at Mt St Mary's, Strathfield, the Australian Mother House of
the Christian Brothers before the division of provinces. The English
version appears in large lettering in the chapel at Xavier College,
Indooroopilly.
- This computer generated
graphical image was designed and rendered in 3D by Peter Whitehouse
in 1999
The founding charter of St
Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace was to provide Catholic education for
boys. Those who would seek to uncover 1995 evidence of this charter's
continuation will see how St Joseph's practises Catholic faith, personal
formation and scholarly development (College Mission).
The
Celtic Cross, erected in the College grounds in 1987, tells of Catholic
Tradition and Christian Brothers' heritage. The Edmund Rice Icon in the
Mt Sion Centre tells of Catholic Tradition and Christian Brothers' heritage
and the vision of the Founder of the Christian Brothers. If, as the College
motto claims, To serve God is to be wise, each student will one
day know the extent to which St Joseph's College has drawn him to generous
personal response to Jesus Christ, to live Catholic values, to serve humanity
and Australia and to grow towards maturity as a person of character, of
education and of charity.
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