A new rector for St Thomas More College

07 Jan 2009

By The Record

Archbishop Hickey has announced the appointment of Brother Rob Callen, a Christian Brother, as the new Rector for St Thomas More College.
He will succeed Father Kevin Long, who will be the new Rector of St Charles Seminary.
This is the first time a Christian Brother has held this position in WA, although a Christian Brother is Rector of St Leo’s College in Brisbane and a Marist Brother is Rector of Aquinas College in Adelaide.
Brother Rob has recently returned to Perth from studies at Boston College in the USA where he completed post graduate studies with an MA in Pastoral Ministry with a concentration in Youth and Young Adult faith.
He is a graduate of UWA. In 1986 he completed a Graduate Diploma in Religious Education at the Institute of Religious Education in Dundalk, Ireland.
Immediately before going to Boston, Brother Rob was Director of Campus Ministry at Trinity College where he introduced the very successful Kairos  and Quest Retreats. He has been leading groups of students to India on immersion experiences for the past 20 years.
He has had extensive leadership experience.
Before returning to Perth in 2001 he was Principal of St John’s College, Whyalla, and then Assistant to the Headmaster at Saint Ignatius College in Adelaide.
Brother Rob said that he was honoured by the Archbishop’s appointment and that he looked forward to being engaged with the young people at the College.
He said he was very conscious of the fine traditions of the College and he intended to uphold those traditions of academic excellence, community service, pastoral care and faith formation.
He looked forward to working closely with the excellent staff who have maintained the high reputation of St Thomas More College over many years.
He was very pleased, also, to know that the Archbishop would supply a priest to ensure that the chapel would continue as a special centre for worship.