The Jan. 20 feast of Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, was also a day to honor two of the nine 2012 Spirit of Holy Cross Award recipients.
Elaine Zavada at King’s College (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Maureen Briare of the University of Portland (Ore.) were among the nine recipients of the award in 2012. The award is given annually to lay collaborators who faithfully serve the Province in the United States and abroad. The Spirit of Holy Cross Award acknowledges the critical importance lay collaborators play in living out the vision and mission of Holy Cross founderBlessed Basil Moreauto make God known, loved, and served in education, parish and mission settings.
The Holy Cross Community at King’s began the celebration of Elaine’s 55 years of service to the College with evening prayer in honor of Blessed Moreau, followed by a social and dinner.
There have been nine presidents ofKing’s CollegeandElaine has been assistant to six of the nine. She served the College for 55 years – 54 of them as executive assistant to its Holy Cross presidents. Elaine retired from King’s on June 1, 2012. She and her husband, Robert, have been married since 1971.
At the University of Portland, the Spirit of Holy Cross Award was presented to Maureen at the 10:30 a.m. Mass at the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. The Mass was a celebration of the feast of Blessed Basil Moreau. A brunch in the Board Room of the Bauccio Commons followed.
Maureen’srelationship with Holy Cross goes back 20 years. She earned both her undergraduate (B.S. in Nursing) and graduate degrees (Master’s in music) at theUniversity. For the past 12 years, Maureen has served as associate director for music in Campus Ministry, providing music at Mass on Community Night. Her musical talents have led her to release a number of music CDs and she is also a published composer with the Oregon Catholic Press (of which she is a board member), the World Library and GIA Music. Maureen’s compositions draw on the words of Holy Cross Founder Blessed Basil Moreau and through her music, has exposed others to his steadfast faith and commitment. Maureen has been married to her husband, Tim, for 19 years. They have six children.
Celebrations for the seven other Spirit of Holy Cross Award recipients have taken place since the announcement on the eve of the Solemnity of Our Lady of Sorrows, the patroness of the Congregation.
