Serangoon/Montfort/St Gab History

  Scouting Movement in the Inter-war Years: Before the Cassocks When we picture scouting in our Montfortian Gabrielite schools—Montfort, St. Gabriel’s, and Assumption English School—the mind naturally wanders to weekend campfires, pioneering structures tied off with precise lashings, and proud generations of boys wearing shoulder flashes emblazoned with their troop colors. Yet the scouting movement that the Gabrielite Brothers inherited after the devastation of the Second World War was no mere hobby. It was an auxiliary force forged in conflict, tested by fire, and built on high-stakes civic duty long before it became a cornerstone of character education in these schools. Before Brother Noel (St. Gabriel’s and Montfort School) and Yahya Aljaru (Assumption English School) and a generation of legendary Gabrielite educators transformed local troops into engines of youth leadership, the scouting movement had to prove its mettle in the crucible of early Singapore history. Lord Bad...

 If you ask anyone if they remember  Father James F. Kearney, SJ? Few would know that name.  He spent only 8 years in Singapore and to those who know him, he was  the sharp editor who transformed the Malayan Catholic News (now Catholic News ) into a vibrant tabloid, and the American priest who brought smiles to local schoolboys when presenting sports gear on behalf of the National Catholic Welfare Conference (NCWC). Yet, behind his quick wit was an extraordinary life defined by resilience, a global mission far larger than Singapore, and surviving the harrowing frontlines of World War II in China. This is history on how  California is linked with Shanghai, Nanjing, the Jesuit Mission and Singapore. 1. From the American West Coast to China’s Mission Fields Born in the United States on August 15, 1896, James Kearney spent his early years rooted on the American West Coast. In 1914, he entered the Society of Jesus at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Los Gatos, Ca...

  DEAD : Devotion, Equipment, and the Diamond - The World of Fr. James F. Kearney, Cyril Chew, , and the Founding of Montfort Softball (1959–1960) School Report on Softball, 1962 Saturday Softball, 2026 Many people associate Catholic schools with softball – St. Gabriel’s, Catholic High, Maris Stella, Montfort…all powerhouses today in their own way! However, few know that this is related to the context of the Cold War and the work of Fr Kearney, S.J., a Jesuit priest from St. Ignatius Church, Bukit Timah. Background Along historic Upper Serangoon Road in the late 1950s, Montfort School (historically Holy Innocents’ English School) was a bustling hub of growth. Spanning parish grounds, school halls, and sports fields, the institution expanded  rapidly under the Gabrielite Brothers and dedicated lay educators. Too many students, not enough physical activities to engage them, physical activities and outdoor sports as a way to engage youths. While history often remembers this era t...