Bro. Louis Camilleri FSC

Manuel Borda writes:

I kept contact with Bro. Louis since the time I got to know him when he was my teacher in the mid-1950s. This means a stretch of over 50 years during which I must say I never saw him growing old.

I first became acquainted with him when I was promoted to his class and was assured he was the best teacher De La Salle had at the time. His announcement at the outset, on that first day, startled me somewhat. He declared we were the best class but we still had to prove it to him.

We were to sit for a very competitive exam that year and we were ready to work very hard. However, despite my high expectations, I initially wondered how he had got such a good reputation as a teacher. I asked myself how we were going to get through the whole syllabus when he spent so much time reading through our essays in class, pointing out mistakes and providing alternative ap-proaches.

Besides, he appeared to be rather soft at first. His gentle voice, his respectful attitude to us his students, his patient manner when tackling problems made me wonder how well he could hold the class.

Soon, however, I learned that his look and body language were enough to instill discipline. He was a serious man, devoted to teaching, oozing uprightness, a true role model for us in conveying his obvious dedication to duty. Above all, he was a holy man, truly one with Christ in his vocation. Soon I noticed that all of us students spoke to him with deference, eagerly waiting for his lessons and very proud he was our teacher.

Personally, I feel I owe him much in that he not only inculcated in me a love of reading but also constantly encouraged me to always go one better. He made me feel he believed in me and this gave me the confidence to reach for higher goals.

I kept visiting De La Salle College long after I finished school there. As a member of the Old Lasallians Association, albeit for only a few years, or just attending activities, or at Stella Maris College where my sons were students, I always made it a point to, at least, say hello. Later, I sometimes dropped in for a chat and he was always welcoming, somehow making me feel I was part of his family.

He introduced me to his well-researched monthly publication Signum Fidei, which he never failed to mail me. His love and zeal for St John the Baptist De La Salle shone through his every word and action.

Bro. Louis was consistently good, consistently principled, reliable and trustworthy. His death is a loss to the Church, the De La Salle Brothers and to the two colleges run by the De La Salle Brothers. May his memory and example live on to promote the true Lasallian spirit and the values he stood for.

Farewell Bro. Louis, I’m sure we’ll meet again.