KUCHING: The remains of Brother Albinus Michael O’Flaherty (pic), a former principal of St Joseph Secondary School here and Sacred Heart Secondary School, Sibu, have arrived in the city from Kuala Lumpur for a three-day wake.
His remains arrived at MASkargo at 9am and by 9.30am were brought to SMK St Joseph’s Tan Sri Datuk William Tan auditorium here yesterday.
At the auditorium, about 100 people comprising the Roman Catholic Kuching Archbishop Rev Fr John Ha, former students and SMK St Joseph’s prefects were on hand to receive Brother Albinus’ remains and prepare for the wake that would start at 1pm.
Moments after his remains were placed at the auditorium, Ha invited all to join a prayer for Brother Albinus, who passed away on Sunday at 11.28am at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur after a short illness.
Brother Albinus was well-known in the Christian community here and in Sibu where he spent many years as an educator.
Ha, who is also a former student, said he was in Form Two when Brother Albinus came to Kuching to teach English and English Literature in 1960.
“He was a very good English teacher. At that time, my English was very bad and he took me to his office to coach me personally.
“When I was in Form Four, he taught me Latin. He was indeed a dedicated teacher. Although Latin was a foreign language to me at the time, he made me feel very comfortable to learn it,” he said.
Ha said Brother Albinus and the late Brother Hilary were instrumental in inspiring him to join the priesthood.
He said he first joined as a La Salle brother of the Religious Order before crossing to be a priest in 1972.
After becoming a priest and bishop, he said, they worked closely in the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and as always, Brother Albinus was very dedicated and inspiring in his service.
“Brother Albinus is a man who inspires through his faith in God and Jesus, and through his dedication in serving the people,” he said adding that he would be dearly missed by many.
Brother Albinus was born into a farming family in a village called Ballyhoneen in County Kerry, Ireland, on May 23, 1930.
He spent his early years attending a religious school in his home village where he enjoyed playing football with his peers, before joining La Salle Brothers at 14.
After spending some time in Singapore, teaching at the St Joseph’s Institution there, he returned to Ireland and went on to earn a degree in English and Literature before he was posted to St. Joseph Kuching in 1960, eventually becoming the principal of the school.
He enjoyed an illustrious career spanning 53 years here and in Sibu. After 10 years at St Joseph’s, he was transferred to teach at Sacred Heart Secondary School and became the principal from 1972 to 1987.
After he retired in 1987, he served at St Joseph’s Parish Tuition Centre as director of the A Level of St Patrick’s Private School and appointed as principal of St Joseph’s Parish Tuition Centre from 1992 to 1997.
After an arterial by-pass in Australia in 1998, Albinus accepted an invitation to teach World Religions at Inti College here for two years.
He went back to the St Joseph’s Parish Tuition Centre and later started his own tuition class in English and Literature for Form Four and Five students.
In 2002, Brother Albinus and some of his former students founded the Yayasan Lasallian Kuching.
Those who wish to pay their last respects to Brother Albinus can do so today and tomorrow from 9am to 10pm.
The funeral mass will be held at St Joseph’s Cathedral here on Aug 8 at 9am and thereafter, Brother Albinus will be buried at St Joseph’s cemetary which is next to the cathedral.
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