The Chinese Language and Literature Circle then performed a Lion Dance . Brother Director made a speech and two students spoke , one in Malay and the other in Mandarin .
The Prime Minister addressed the boys and spoke of the type of character that was needed in a young nation . He contrasted the English education of colonial days with the new type of leadership he expected the English Schools to produce . He said that he honoured scholarship but that :
' Just the knowledge - without the character , the physique , the physical vitality and the stamina to carry one through the trials and tribula tions tha t life must have in store for you - that is not enough .
' There must be a sense of appreciation of other things besides just learning : music and the arts , character , physical education , group discipline , the things that make for a good organised society .' St Ioseph ' s Institution has always been known asa very Catholic school . In years gone by the School Field would also be used for the Annual Corpus Christi Procession . This was a procession that started in the evening from the Cathedral and filed into the field where a little altar had been built . From the portico of the Cathedral to the field the route used to be lined by the St [ oseph ' s Cadet Corps . The Bishop , holding the Holy Eucharist , led the procession , and he was followed by the clergy and boys . Once in the field prayers were said and then the whole procession wound its way back into the church . It was a kind of benediction on the school .
' AtStJoseph ' s we always used to have a speciaJ Benediction on the 25th of every month ,' C . R . Eber recalls . ' It was at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd . In my time I used to conduct the singing . It used to be held about 12.30pm , the Benediction of the Holy Sacrament . I remember when I was a pupil there , where the Tuck Shop was and the Canteen is now used to be the Dining Room of the Boarders . And on the first Friday of every month , during the Directorship of Reverend Brother Marcian ( 1922-1927 ) we had a Mass at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd at about eight in the morning , and then , after Mass , we would go into the Dining Room of the Boarders to have a free breakfast . Those were happy days , I really enjoyed them .' According to Lirn Choo Sye it was I3rother Marcian who revived the old La Sallian practice of having every class stand up every half-an-hour when the Form Monitor would say : ' Remember that we are in the Holy Presence of God .' This was followed by one ' Hail Mary '.
This practice was discontinued during the 1950s , but it still survives tenuously , for , in every classroom , above the wall blackboard is the same legend . It is a reminder of Brother Marcian ' s gracious spiri t , as well as reminding the teacher to keep calm under all circumstances .
Brother Marcian used to stand in school Assembly with his hand pressed to his side as though he were in pain . He was the only Brother who wore the calotte , the skull cap like that worn by Jews , which was once an obligatory part of the Brothers ' habit .
A memorable scene on the school field took place in November 1950 . In this year the Pope declared , Ex Cathedra , that the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was an Article of the Faith . This was a major event in the Catholic world and , to encourage the devotion of the faithful , a statue of Our Lady of Fatima was sent on a tour of the world . It was called the Pilgrim Virgin .
The statue , accompanied by two priests , arrived in Singapore on 5 November 1950 . Then a procession of decorated cars brought it from the airport to St [ oseph ' s Field where a magnificent altar had been built . Brother [ oseph McNally had been charged with the design of this altar . He has vivid recollections of the long hours spent in supervising its construction . The rain had been pouring down all day , and he remembers struggling round with his feet ankle-deep in mud . When the statue arrived there were over 20,000people awaiting the ceremony of Benediction .
On 11 November the statue was brought in a procession of forty-five cars to SJI from the church of St Theresa , Karnpong Bahru . A special altar had been set up in the school portico and , for four hours , the school , and many from outside , paid it honour . The Cadets mounted a special Guard of Honour . At 2 pm the statue was taken to the Canossian Convent in AJjunied Road .
The Field , in manifold ways , has been the setting for friendly contests in games and athletics , and the place that evokes the school spirit , the spirit that transcends personal rivalries and ambitions .
The Brotherhood of de La Salle is , in microcosm , a pattern of how men , in the pursuit of a great goal , in this case Education , unite in the service of that ideal .
The magic of the [ osephian spirit is the common affection and mutual respect that boys of all races have learned at the feet of the Brothers and lay teachers in the La Sallian schools . May this noble tradition receive a fresh impetus when the school leaves its old building and moves toits new campus in Malcolm Road .
The statue of Our Lady of Fatima , called the Pilgrim Virgin , which arrived in Singapore on 5 November 1950 .
Memories of the Playing Field 65