Brother Ivy LeBlanc S.C. '63 Faculty Recognition Award
RECOGNIZING LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT OF A CHS FACULTY MEMBER
Presented by the CHS Board of Directors
This award recognizes a current or former CHS faculty member who exemplifies the mission and charism of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart by serving as a witness of the values and ideals of Catholic High School. The recipient demonstrates exemplary service to the school community, leaving a lasting, positive influence on students and the life of the school. Recipients of this award should exemplify the mission of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart through a commitment to the formation of the whole person demonstrated through religious values, personal attention, friendly discipline, and academic excellence.
ABOUT BROTHER IVY
Brother Ivy LeBlanc S.C. '63+
A native of Baton Rouge, Brother Ivy graduated from Catholic High School in 1963 and pronounced his first vows as a Brother of the Sacred Heart in 1969.
He earned a B.S. degree in accounting from Louisiana State University in 1967, a master’s degree in administration from Tulane University in 1980, and a master’s degree in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University in 1988.
Brother Ivy began his educational ministry at St. Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. For the first three years of the apostolate, he would move between Mobile, AL, and Bay St. Louis, MS, responding to rising needs at Catholic Boys Home, McGill Institute, and Saint Stanislaus. Brother Ivy’s next assignment to Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, LA, would surprisingly last 32 years. It was here on Elysian Fields that Brother Ivy served in several roles, including 2 years as a teacher, 6 years as assistant principal, 8 years as principal, and 11 years as president. He was elected Provincial of the New Orleans Province in 2000 and would continue to serve the Province in various roles until his death. In 2014, Brother Ivy was an essential part of the team that lead the unification of the three United States provinces into one.
Although Brother Ivy never served on the faculty of Catholic High School, his love for his alma mater and his pride in the school were visible and heartfelt. His unwavering passion for teaching, promoting, and demanding fidelity to the charism of Father André Coindre, founder of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, has influenced the ministry of every faculty member at CHS. Brother Ivy clearly understood that as fewer men choose the vocation as a Brother of the Sacred Heart, the responsibility for transmitting the charism would increasingly rest with lay educators, and ultimately with the students who benefit from that education. For this reason, his life’s work centered on forming faculty and administrators to understand, embrace, live, and transmit the mission of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Brother Ivy emphasized the sacred trust the Brothers place in their lay partners to carry the mission forward. He was often visibly moved, sometimes to tears, as he spoke about the vital role lay educators play in the future of the Institute. For Brother Ivy, nothing was more important than ensuring that the mission and charism of Father Coindre were faithfully passed on to future generations.
Although many in our community never had the opportunity to know Brother Ivy personally, his influence and legacy live on at Catholic High School. We owe him a profound debt of gratitude for a ministry and a life so faithfully lived.
May 3rd Ceremony Ticket Purchase
NOMINATION CRITERIA
1. Commitment to Mission
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Evidences a deep dedication to the values and educational philosophy entrusted to Catholic High School through the Brothers of the Sacred Heart and the charism of Father Andre Coindre.
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Actively contributes to forming students into the men God is calling them to be.
2. Witness of Religious Values
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Lives Gospel values in daily interactions with students, families, and colleagues.
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Serves as a role model for students by providing an atmosphere of understanding, respect, and generosity thereby creating a sanctuary for all students.
3. Demonstration of Personal Attention
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Contributes to a school environment marked by respect and belonging.
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Demonstrates consistent availability, meaningful presence, and genuine care for students.
4. Ensures Friendly Discipline
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Creates a structured environment with appropriate boundaries, clear and reasonable expectations, and accountability so that each young man is positioned to succeed.
5. Excellence in Field of Ministry
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Models the highest standards of practice within the faculty member’s area of responsibility.
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Inspires students to achieve their full potential and become self-motivated young men capable of a life filled with faith-filled leadership and generous service.
6. Service to the School Community
- Contributes beyond the field of ministry through coaching, moderating, mentoring, retreat work, or other activities that strengthen student life.
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Supports colleagues and promotes unity within the faculty.
NOMINATIONS: Any faculty or staff member may nominate up to three faculty or staff members, past or present, ranking them according to a first, second, and third choice. The nominations must be in writing, signed by the nominator and contain information about the nominee based on the explanation of criteria provided on the nomination form. Nominations will also be solicited from CHS community members through email and social media posts following the same procedure.
ELIGIBILITY
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The recipient must be or have been a full-time member of the faculty.
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The recipient must have been on the faculty for at least ten years.
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If a former faculty member is nominated, he/she must have been on the faculty for at least 10 years.
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Members of the Catholic High School Hall of Fame are not eligible.
THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT NOMINATIONS IS MARCH 31, 2026.
NOMINATE HERE
Required
AN EXCERPT FROM PARTNERS IN MISSION
In the aftermath of the French Revolution, many young orphaned or homeless children, having no other option, lived in various prisons in and around Lyons, France. Father André Coindre, filled with compassion for the suffering of these young people, took decisive action and eventually established a religious institute of consecrated men, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, to serve them. Coindre’s simple progression from viewing with open eyes the suffering of young people, to experiencing deep, heart-felt compassion for them, and then acting to alleviate that suffering came to be recognized by the Church as a “charism,” a gift given by the Holy Spirit to an individual for the good of the entire Church.
Today, Coindre’s charism thrives in the Province of the United States schools of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Though separated geographically and culturally and serving locales with different needs and challenges, these schools share a common vision of education: the evangelization of young people. As genuine partners in mission, the brothers and lay men and women who work in these schools strive to embody Coindre’s charism in various educational settings while recognizing that local circumstances demand creative adaptation, not mere imitation. As such, fidelity to Father Coindre’s charism is dynamic, unwavering, and continually adapting to the many contexts in which we, as Father Coindre’s successors, find ourselves.
Father Coindre’s holistic approach to formation combined developing students’ human skills and potential, their knowledge of religion and faith, and their character and sense of personal responsibility under the guidance of competent and credible adult witnesses. Father Coindre was adamant that a focus on any one aspect of a young person’s development would not suffice in achieving his ultimate goal. It was only through the combination of multiple strategies in a truly holistic approach that Father Coindre could help young people become the men of faith, the leaders of their families, and the witnesses to their communities that he saw as God’s plan for them. In other words, what he sought was a thorough integration of faith and the daily lives of those to whom he ministered.
In a similar way, schools that seek to be faithful to Father Coindre’s charism and continue the educational tradition of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart believe in a holistic approach to education. Every experience that students have in school teaches and forms them in some way. Not the least of these are the students’ experiences with teachers, staff, coaches, and moderators. Ultimately, it is through the witness of men and women of faith that the evangelization of young people occurs. Our schools strive, therefore, to have all partners in mission understand and embrace this perspective, and to recognize that holistic formation includes the spiritual, moral, personal, and academic development of young people in a way that seamlessly integrates faith and life.
In summary, education in the spirit of Father Coindre’s charism is holistic education, rooted in religious values, structured through friendly discipline, nurtured by personal attention, and committed to academic excellence.
ABOUT PARTNERS IN MISSION
Partners in Mission is a document of the School Leadership Conference of the Province of the United States of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. The document draws upon the writings of Father Andre Coindre, the founder of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, other foundational documents from the Brothers and Scripture. It is meant to serve as a practical resource and guide for all partners in mission within Brothers of the Sacred Heart schools, including school leadership, faculty, governance boards, and community members as we continue to make Father Coindre’s charism vibrant today.