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Authors: William X. Kienzle
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philosophy. And so they did. However, as one archdiocesan office after another climbed aboard the bandwagon, the Brothers’ ship of state began to sink. The result was, in a word, inevitable.
Their decision to leave only weeks before school was scheduled to open bordered on the vindictive. It was a bombshell.
Nevertheless, the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the archdiocesan school office rose to the challenge. The Brothers got their marching orders and began to break camp.
The final decision was supposed to be kept tightly under wraps. Here and there some leaks occurred, but by and large the secret was kept.
Bro. V told Manny Tocco because the two had grown close in the past year. Vincent knew that the Tocco family would face challenging decisions as to Manny’s scholastic future.
Privately, Vincent did not think that Emanuel Tocco was up to the intellectual demands of the seminary. Not Sacred Heart Seminary. It was questionable as to whether he could pass the entrance test. But even if he did, he might well be overwhelmed by the exigencies of an intensive liberal arts program with a strong emphasis on English and Latin.
Moreover, considering Manny’s already significant muscle power, if his physical growth continued as could be expected, he might well enjoy an impressive athletic career elsewhere.
Redeemer was a Class A school. Regularly its football team played other large parochial school teams. Not infrequently Redeemer played in the post-season Soup Bowl, competing against the top public high school team for the city championship.
The point was it was possible—probable—that Manny Tocco could be a big fish in a fairly large pond.
Yes, one could realistically project a career in sports for Manny. Who knew; he could even enter the pro ranks.
But not from the seminary.
The seminary did have some excellent athletes. But sports in the seminary were intramural. There were no headlines, no media coverage, no visits from scouts.
Originally, Bro. V. had had plans for his protégé. In Manny’s last year before high school, Brother Vincent would make sure that Manny understood what he was passing up by not attending Redeemer High. The choice, of course, would be Manny’s. But Vincent would exercise his considerable influence to try to convince Manny to stay where he was—on the Redeemer path, where fate had directed him.
In this endeavor, Vincent enlisted Alfredo Tocco’s cooperation. ’Fredo quickly became firmly convinced that Bro. V. was right. All Mr. Tocco and Bro. V. had to do, besides convincing Manny to see the wisdom of their position—which would not be all that difficult—was to make sure Maria Tocco knew nothing about this.
The two men were convinced theirs was the perfect path for Manny. Both gave full credence to the strong possibility that this was God’s Will.
But now some of the building blocks were coming loose. Bro. V. was not to have his final year before Manny’s enrollment in the seminary. As much as he desired his dream for the boy, Vincent could not delay the termination of the Brothers’ tenure at Redeemer. The prospects of one lad could not be important enough to derail the collective course. Besides, the decision to leave now had been reached by the governing body of the Brothers.
The best Vincent could do at this stage was to clue Manny in. He told the boy this had to remain a secret until it was officially made public.
Manny had two questions: First, could he tell his father?
Of course; Vincent wanted the father informed. The Order’s rules of secrecy on the matter mandated that the parents were not to be advised in advance. Brother Vincent was following that mandate; he had not told ’Fredo. But there was no rule that said that Manny couldn’t tell his father.
Manny’s second question: Could he tell his best friend, Michael Smith?
Considering the closeness between the two boys, it would be cruel to demand silence on the matter. Besides,
Their decision to leave only weeks before school was scheduled to open bordered on the vindictive. It was a bombshell.
Nevertheless, the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the archdiocesan school office rose to the challenge. The Brothers got their marching orders and began to break camp.
The final decision was supposed to be kept tightly under wraps. Here and there some leaks occurred, but by and large the secret was kept.
Bro. V told Manny Tocco because the two had grown close in the past year. Vincent knew that the Tocco family would face challenging decisions as to Manny’s scholastic future.
Privately, Vincent did not think that Emanuel Tocco was up to the intellectual demands of the seminary. Not Sacred Heart Seminary. It was questionable as to whether he could pass the entrance test. But even if he did, he might well be overwhelmed by the exigencies of an intensive liberal arts program with a strong emphasis on English and Latin.
Moreover, considering Manny’s already significant muscle power, if his physical growth continued as could be expected, he might well enjoy an impressive athletic career elsewhere.
Redeemer was a Class A school. Regularly its football team played other large parochial school teams. Not infrequently Redeemer played in the post-season Soup Bowl, competing against the top public high school team for the city championship.
The point was it was possible—probable—that Manny Tocco could be a big fish in a fairly large pond.
Yes, one could realistically project a career in sports for Manny. Who knew; he could even enter the pro ranks.
But not from the seminary.
The seminary did have some excellent athletes. But sports in the seminary were intramural. There were no headlines, no media coverage, no visits from scouts.
Originally, Bro. V. had had plans for his protégé. In Manny’s last year before high school, Brother Vincent would make sure that Manny understood what he was passing up by not attending Redeemer High. The choice, of course, would be Manny’s. But Vincent would exercise his considerable influence to try to convince Manny to stay where he was—on the Redeemer path, where fate had directed him.
In this endeavor, Vincent enlisted Alfredo Tocco’s cooperation. ’Fredo quickly became firmly convinced that Bro. V. was right. All Mr. Tocco and Bro. V. had to do, besides convincing Manny to see the wisdom of their position—which would not be all that difficult—was to make sure Maria Tocco knew nothing about this.
The two men were convinced theirs was the perfect path for Manny. Both gave full credence to the strong possibility that this was God’s Will.
But now some of the building blocks were coming loose. Bro. V. was not to have his final year before Manny’s enrollment in the seminary. As much as he desired his dream for the boy, Vincent could not delay the termination of the Brothers’ tenure at Redeemer. The prospects of one lad could not be important enough to derail the collective course. Besides, the decision to leave now had been reached by the governing body of the Brothers.
The best Vincent could do at this stage was to clue Manny in. He told the boy this had to remain a secret until it was officially made public.
Manny had two questions: First, could he tell his father?
Of course; Vincent wanted the father informed. The Order’s rules of secrecy on the matter mandated that the parents were not to be advised in advance. Brother Vincent was following that mandate; he had not told ’Fredo. But there was no rule that said that Manny couldn’t tell his father.
Manny’s second question: Could he tell his best friend, Michael Smith?
Considering the closeness between the two boys, it would be cruel to demand silence on the matter. Besides,
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