Transformative Space for Growth
For nearly 20 years, at least one Barron brother walked the halls of Fairfield Prep. Their father Patrick Francis Barron, son of two impoverished Irish immigrants, credited his meteoric rise in life to a nun who saw something in him and the stroke of luck that landed him at Boston College High School. Determined that his six sons have the same Jesuit education that changed his own life, he enrolled Frank ’69, Greg ’71, Bob ’73, Bill ’75, Richard ’79 (deceased), and Andy ’83 at Fairfield Prep. In turn, the Barron brothers have generously supported Jesuit education at Prep over the years.
Fairfield Prep recently announced that the school will honor the Barron family’s legacy by naming the new facility to be built on campus the Barron Center for Arts and Recreation. The $20 million dollar leadership gift to the Go Forth campaign from Francis Patrick “Frank” Barron ’69 and his wife Eve—including $1 million for scholarships and $19 million for capital construction—has enabled Fairfield Prep to break ground on the new facility.
“When Christian told me that the new building would be named for my family, I was both surprised and moved to have my family recognized in this place that has been so central to our lives. I thought immediately of my courageous immigrant grandparents, and wished they could be here, for it’s they who deserve the honor.”
Breaking New Ground
Frank and Eve Barron’s generosity to Fairfield Prep didn’t begin—nor will it end—with this landmark gift. The couple have long been generous supporters and have named Fairfield Prep in their estate plans. In addition, Frank serves on Prep’s Board of Governors and chairs the Advancement Committee.
Frank and Eve typically focus their Prep giving on scholarships to give other boys the chance that Frank’s father was once given. But when Frank heard Prep President Christian Cashman describe his vision for the transformative potential of a proposed new building, Frank was sold.
“It’s been wonderful to see the scope of Prep education expand into the arts and many athletic outlets that weren’t offered when I was here. Now, any boy who wants to participate in arts or athletics can find a niche. But you need facilities to do that well. It didn’t take long to persuade me.”
Passing On Ignatian Values
As a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete his senior year under legendary coach Earl “The Duke” Lavery ’50, Frank knows the importance of sports and other outlets. In fact, Fairfield Prep’s current gymnasium is named for one of the most influential figures in Frank’s life—Prep’s long-time football team chaplain, Rev. Eugene Brissette, S.J.
Frank vividly remembers Fr. Brissette, both as his chemistry teacher and as chaplain. “He was on the practice field every day in his flowing cassock, striding with Duke, urging the boys to hit the blocking sled harder, to run faster. Both he and Duke were partial to the linemen, because they themselves had labored in the trenches as players and appreciated the dedication of those who rarely got to touch the ball.” But when this fiercely competitive man of God led the team’s pre-game Mass each Friday evening, he would never pray for victory.
“He always prayed that God would help us be our very best, and that neither team would suffer injury. He would never pray for victory. Victory, he said, was up to us,” recalls Frank, while Eve counts the story among many examples of the Jesuit ethos she admires.
Frank admits that “not long after feeling so grateful for the honor bestowed on my grandparents and my family, I felt a twinge of guilt that the new building will replace the one named for Fr. Brissette. Christian’s assurances that Fr. Brissette’s name will have a central place of honor in the new building got me past it.”
Frank has been impressed by the school’s ongoing commitment to its Ignatian values under its increasingly lay leadership over the years and is enthusiastic about the school’s direction for the future. “Jesuit education altered the course of my life, as it did for my father,” says Frank. “Now, my main mission is to give other boys, on the cusp of becoming men, that same opportunity.”