Fr Brian Russell (SPC 1954)
October 23, 2023
Fr Brian Russell.
The College has been notified of the passing of missionary and priest Fr Brian Russell (SPC 1954) in Perth, Western Australia on 11 February 2023 from cancer, aged 86 years.
He was the loved son of Patrick and Agnes (nee Sheedy) Russell and loved brother of Dan, Ted, Ellen, Kathleen, James, Norah, Kathleen, Michael and (twin brother) Fr Des CSsR (all dec) and Sr Patricia SGS.
Brian was highly respected by his nieces, nephews and extended family and was a treasured confrere of the Redemptorists in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. A Mass was held at the Redemptorist Monastery in Perth on 27 February 2023.
Brian, pictured in his matriculation class photograph, as published in the 1954 College Annual.
Brian attended SPC from Coragulac, in the western district, for one year only and completed his matriculation studies. He was a member of the Sodality of Our Blessed Lady.
He was also a member of the First XVIII Football premiership team and the First XI Cricket premiership team.
Brian was regarded as an extremely accurate bowler, taking six for 11 in one match against High School and he has been remembered by his extended family as a “fearsome fast bowler”.
Brian was one of eight students to secure a Commonwealth Scholarship on completing his matriculation studies.
He was professed as a Redemptorist Missionary in Sydney in early 1957 and returned to his home state of Victoria to the Redemptorist seminary in Ballarat. He was ordained in mid-1963 in the early stages of Vatican Council II.
Brian undertook a pastoral year in Melbourne and then in Ballarat before heading to Singapore in 1965, the start of several decades worth of missionary work spent abroad.
In 1993 Brian returned to Australia and was stationed in Melbourne for two years, where he was often away in Indonesia teaching English to the Redemptorist students, before being transferred to the Monastery at North Perth where he remained until his passing.
Looking back over those years, Brian has been remembered for living a full life and leaving a trail of good in many countries and in many cultures.
Brian was also an active member of the St Vincent de Paul Society, and a chaplain for the society for many years.
– We thank Rokina at the Redemptorist Monastery for assistance in preparing this tribute. An extended tribute by the Redemptorist Monastery can be viewed by clicking here
Brian was a talented fast bowler and was member of the First XI Cricket team in his one year at St Patrick’s in 1954.
Brian was also a member of the First XVIII Football team in 1954.
