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From the Archives: Saint Viator High School Celebrates 60 Years of Viatorian Leadership
1972-1974 Br. Leo Ryan
Saint Viator High School has a great deal to celebrate this year as 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the school’s opening on Sept. 5, 1961. This milestone reflects not only 60 years of educational excellence, but six decades of a community that continues to serve and support students, their families and the mission of the Viatorian Community.
1974-1976 Fr. Patrick Cahill 1976-1983 Fr. Patrick Render
Saint Viator’s first president, Br. Ryan, began in 1972 after having served at Loyola and Marquette universities, and serving in 1966 as deputy director of the Peace Corps in Nigeria. Fr. Cahill, a Chicago-area native, served as president for two years, after serving as a teacher and athletic director. He later accepted positions at the University of San Diego and Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. Fr. Render, having already filled many roles at SVHS, was president for seven years before serving as Assistant Provincial and later as Provincial Superior. Since then, he has served as Pastor in Henderson, NV, and in Chicago. He currently resides at St. Patrick Parish in Kankakee as serves as Novice Director.
1999-2005 Fr. Thomas von Behren 2005-2013 Fr. Robert M. Egan
S A I N T VIATOR L O O HIGH SC H
Having already spent most of the previous 20 years teaching, Fr. Thomas von Behren began as President in 1999, overseeing several major expansions of the SVHS campus facilities. He went on to serve as Provincial for the next 12 years and is currently serving as President of Cristo Rey St. Viator in Las Vegas. Fr. Egan is the second SVHS alumnus to serve as its President. He had already spent a decade as a teacher, followed by 17 years as Assistant Provincial and Provincial Superior before returning to Saint Viator. He oversaw continued construction at the school and established the Tuition Assistance Program. He then went on to lead St. Thomas More Parish in Henderson, NV, before returning to Illinois as Superior General.
As we commemorate the “diamond” anniversary of the school — and welcome Fr. Dan Lydon back as president — we’d like to shine a light on those individuals who have filled that role over the years, leading SVHS in its mission to “transform the communities they encounter through empathy, action and inclusion.”
1983-1986 Fr. Lawrence Lentz 1986-1998 Fr. Charles Bolser 1998-1999 Fr. Richard Rinn
After having taught at SVHS for almost 15 years, Fr. Lentz saw Saint Viator through the school’s most trying financial period. He then went on to serve as Pastor and Assistant Provincial. Currently, he serves as a sacramental minister at St. Viator Parish in Las Vegas.
2013-2016 Fr. Corey Brost
Fr. Bolser began his teaching carrer in 1967 and arrived at SVHS in 1986 as its President, where he oversaw the merger of Saint Viator and Sacred Heart of Mary high schools. After finishing his term, his ministries included serving as Provincial Superior and President of Cristo Rey St. Martin, one year after it opened. In 2016 he returned to SVHS to serve as its chaplain.
2016-2021 Brian Liedlich
Saint Viator alumnus Fr. Rinn, had already taught at SVHS for several years, before he was tapped as President. He served one year before filling the role as Pastor of St. Viator Catholic Community in Las Vegas, where he has remained for the past 22 years.
2021 Fr. Daniel Lydon
Before his tenure as president, Fr. Brost had already served in many different roles at SVHS, Bishop Gorman High School, and in a number of parishes. Currently, he serves in immigration ministry as Executive Director of Viator House of Hospitality, which provides support for young asylum seekers. Saint Viator welcomed its first lay President, Viatorian Associate Brian Liedlich, in 2016. As a graduate of Marquette University, he worked in fundraising consultancy and management for many years, including his role as Executive Director of Institutional Advancement at SVHS. As President, he saw Saint Viator through the challenges of the pandemic’s first year and a half. Fr. Lydon is Saint Viator’s third alumnus President. He most recently served as Associate Pastor at Maternity BVM, having previously been a faculty member and Assistant Principal at SVHS.
