UP staff member Maureen Briare receives 2012 Spirit of Holy Cross Award

Maureen Briare, associate director of music for campus ministry at the University of Portland, has been named as one of nine recipients of the 2012 Spirit of Holy Cross Award. The Spirit of Holy Cross Award is given annually to lay collaborators of the Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers and acknowledges the critical importance they play in living out the vision and mission of Holy Cross founder Blessed Basil Moreau to make God known, loved, and served through education, parish and mission settings.

“Even in the early days of the Congregation, Fr. Moreau recognized the important role of lay collaborators in working with us to spread God’s Word and serve the poor,” said Rev. Thomas O’Hara, C.S.C., Provincial Superior of the U.S. Province. “Today, as our work reaches those most in need in the United States, Chile, East Africa, Peru and Mexico, lay collaborators continue to work side by side with us in education, parish and mission settings.”

Maureen Briare’s relationship with Holy Cross began in 1987 during her freshman year at University of Portland, and she earned both her undergraduate (bachelor’s in nursing) and graduate degrees (master’s in music) at UP. For the past 12 years, Maureen has served as associate director for music in Campus Ministry and has provided music at countless celebrations of Mass on campus.

Her musical talents have led her to release a number of CDs – including Ring Out Your Joy, a celebration of the University belltower – and she is also a published composer with the Oregon Catholic Press (of which she is a board member), the World Library and GIA Music. Maureen’s compositions draw on the words of Holy Cross Founder Blessed Basil Moreau and have exposed others to his steadfast faith and commitment.

Maureen is an educator who understands the need to educate the mind and the heart and clearly appreciates that gifts and knowledge are meant to be given back in service to others, according to Rev. Jeffrey Allison, C.S.C.

“She draws the best out of her students to provide a wonderful musical experience for the University community,” Fr. Allison said. “She also shows genuine concern for her students and their needs without lowering standards.”

Maureen is known for her cheerful disposition and great generosity amidst multiple commitments. She shares that cheer with others and brings hope and joy to those who encounter her. Maureen has been married to her husband, Tim, for 19 years. They have six children.

The nine 2012 recipients of the Spirit of Holy Cross are:

• Barb Carlson – Retired Office Manager/Assistant to the Director, U.S. Province Office of Vocations, Notre Dame, Ind.; Parishioner, St. Joseph Parish, South Bend, Ind.

• Larry Cunningham – Theology Professor, University of Notre Dame (Ind.)

• Maureen Briare – Staff, University of Portland (Ore.) and Volunteer, Holy Cross Court

• Elaine Zavada – Retired assistant to the President, King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

• Jessica Baladrán –  Parishioner and Technology and Grants Administrator, St. Ignatius Martyr Parish, Austin, Texas

• Jim and Terry Orcutt  – Staff, Holy Cross Retreat House, Easton, Mass.; founders, My Brother’s Keeper

• Froilán Enrique Gallegos Bernal – Staff and Parishioner, El Señor de la Esperanza, Lima, Peru

• Ramona Reyna Rangel – Executive Secretary/Parish Bookeeper, Parroquia Nuestra Madre Santísima de La Luz, Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon, Mexico