BROTHER CLEMENT McGOUGAN (1934-1996)

Brother Clement McGougan was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 3rd October, 1934 and given the name Andrew Paul. As a young boy, he attended both Thorndon and Newtown Marist Brothers Primary Schools in Wellington, and completed his Secondary Schooling at Lavalla College, Tuakau.

He entered the Novitiate at Claremont, New Zealand in 1952 and received the name Clement. He made his first vows in February of 1954. At the completion of his religious training Brother Clement spent his apprenticeship years in Marist Brothers schools in Thorndon, Palmerston North (with Eugene Flaherty, 1956-58), Greymouth (1958), Christchurch (1959), and Hamilton (1960-65).

He then followed the missionary path to Samoa where he was director of the community, and principal of St Joseph's College, Lotopa. This youthful, vigorous man of 31 years made a strong impact on the Marist school over the next six years(1966-71). He greatly respected the culture and was soon able to make a public speech in the local language.

Back in New Zealand for a year, at St John's College, Hamilton, he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree. For the next two years he was given time off to further his religious education, first in Rome at the Champagnat Centre, then, in 1974, he attended the East Asian Pastoral Institute at the Ateneo de Manila, where he completed his Master of Arts on "Religious Formation in the Pacific", a good preparation for his later work at Lomeri, as Master of Novices.

And so it was in 1975 that Brother Clement first came to Fiji, spending two years as Master of Novices at the Brother's Pacific Novitiate in Lomeri (1975-76), followed by one and a half years at the Post Novitiate Formation Centre in Vatuwaqa (1977-78). During this time he also taught catechetics at the Pacific Regional Seminary.

In August of 1978, he succeeded Brother Majella as the Principal of Marist Brothers High School, a post he held for the next 11 years. From 1979 to 1984, he was also the leader of the Brothers' community at Flagstaff. In 1982 he was able to see the fruits of his efforts in the new "Sixth Form Block" that was added to the three-storey building.

In 1984, Brother Clement was appointed the District Superior of the Marist Brothers in Fiji, but resigned from that position in 1985, after experiencing his first bout of heart problems. In 1990 he transferred to the Suva Street Community, as Superior for the next three years. It was also in 1990 that he began his work with the Archdiocesan Education team. It was something very dear to his heart, and something that he really enjoyed doing. As an apostolic man, he realized the importance of the work he was doing for the Church here in Fiji, and he would say many times how grateful he was to the Brothers for allowing him to do it. His work in the Archdiocesan Office took him the length and breadth of the country.
In 1993 Brother Clement returned to the community at the High School, again as leader of the community. And at the beginning of 1995, he was appointed to succeed Sakiusa Sing as the Director of Catholic Education for the Archdiocese of Suva, a position he held until his untimely death. He had been in Fiji for 21 years.

First impressions of Brother Clement were of a quiet, unassuming man, a humble man. Later they would discover a man with a lot of common sense, a man with a clear mind, who could deal with awkward situations in a calm way, and diffuse them. Many teachers throughout the country were very grateful for his help in difficult situations. He could never say no to anyone with a problem, and had that way of taking over others troubles for them.
He was also a master of the written word. His letters were always clear and concise, and he was able to phrase his requests in a way that was hard to refuse. That gift of rhetoric saw him much in demand as a speaker or as a facilitator of seminars. Many of the teachers who attended his seminars would remember him for his stories. When he was preparing Religious Education Units for the Secondary Schools, his research was painstakingly done, nothing was ever accepted at face value.

Clement was also a very good sportsman. In his younger days he played both rugby and football. He was a good cricketer, and enjoyed a vigorous game of squash. It was not widely known that as a primary school student, he boxed in the Wellington Town Hall. He also enjoyed a good round of golf with his friends. But in the latter years, following his first heart attack, his exercise consisted of a measured daily walk along the Suva sea wall.
His special love was for his community. He was overheard saying: "My first priority is my community. My second priority is my health, because it is not very good at the moment, and my third priority is my work.". That he would put his community before all else, speaks volumes of his attitude of service to his Brothers.

Brother Clement was a man of simple pleasures. He derived great satisfaction from completing the daily crossword. He enjoyed driving. He also read widely, and as a consequence, was knowledgeable on many subjects. He took great pleasure in cooking the Saturday lunch of sausages and potatoes for "his old men" (Theophane, Victor and Clarent) as he used to affectionately call the members of his community.

An expression often heard from him was, "He's a very good friend of mine", and indeed he used it of a lot of people, and he counted among his good friends the Archbishop, Petero Mataca, Bishop John Foliaki from Tonga, and Father Bill Hansell, to name just a few. He could walk and talk with anyone, no matter what their background was.

When Brother Clement delivered the eulogy for Brother Eugene here in this Cathedral three years ago, he spoke of Brother Eugene as a "ladies' man" someone with many friends, especially among the Sisters. Well, Brother Clement was not much different in many respects. He counted among his special lady friends, Sisters from many congregations working in Fiji. They could speak to him and relate to him on a very personal basis, and he received a lot of affirmation from them.