Br. Tom Hetland

Tom Hetland grew up in a family that supported religious vocation — though he had never actually met a Brother until he walked through the doors of St. George High School in Evanston. What he found there changed his life. He admired the Brothers immediately, and when Brother Henry Benedict — his freshman religion and Latin teacher — invited him to give the Brothers a try, he did.

The formation years offered their own kind of wisdom. During his time in the Juniorate, Br. Tom was in the office with Brother Marvin Becker when he accidentally destroyed a thermo-fax machine — an early copier — by feeding something too thick through it. He was horrified, certain he would have to pay for something he couldn't afford. But Br. Marvin just looked at him and said: "Don't worry, Tom. You've got to be doing something to do something wrong." It was the kind of grace-filled common sense that stays with a person for life. Br. Tom has quoted it many times since.

His years at Montini Catholic High School in the early 1970s gave him another memory worth keeping. When the school chaplain, Fr. Richard Prodehl, organized a Christmas Eve Mass in the school chapel, so many people showed up that the celebration had to be moved to the cafeteria — and it stayed that way for years. What struck Br. Tom was the hunger those students and alumni had for liturgy, for community, for something that could hold them together.

Among his mentors, two names stand out: Brother Leonidas Austin Makowski, a man of exceptional humility whose service to everyone he met was quiet but constant; and Brother Terence McLaughlin, who gave Br. Tom encouragement and inspiration across many years of friendship.