Born: 17 July 1884, Buchlawn, Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare
Entered: 12 November 1901, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Ordained: 31 July 1916, Milltown Park, Sandford Road, Dublin
Final Vows: 02 February 1921, St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly
Died: 17 June 1931, St Benedict’s Hospital, Malvern, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Australiae Province (ASL)
Part of the Xavier College SJ, Barkers Road, Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia community at the time of death
Transcribed HIB to ASL : 05 April 1931
Father is a doctor. Three brothers and fives sisters alive, one brother and sister deceased very young.
Educated briefly at a local National School, then privately. Then went to the Christian Brothers Ennis, then St Flannan’s College, Ennis. After that went to PBC Cork.
1901-1903: St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly, Novitiate
1903-1905: St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly, Rhetoric
1905-1908: St Mary’s Hall, Stonyhurst College SJ, Lancashire, England (ANG), Philosophy
1908-1913: Clongowes Wood College SJ, Naas, County Kildare, Regency
1913-1917: Milltown Park, Sandford Road, Dublin, Theology
1917-1918: Mungret College SJ, Mungret, County Limerick, Prefect of Studies, Teaching
1918-1919: Spiritual Father, Teaching
1919-1920: St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly, Tertianship
1920-1922: St Stanislaus College, Tullabeg, County Offaly, Minister, Procurator
1922-1931: Xavier College SJ, Barkers Road, Kew, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Rector from 20/12/1923, Procurator, Teaching
◆ Fr Francis Finegan : Admissions 1859-1948 - PBS Cork student
◆ David Strong SJ “The Australian Dictionary of Jesuit Biography 1848-2015”, 2nd Edition, Halstead Press, Ultimo NSW, Australia, 2017 - ISBN : 9781925043280 :
He Entered the Society at St Stanislaus College Tullabeg under Michael Browne.
1905-1908 After First Vows and Juniorate at Tullabeg he was sent to Stonyhurst for Philosophy
1908-1913 He was sent to Clongowes for Regency, teaching Latin, Greek and Mathematics.
1913-1917 He was sent to Milltown Park for Theology
1917-1919 He was sent to Tullabeg teaching
1919-1922 He made his Tertianship at Tullabeg, and stayed working there for another two years as Minister.
1922-1931 He was sent to Australia and in 1923 was made Rector of Xavier College Kew, and he died in office in 1931.
When he died, Xavier College received glowing tributes acknowledging his outstanding qualities as priest, scholar and gentleman. That said, when he was appointed some in the community did not appreciate his leadership style. Compared to previous regimes, his discipline appeared somewhat lax, and some thought the College would suffer under his new ideas. But the doubts did not last. A few years later, Jesuits writing to Rome observed that despite the freedom granted to parents and boys, Edmund governed well. They praised the religious spirit among the Jesuits, boys and ex-students alike. Religious vocations increased. He was also praised for his great kindness and holiness, as well as his ability to relate well with all kinds of people.
As a person he appeared to have great personal character and qualities. He won the hearts of all by his natural, simple and unassuming manner. He was eminently approachable, genuinely sincere in his relationship s with all, possessed sound judgement, and instinctively avoided all appearances of haste. He was quite dispassionate in decision making and processed a strong sense of justice. His wisdom was also appreciated. Beyond all these human qualities his deep spirituality was most appreciated.
During his years as Rector he transformed the environment of the school. He was responsible for developing the spiritual life of the College to the extent that it effectively permeated the whole environment. The impersonal context of previous years was changed, he deliberately raised the standard of comfort, reduced student monotony by introducing new activities for boarders, improved the playing fields and in general gave more freedom to approximate College life to Home conditions. He was determined that school ought to be a second home, and hoped Old Boys would have happy memories of their days at Xavier.
As an educator he was conservative but wise, with quiet enthusiasm and genuine interest in every aspect of College life. Each year he indicated his appreciation of the year’s achievements. His comments were always encouraging even when suggesting the need for greater effort. He urged students to continue studies at University, supporting the newly established Newman College. He encouraged the Dramatic Society, The Wireless Club, the St Vincent de Paul Society and all aspects of the College sporting life. No one was more excited when the school won the cricket championship for the first time in 1923 and again in 1924, and the football championship for the second time in 1924.
The spiritualisation of the College was above all reflected in his efforts to build the Chapel, which he believed would help counteract the growing materialism in society, reflected in secular education. He wanted the Chapel to be “A Message of Faith to the people of Melbourne”. And so it was built in the grand style of the day, high on a hill.
He also gave great support to the Old Boys, and each year he commended the Old Xavierian Association to all. He believed its members “breate the atmosphere of loyalty to religion, to Australia and to Xavier College:. He articulated the ideal that ex-students continued the good work done at school, by keeping contact through the Association. The Jesuits desired to continue their priestly ministry to past pupils. He initiated the annual retreat for Old Boys, which attracted about 40 men each year. The Association flourished in these years.
He believed that Xavier was for boys of average ability. He stressed the importance of a general education rather than vocational, and encouraged the study of the classics - in which he held a BA from University College Dublin.
The environment of the school often reflects the quality of the education. At the Jesuit boarding schools, the religious spirit was always in tension with the Pubic School Spirit. In 1928 he told his audience that Xavierians were already filling leading positions in the Church, the professional, commercial and industrial life of Australia, he said he also considered it important that Xavier was a member of the Public Schools of Victoria.
Over the years Xavier had commanded respect in sport, but Edmund was not satisfied until Xavier was one of the front rank of the Pubic Schools in every aspect of school life, until the pre-eminence of the school was habitual and not exceptional. To achieve this he improved the sporting facilities and initiated promotion for more students. He raised the College fees to be equivalent to other Public Schools but also offered four full time scholarships each year.
Archbishop Mannix praised th work of the Jesuits, claiming that Xavier College could be well called the right arm of the Catholic Church in Melbourne and in Victoria. He also hoped that ex-students would be good Catholic leaders in the community. He valued the College so highly that at Edmund’s funeral he stated that the Rector of Xavier was “one of the most important positions, if not the most important that any priest in Melbourne could occupy”. That said, the Edmund and the Archbishop did not always agree on every matter. In 1927, the Archbishop was concerned at the non appearance of the College at the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. Edmund replied explaining that “not a few of the parents of the boys would strongly object to their children being forced to march”. The Archbishop did not pursue the question. The school cadets were the second matter on which they disagreed. Edmund had opposed all forms of military training for boys at school, because he disliked the idea of educating boys to destroy a fellow man. When they left school they could choose voluntary military training. The Archbishop was not sure that these pacific ideas were realistic.
How successful was the education that Jesuits were offering at Xavier? In 1925 Edmund emphasised the “deeper things in school life” such as the “spirit of piety and docility, of hard work, charity and self respect”. Further important signs of the success of Xavier were the success of the Old Boys either when they attended Newman College, or when they returned to school to renew contacts with former masters. Yet he reflected that even if they didn’t return, the work of the College would continue. This was one of the few expressions of great faith in the work of education made by Jesuits. Edmund indicated the Jesuit hope that their system would produce solid Catholic citizens, and provided some achieved this aim, then they were satisfied.
The wider community of Melbourne mourned Edmund’s early death. The Catholic people lost a spiritual leader of great wisdom, while many non-Catholics mourned the loss of a friendly and approachable colleague. he had been a quietly influential member of the Schools Board, the Council of Public Education ad the Headmasters’ Association. Colleges in these Associations respected him for his clear-headed thinking and the zeal with which he fostered the spirit of Public School Sport.
He was no innovator, nor did he give great educational leadership among the Public Schools of Victoria, but within Xavier College he built a new atmosphere, a strongly religious tone totally in keeping with Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit education. More than most Jesuit rectors, he was truly Catholic and thoroughly Ignatian in theory and practice. His greatness was his ability to communicate his spirit to others in an acceptable manner. The style of Xavier College during his time was a model for Jesuit schools of the time.
◆ Irish Province News 6th Year No 4 1931
Obituary :
Fr Edmund Frost
Fr. Frost died at St. Benedict's private hospital, Malvern, (Melbourne) 17 June 1931. He had been ill for little more than a month. At first his disease was diagnosed as sarcoma, but later developments showed it to be Hodgkinson's disease a kind of infection of the blood.
On the eve of the Feast of the Sacred Heart they told him he was beyond human aid. and he heard the news with that calmness and serenity so characteristic of him. On the Feast itself he received the Last Sacramcnts. During the following days his strength failed rapidly, and on 17 June he died a wonderfully holy and happy death.
The very striking and unusual tribute paid to his memory on the day of the funeral shows in what high esteem he was held by all classes and creeds in Melbourne. The newspapers agree in saying that the crowd gathered round the catafalque was the largest seen in Melbourne on a like occasion, since 1917. when the obsequiess of Dr Carr, the last Archbishop, were Celebrated. More than 4.000 people crowded into St. Patrick's Cathedral. At least 150 priests occupied the Sancturay. It is scarcely necessary to say that our sterling friend Archbishop Mannix, presided. He was assisted by Dr McCarthy, Bishop of Sandhurst.
Still more striking was the large number of leading non-Catholics who came to pay their respects to the dead Jesuit. All the great Protestant Public Schools were represented. The Head Masters of Scotch College, Wesley College, Geelon Grammar school, were present. Melbourne Grammar School, Geelong College and others sent groups of masters and head boys to the obsequies. Fr Frost had been the Catholic representative on the Council of Education. and on the School Registration Board. The heads of both had their place in the Cathedral.
Of course, Xaverians. past amd present, held the place of honours. The old Xaverians had, in relays, spent the previous night in prayer in the College Chapel before the remains were removed to the Cathedral. The senior prefects were the pall-bearers The entire school formed a guard of honour at the cemetery. They were joined by 170 boy s from St. Kevin's College, and 80 from bi. Patlrick’s. St Vincent de Paul's Soeiety, that Fr. Frost had made a great reality at the College, assisted in large numbers.
During the obsequies His Grace spoke in very touching terms of his dead friend. He said that Father Fiost was .in almost irreparable loss to the diocese. Not only was his death a loss to the Catholic body, but it was felt also by all with whom he had come in contact. He was every inch a man and a priest of God, true to his friends, with a wonderful gify of understanding. He was not merely a great Head Master and a great citizen, but he was a really spiritual man. The memorial chapel at Xavier had not yet been finished, but it would ever stand as a monument to the zeal, taste. and courage of Fr. Frost. He has left, continued His Grace, at monument in the hearts of all the boys with whom he came in contact. The old Xaverians will remember a brother. The clergy have lost an ornament, and I a dear and valued friend.
Dr. Littlejohn, the Presbyterian Head-Master of Scotch College, paid his tribute to Fr. Frost. The picture he draws of the man is so true that we shall give it in its entirety :
“The late Fr. Frost was above all a religious man. His religion meant more than anything else in the world. it was real to him.
But he was tolerant too. My last message from him - expressing regret that he could not see me, as he was unable to receive visitors, ended with a request for my prayers.
I considered him a great and a dear friend. In disposition he was a quiet kindly, genial gentleman. His cast of mind was serious, though there were gleams, too, of Irish wit. He would laugh heartily at my newest story from Aberdeen.
At meetings of the headmasters of the School Board, and the Council of Public Education, where we were colleagues. Fr, Frost made a place for himself as a sane, clear-headed thinker.
His inclination was slightly towards conservation “Hold fast to that which is good rather than some novel expeiriment”, seemed his maxim, Innovation for the sake of innovation without sound principle behind, he would leave well alone.
He did not speak much at our meetings, but what he did say was the outcome of sober thought, well considered, far seeing, and it was received with respect.
Fr. Frost fostered the spirit of school sport at its finest. He shared with his boys their enthusiasm for games. and he constantly impressed on them these two ideas : Not to be cast down in defeat; not to be overweeningly proud in success.
He never failed to acknowledge a message of congratulation on Xavier success in sport - nor to send one. His letters, worded with a kindly, old world courtesy, made one almost ashamed for winning. Glad you won, and glad it was you that beat us , was the note that ran through them.
l have been over the Xavier Memorial Chapel with Fr. Frost twice during its construction. The building of it was a matter very near to his heart. He contemplated with the greatest happiness the completion of this magnificent structure, now to be a memorial not only to the Fallen, but to himself”.
Mr Adamson, headmaster of Wesley College, said : I deeply regret the loss of so able a man. Associated with him for many years at meetings of headmasters, my first impression, which lasted when a friendship had sprung up between us. was of the entire reasonableness of the man. He was a splendid man to work with.
Mr Hansen, Director of Education, declared that a front rank educationist had been lost to Victoria.
An old Xaverian writes : Among the many notable men who had charge of Xavier College Fr. Frost was as regarded as the school's foremost headmaster. During his term the school made its greatest strides in studies, sport and in the number of scholars. This success is attributed to his qualities of leadership, which were shown in his dealings with both past and present scholars.
He set himself out to keep in touch with boys after they left school, and continually sought to arrange gatheriings of them at the school. The May vacation retreat, which large numbers of old boys now attend, was started by Fr. Frost. Another indication of his interest in old scholars was the number of marriages of old boys which he celebrated in the school chapel.
Another Old Xaverian : A great man has passed to his new and, a cultured Irish gentleman, a friend to all, a faithlul priest of God. In all my long connection with Xavier there has been no one for whom 1 had a greater respect and affection than for Fr. Frost. He was a wise counselor and a faithful friend. He brought Xavier to the forefront of public schools, consolidated the old boys into a united body, fostered the public school spirit to the highest degree. His death is a national calamity.
Such was the estimate of Fr Frost formed by externs . What manner of ma was he in the community over which he presided? Possibly the first thing that strikes one is this - if ever there lived a man who was the very antithesis of “side”, of artificial and ill-fitting dignity, that man was Fr Frost. He was kindliness and simplicity itself.
One of those who lived under him was asked to give an appreciation of his Rector, and he answered “I consent gladly and at the same time sorrowfully. Gladly, because it is an opportunity to testify in public to the worth of one who was my Superior at Xavier’s, where I learned to know and love him. Sorrowfully, because the memory of him brings tears, and the reading of the testimonies to his life and character remind me of my loss. As a rector he ever dealt with me in the most kind manner possible. To see Christ in him was easy, because he lived Christ. Having said this there is nothing higher to say of him.
Nevertheless, lest my judgment be blinded by affection, it will be useful to hear what others who came in contact with him thought. The writer gives a number of the extracts already quoted in this notice, and continues Above all things he ever sought to see both sides of any question thatwas brought before him. In consequence his administration of justice was evenhanded. The boys knew this well, and loved him for it. I hear there is great Justice for the boy at. Xavier’s, remarked a protestant lady. And she was right.
In conclusion I can but say with Melbournes great Archbishop : I too have lost a dear and valued friend.
Another member of his Community writes : Fr. Frost has left behind him the kindest and most beautiful memories every where... As Fr. Mannix put it so well : Some are gifted for dealing with men, others for dealing with religious Communities of women, others again for dealing with children but Fr. Frost was at home with them all.
His loss to the Community is of course great. He was a kind and holy Rector. and most considerate in every way. He taught me when I was a little boy at Clongowes. I knew him here (Zavier's) as Rector, and all the time I was on the continent (theologian) he sent me letters at regular intervals full of interesting news of Xavier, and almost invariably, a cheque for
Masses at Lisieux or Paray-Le-Monial,
The Brothers miss him very much. He took recreation with them every Sunday , and stocked their recreation room with excellent pious books. He called it St. Alplsonsus' library.
He joined in all our sports, played cricket during the season and tennis every Saturday. He was with us at our card parties, and ar all the little entertainments we have from time to time.
Every morning before meditation he paid his visit to the Blessed Sacrament and then aa short visit to the shrine of our Lady in the hall. After breakfast there was another visit to Our Lady to get her blessing on the day's work. I feel very lonely alter him, but, please God, he is enjoying the reward of his holy and simple life. His funeral was certainly a fitting tribute to a holy an kind hearted man.
Every morning at Mass he gave a talk to the boys on the saint of the day.
The summary of his life is but too brief. He died in his 46th year. Fr. Frost was horn in Co. Clare (Ireland) 17 july 1884, educated at Presentation Brothers' College, Cork, and began his novitiate at Tullabeg 12 Nov. 1901, Two years rhetoric in the same place was followed by three 3 years philosophy at Stonyhurst, and five years at Clongowes as prefect and master. During philosophy he got his B. A. degree at the Royal University. Two more years teaching, this time at Mungret, brought him to the third year, which he made at Tullabeg. For a year and a half he was Minister at Tullabeg and was then transferrcd to Clongowes whose Minister had broken down health. In 1922 he set sail for Australia. He spent one year teaching at Xavier, and then became its Rector. His holy death was at Malvern (Melbourne) 17 June 1931. May he rest in peace.
◆ The Xaverian, Xavier College, Melbourne, Australia, 1931
Editorial
Our late Rector Fr Frost
In reviewing the events of the year, we must first of all pay a very sincere tribute of respect to the memory of our late Rector, Fr Frost. He spent eight years at Xavier, and those years were marked with great success. In 1923 he was First Prefect and that year Xavier were Champions of Public School Cricket, and in 1924 we came out Champions in Public School Football and Cricket. The years 1927 and 1928 saw Xavier win the Head of the River.
While we emphasize these successes successes that keep the College in the public eye, and successes the Headmasters condemn when not understood in the proper spirit; we do not mean to imply that these were all Fr Frost worked for. No, he went much deeper than that. He looked for these successes for their value in character training, and because of the self-sacrifice entailed if a boy took his training seriously. For he believed that those who had battled and fought hard to get on the teams and keep their places on the teams, these would be men of worth in the future. He was never tired too of pointing out the guiding hand of Providence in our successes. He prayed for them and he was glad to acknowledge them.
Xavier has lost in Fr Frost a very real friend, and the “Xaverian” too has lost an encouraging guide. He believed in a good school magazine, and he did all in his power to put it within the reach of the Old Boys. In his mind it kept them together. It kept them in touch with one another, and it kept thern in touch with the School. He wished all to know that Xavier was not a mere pile of bricks and mortar, but a power house from which radiated Catholic charity and good fellowship.
We are very grateful to all those who sympathised with us in our loss. We received innumerable telegrams, letters. and messages, and we were particularly struck by the tone of the Public Press. To His Grace, the Archbishop of Melbourne, who spoke so beautifully from the pulpit of St Patrick's Cathedral, to Dr, Littlejohn, Headmaster of Scotch College, for his letters when Fr Frost was ill, and for the wonderful public testimonial he rendered to him in the columns of the “Herald”. We should like also to thank the Editors of the Public Schools' Magazines for their kind references to him.
When it became known that Fr Frost's illness was such as to prevent hin undertaking the duties of Rector for some time, Fr J Sullivan was appointed to take his place. Fr Sullivan is no stranger to Xavier. He was Rector from 1918-1924 and when he became Superior of the Australian Mission, Fr Frost took his place as Rector of Xavier.
-oOo-
Fr Edmund Frost SJ - An Appreciation
The news of Fr. Frost's death came as a cruel surprise. Few people knew that he was ill; still fewer (and Fr. Frost himself was not one) had any idea of the gravity of his condition. Not, it would seem, that he had been enjoying perfect health prior to this.
One gathers that disquieting symptoms had revealed themselves from time to time in the last few years. But he seemed during this period to be his usual self, and his activities gave no indication of approaching trouble. When trouble did reveal itself, events moved with startling rapidity. Within a few weeks it was all over. When he left for Sydney some three weeks before his death Fr Frost had no idea of his real condition. He assured the pres ent writer that he was merely “completely run down”. That indeed was true; not, unfortunately, the whole truth.
Everyone remembers the remarkable tribute which the city of Melbourne paid to Fr Frost's memory, the scene at the Cathedral, the striking words of His Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne, thc message of the Honourable the Premier of Victoria, the appreciation from his colleagues, the Headmasters of the Public Schools, and from the the Director of Education, the volume of sympathy from the metropolitan Schools, the unmistakable grief of the general public and the impressive splendour of the funeral.
They found themselves wondering at this demonstration - the spontaneity, warmth, multiplicity of these tributes of respect. They wondered what was the secret of it all.
I believe that no one would have been more astonished at all these proofs of esteem and affection than Fr Frost himself. Perhaps herein lies the secret. He had personality - that elusive quality; he had character in abundance. But he had, in a splendid degree, simplicity and sincerity. Simplicity has many disguises, it takes many forms; we are warned not to confuse it with lack of prudence. In Fr Frost there was a complete understanding between the dove and the serpent, they worked in exquisite harmony. Caution was kept from excess by the courage so often found in genuinely simple folk; simplicity was tempered by the sanity of prudence. In everything he took in hand, in all the functions of his varied life, Father Frost was always himself - natural, simple, unassuming.
Fr Frost had many gifts. He was a sound scholar, with a real interest in intellectual problems and doings, a judicious reader who believed more in “Multum” than in “Multa”. While genuinely Catholic in his tastes, he favoured (in the judgment of the present writer) the solid and the satisfying, much more than the clever and the entertaining. In the lighter forms of literature he was not, I think, greatly interested. (But one is bound to add that he had a deep affection and respect for G K Chesterton). On everything however, that he read or studied, he brought to bear a very sound judgment. I am not sure that his sane judgment was not his most conspicuous natural gift. Instinctively he avoided haste and rush, he liked to weigh things carefully. As a result one valued his judgments. He had the power moreover of being singularly dispassionate in arriving at conclusions. Personal and sectional considerations he gently but rigidly excluded. In the guidance of a big school with its multiplicity of problems to be faced, interests to be weighed, lines of action to be determined, there is ample scope for this valuable gift. That Fr Frost was felt to possess it, seems clear from the gracious things people said and wrote of him. In particular the various Educational Bodies with which he was so long and intimately associated with were quick to recognise this quality and have been at pains to give expression to their appreciation.
We have referred to Fr Frost's calm, sound judgment. From it sprang a sense of justice. People charged with educational responsibility realise the value of this quality, because he possessed it to a marked degree. Fr Frost commanded, earned the confidence and respect of many young people who passed through his hands. He was always fair, always able to see both sides, always young enough to understand young minds. How fully he inspired this confidence was illustrated by the success of the Retreats for his Old Boys, organised and mostly given by himself.
Perhaps this same soundness of judgment was one source of his strength of character. One who weighs questions thoroughly is wont to consider the consequences of his decisions. Most decisions must expect mixed receptions for human nature is very susceptible where its interests are involved in danger. A frank recognition of this fact is calculated to strengthen determination. Fr Frost was not easily moved when he arrived at a decision, just because he thought things out beforehand. While thoroughly human and therefore alive to sensitiveness and hurt, he was prepared to see things through, and he quite firmly faced the misunderstanding, that comes at one time or another to all in authority.
It is a little difficult in this brief appreciation to speak of Fr Frost's supernatural gifts. But any analysis which overlooked or minimized this side of his character would be at once gravely incomplete, misleading, unjust. For Fr Frost was an intensely spiritual man; his outlook was naturally supernatural; his whole scheme of values was determined by this fact. This supernaturalness overflowed into his whole being and was beyond doubt the secret of the respect, confidence and affection which he inspired in those who knew hinı. Yet he carried his supernaturalness pleasantly. He was not a hermit; he did not stand aloof from his fellows, nor from their normal healthy interests; nor had he any inclination so to do. His ability to understand boys, his constant keen interest in all their sports and amusements, is proof enough of this; he had in fact the gift of blending with great skill and delicacy the natural and the supernatural.
Strength and courage - none who knew him would deny hin either of these qualities. They were the more striking and interesting and impressive because of the modesty and calm of his disposition. His character was not forceful, nor his personality domineering. One often felt that the secret of his strength lay in the power which he drew, or rather, wrung, from the divine, supernatural sources. He looked for strength to One Who delights to honour humility and to strengthen weakness. In the intimacy of his union with God and in the consistency of his well-regulated dependence lies, in my opinion, the explanation of that gracious firmness and adventurous courage, which characterised his work. It is no disparagement or unkindly criticisnı to admit that Father Frost reached an intellectual stature, which came as a slight surprise to several of his contemporaries. They had not anticipated such growth. If a man may not by thought add cubits to his statue, he may, however, grow de virtute in virtutem, and prayer can do for one's soul what reflection fails to do for one's body.
Father Frost would seem to have overtaxed his strength. How far he had worked out for himself a philosophy of life's tasks we cannot say, Possibly he did not fully realise how severely he was taxing it. He had a great capacity for work; he had little capacity for declining it. In: the many calls which were made upon his energies he readily saw supernatural commands and interpreted them as obligations, which a generous man should not shirk. The number of Lectures, Retreats, Conferences which he crowded into a few years is proof enough of his unselfish energy and devotion. That this devotion inay have been a little excessive or unwise, some of his friends could not help thinking. That their judgment was not prompted by lack of zeal on their own part is shown by the admission of Father Frost himself that he had over burdened his strength. It was part of the tragedy that this came home to him when it was too late to undo it. But perhaps in writing this we are handling, with human clumsiness, the work which God had set him and for which He had fixed but a few short years,
His name must be linked for all time with the Xavier Memorial Chapel. The history of this spiendid if momentous undertaking is not unknown to my readers. There is no need to retell the story. It was Fr Frost's lot to be the Rector when the work was set on foot, and it is sad to reflect that he was taken before it was finished. But throughout those latter years, with the steady decline of the fortunes of the nation and the individual, with the growing anxiety with which every new phase was accomplished, he struggled manfully on, fighting despondency, heartening others, never losing hope, proud of the beauty of the Chapel, inspired by the thought of what it must do for the glory of God and for the spiritual life of the boys he loved so well. We may hope and pray that he is looking down to-day on this handsome, artistic Collegiate Chapel, which is rapidly clothing itself in fresh beauty as it nears completion. We may trust too that his prayers at God's throne will hasten the day when Xavier, Past and Present, will look with just pride on a Chapel which, rising in toil and anxiety, will rival in its final beauty and charm the great and beautiful College Chapels of the old world.
II
Chronological Summary
Father Edmund V Frost SJ, was born in County Clare, Ireland, on July 17th, 1884. He was educated at St Flannan's College, Ennis, and entered the Society of Jesus at Tullabeg, King's County, on November 12th, 1901. In 1906 he took his BA degree at the Royal University of Dublin. Having completed his philosophical studies at St Mary's Hall, Stonyhurst, Lancashire, he was sent to teach at Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare, in 1908. He studied theology at Milltown Park, Dublin, where he was ordained in 1916. For a year during this period he acted as chaplain to a military hospital called after King George V. After teaching for a few years at Mungret College, Limerick, and acting as Minister at Tullabeg and Clongowes, he came to Australia in 1922. He was attached to St Ignatius' Church, Richmond, for a few months and then was transferred to Xavier College, Kew, as First Prefect. After one year in this position he was made Rector, in succession to Father J Sullivan SJ, who had been appointed Superior of the Australian Mission. Father Frost continued as Rector until the end came this year. For months he had not been feeling well, but he saw the boat race through and next day went to Sydney for a change and a rest. After a few days at Riverview Col lege he was ordered into the Mater Hospital, North Sydney, where a consultation revealed that he was seriously ill. By his wish he was brought back to Melbourne and taken from the boat to St Benedict's Hospital, Malvern. There he gradually weakened under the ravages of some form of lymphatic sarcoma and died on June 17th. The coffin was brought to the college chapel, where the present boys watched by it during the day and the Old Boys kept a lonely vigil right through the night. The Solemn Requiem Mass took place in St Patrick's Cathedral in the presence of His Grace, Dr Mannix, who delivered a most touching eulogium on the departed one, before the long funeral cortege left for Booroondara Cemetery.
III
Extract from “The Advocate’s” Tribute
“An Almost Irreparable Loss”. Death of Very Rev. Edmund V Frost, S.J. Widespread Public Regret: Noble Priest Mourned.
For some time before his death it was generally known to the Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Melbourne that the Very Rev Edmund V Frost SJ, Rector of Xavier College, Kew, was gravely ill. When, later, in the churches in the different parishes the congregations were asked to pray for a happy death for Fr Frost, the knowledge of the hopelessness of his case produced a heavy sense of the loss his going would bring. This sense of loss was realised to the full when, on Wednesday afternoon, 17th June, the mournful news was spread that Fr Frost had been summoned to receive his eternal reward. The deep grief his death brought to Catholics was shared in a most remarkable and spontaneous way by the non-Catholic community. Distinguished citi zens - political, educational, professional, and commercial - paid freely and regretfully their heartfelt tributes to a great priest, citizen, and educationalist. In the daily newspapers, where, from time to time, sympathetic references to Fr Frost in his last illness appeared, the eulogies of the departed Rector of the great public school at Kew were impressive, and marked by deep regret and a genuine recognition of the loss to the community accompnying the death of so important a figure in the religious and educational life of the city and State.
A Sense of Great Loss
Seldom has the death of a Catholic priest been followed by such a widespread and general vibration of feeling. But Fr Frost's was not an unfamiliar name to the public. His position at Xavier and the intense public interest taken in the annual Head of the River contests were, of course, largely responsible for this; but there were other reasons, just as there were other reasons for the deep sense of personal loss, and of the realisation of something of high value gone from the religious, intellectual, and cultural life of the community that moved Fr Frost's distinguished colleagues on the School Board and Council of Public Education and the Headınasters' Association. These reasons are associated with Fr Frost's manly and kindly personality, with his cordiality and friendliness, with his standing and attainment as an educational expert, and with the deeper qualities of his character.
The blow falls most heavily upon the Catholic Church, upon the Archdiocese, upon the Provincial and the Jesuit Fathers, and with the greatest force of all upon Xavier College, with which great school many of the ripest years of Fr Frost's untimely-ended life were so productively spent for the Faith and for Catholic education, in the service of which his great powers of heart and mind were exerted to the full. Never was a loss more deeply registered and recognised
Xavier Will Remember
Fr Frost's memory is secure at Xavier. It will be preserved and made concrete, as his Grace the Archbishop said, in the memorial chapel at Kew, to the erection of which Fr Frost's energy and enthusiasm were so abundantly directed.
But greater even than walls of stone is the monument he has left in the hearts of those for whom he laboured, of whom he was so true a master and teacher, a guide, a counsellor, and a friend. The present scholars will remember him, as with tearful eyes and fervent prayers they remembered him on Friday last. They will lovingly recall, as will the teachers there, the kindly Rector who, in class-room and out of it, displayed “that serene and blessed mood in which the affections”, as well as the instruction, “gently lead us on”; they will recollect on many an occasion to come his joy at their success at studies and his deep interest in their triumphs on the playing field; his smile, advice, and encouragement when their representatives prepared to take their part in the intensely exciting “Head of the River” race, his pride on the great occasion when they won; his sympathy and comforting words when they did not. The Old Boys, who were always so ready to follow Fr Frost's lead, or to lend their full aid to any project suggested by him, will remember him, too, will recall the wise advice he so often gave them individually, the influence he so unobtrusively but effectively wrought upon then; the delight it gave to follow where he led. Xaverians of the future will gleam from the invisible influences and associations that Fr Frost leaves behind him in the college he loved so well, whose spirit and traditions he maintained and guarded with so wise a stewardship, and in creased and contributed to in his own quiet, strong, indubitable way.
Others, hundreds of others, whom he honoured with his friendship, advice, and spiritual solicitude, will as deeply mourn him and as fondly keep his memory green. For such a life as Fr Frost's acts with a fructifying, vitalising energy upon all who come within the circle of its power.
His Work and Character Remain
Thus it will be seen that Fr Frost's work, though it centred in Xavier College, extended beyond it. For full, endowed natures like Fr Frost's have an abundance to give. It will be as an educationalist that his work will remain; one who applied to their full Newman's words: “Truth is the object of knowledge of whatever kind; and truth means facts and their relations. Religious truth is not only a portion but a condition of knowledge”. But his labours and service in other directions than the scholastic will not be forgotten. His influence as a lecturer and his work for God's poor, for he actively associated himself with the Society of St Vincent de Paul and was a practical supporter of the Catholic Women's Social Guild and other bodies - these too, have left their impress. And with them remembrance of the personal force of Fr Frost, so gently, if firmly felt; his sincerity and complete earnestness; his deep Catholicity and strength of character.
The most friendly and approach able of men, Fr Frost had great natural dignity and a quality of reserve. There was an air of poise and sureness about him that came, it was evident, from an interior detachment and peace. It was patent to the least familiar observer that he was, as has been said, a man of character; the charm of his manner but served to make more noticeable this strength of mind and spirit. A man of character, he was also a man of God, and was, before everything else, a priest.
IV
His Grace Dr Mannix paid the following tribute toFr Frost at St Patrick’s Cathedral, after the Requiem Mass
Your prayers are most earnestly requested for the eternal repose of the soul of Fr Edmund Frost. And first I should say that my own sympatlıy and the sympathy of this vast congregation goes out to the relatives of Fr Frost in Australia and beyond in Ireland. The passing of Fr Frost has been a great blow and a sorrow to us all. What must it be to those who are bound to him by ties of blood and intimate friendship! The loss of Fr Frost to this diocese is, I can say without exag geration, almost irreparable. And no better proof of the loss we have sustained, and the depth of feeling that his death has created, could be found than in the generous and sympathetic references that have been made to Fr Frost in the Press of Melbourne. There is the great fact, too, that this Cathedral this morning is crowded in a manner that may be stated to be unparalleled in connection with any similar occasion. We have here not merely the clergy, diocesan and regular, but we have the boys of the Jesuit colleges and the old boys who passed through these colleges, and then this vast assemblage of the general body, including those with whom Fr Frost was so long and so honourably associated in the public schools. .
Fr Frost's passing away has brought the greatest sorrow, not merely to the Catholic body, but to all those with whom he ever came in contact. How is it that Fr Frost's death has brought this unparalleled sense of sorrow? Well, one reason is that Fr Frost was every inch a man, and secondly that every thought, and word and action of his was the thought, word and action of a man and a priest of God. I, myself, have lost in Fr Frost a close, personal, intimate friend; There was no priest in this diocese on whose sympathy and co-operation I could more confidently rely. There was no priest who did me greater or more numerous favours as occasion offered, but on an occasion of this kind personal sorrow is lost and is merged in the great public sorrow that Fr Frost's death has occasioned. He was one of those men who are popular without seeking popularity. He was a quiet, silent, retiring, almost shy, man - it is this type of man that has great force of character very often; he was always calm and dispassionate in his judgment, always true to his friends, and never discourteous to his enemies, if he had any. He had the wonderful gift of understanding, and, like his Master, was all things to all men: Ah, yes! The Catholic community, and the community of Melbourne generally, has lost an outstanding figure in Fr Edmund Frost, and it is hard to think that we shall never meet his manly form again.
His Work at Xavier
It is only a few years since he came from Ireland in the full pride of his manhood; it is only a few weeks since Fr Frost, athlete as he was, took part in games that he loved so well, and that he encouraged so insistently amongst his boys. Yes, it is only a few weeks, but it is all over, and Fr Frost's mortal remains lie here before this altar. He had a great career, short though it was, in Melbourne. He came here only a few years ago, and within twelve months, or a little more, he came to occupy what I consider to be one of the most important positions, if not the most important, that any priest in Melbourne could occupy - the headmastership of Xavier College. While discharging the duties of that office, Fr Frost, in his own quiet, unassuming, humble way, made a mark for Xavier that has never been surpassed, and gave Xavier a position that it will be hard to improve upon. He was always quiet, but always effective. There was no pretence about Fr Frost; but while there was no pretence, there was great achievement, and Xavier College, the present students of Xavier, and the Old Xaverians, who are so affectionately attached to the college, have reason to mourn the passing of Fr Frost.
His Intense Spirituality
But it was not merely as a man and as a headmaster that Fr Frost captured the affection of those who are represented in this Cathedral to-day his many friends throughout Melbourne and throughout Victoria. Fr Frost was above all things a priest of God. The marvellous thing, to me, at all events, about Fr Frost, was that he seemed in a very extraordinary and marked degree to be all things to all men in the spiritual life. There are some, of course, who are called men's men, and they do well with men; there are some who do better, perhaps, with religious communities and with women; and there are some who have the faculty of being able to come down to the level of children, But Fr Frost was at home with them all. Whether it was with men or with women, or with grown-up people or with children, Fr Frost was equally at home. There was no straining after eloquence, there was no laboured effort to say something that was surpassingly eloquent and grand. Fr Frost had the marvellous faculty of saying in his own simple, striking way the things that told with an audience just the word that was needed by those for whom he spoke. And so it is that the passing of Fr Frost is regretted, not because he was an outstanding man and a great headmaster and a great citizen, but because, above all, like his Master, he was a real spiritual man.
A Memory That Will Last
Alas! All his activities are over. He was only, as it were, in the prime of life, and yet we are paying our last tribute to his mortal remains. Never again will Fr Frost be able to address his boys, whom he loved so much, and never again will he be able to address the men and women of Melbourne who, for his addresses, should be always grateful. But Fr Frost has left a monument behind him in the hearts of all those boys who have come in contact with him. The father and friend of the boys is gone; the Old Xaverians have lost a dear brother, and the clergy of the diocese have lost one of the ornaments of the Church. I have lost, myself, a dear and valued friend. But Fr Frost's memory will remain in the hearts of those whose affections he won for himself, and will remain also, I hope, in the great monument that is being erected at Xavier in honour of those Xaverians who gave their lives in the war. The Memorial Chapel is unfinished, but even in its unfinished state it is a testimony to the zeal, taste and courage of Fr. Frost. I hope it will be finished soon, and that it will be for all time a memorial, not nerely to the fallen men to whom Fr Frost was anxious to pay a tribute, but also to Fr Frost, who has done great work for the Jesuit Fathers, who have lost a zealous and energetic worker, and one of the greatest ornaments of the Church in Australia.
May God have mercy upon the soul of Fr Frost. To use the words that the priests recite so often in the Office of Compline. “May his waking be with Christ and his repose in peace”. May God have mercy upon his soul, and grant him refreshment, light and peace eternal.
Tribute by Master of Scotch College - Dr Littlejohn
The late Father Frost was above all a religious man. His religion meant more than anything else ini the world. It was real to him.
But he was tolerant, too. My last message from him - expressing regret that he could not see me, as he was unable to receive visitors - ended with a request for my prayers.
I considered him a great and dear friend. In disposition he was a quiet, kindly, genial gentleman. His cast of mind was serious, though there were gleans too, of Irish wit. He would laugh heartily at my newest story from Aberdeen.
Sane Thinker
At meetings of the headmasters of the School Board and the Council of Public Education, where we were colleagues, Father Frost made a place for himself as a sane, clear headed thinker.
His inclination was slightly towards conservatisin, “Hold fast to that which is good rather than some novel experiment”, seemed his maxim. Innovation for the sake of innovation without sound principle behind, he would leave well alone.
He did not speak much at our meetings, but what he did say was the outcome of sober thought - well considered, far seeing, and it was received with respect.
Father Frost fostered the spirit of public school sport at its finest. He shared with his boys their enthusiasm for games, and he constantly impressed on them these two ideas Not to be cast down in defeat; not to be overproud in success.
Knew How to Lose
He never failed to acknowledge a message of congratulation on Xavier's success in sport - nor to send one. His letters, worded with a kindly, old world courtesy, made one almost ashamed for winning. “Glad you won, and glad it was you that beat us”, was the note that came through them.
I have been over the Xavier Memorial Chapel with Fr Frost twice during its construction. The building of it was a matter very near his heart. He contemplated with the greatest happiness the completion of this magnificent structure, now to be a memorial not only to the Fallen, but to himself.
We all liked him and shall miss him. His going is a loss not only to Xavier, but to Victorian Public School life.
Scholar and Man
Tribute by Headmaster of Wesley College
“I deeply regret the loss of so able a man, who might have been expected to have many more years of use fulness in public school life”, said Mr L A Adamson, Headmaster of Wesley College.
“Associated with him for many years in meetings of headmasters and the Council of Public Education, my first impression, which lasted when a friendship had sprung up between us, was of the entire reasonableness of the man”, he said.
“His opinions, whether on school matters or athletics, were always very sound. He was a splendid man to work with”.
Mr M P Hansen, MA, LLB, Director of Education
Has written this tribute especially for “The Advocate”
The whole community is the poorer through the uutimely decease of the Very Rev Edmund V Frost SJ, BA, who for some years until his death last week held, with high distinction, the post of Rector of Xavier College, and who, prior to his arrival in Australia, was five years on the staff of Clongowes Wood College, Ireland, and for two years on the staff at Mungret College, Limerick.
All who worked with the late Fr Frost were impressed with his deep sincerity, his fine scholarship, his ripe judgment, his broad and syin pathetic outlook, and perhaps most of all, by his charming personality. To rich natural endowments he had added high culture, intense training, and wide experience, with the result that very shortly after he joined the staff of Xavier College in 1923 he was recognised as one of the leaders of educational thought in Victoria. During his Rectorship he enhanced the already high reputation of Xavier College, and among present and past Xaverians he will be long remembered as an inspiring leader and a father and friend of the boys, both old and young. Others, however, will speak of his work as the head of a great public school and in his vocation as a priest of God.
A Cultured Christian Gentleman
I feel that I should like to express: appreciation of his work on the Council of Public Education, on the Registration Committee for teachers and schools, and on the Schools Board of the University. On these bodies he played a great part, and was honoured by them all. Wise in counsel, fair and impartial in judgement, and endowed with the knowledge which comes of wide reading and experience, he was a trusted adviser and worker on all these bodies.
He will be greatly missed, not only as a great educationalist, but as a cultured Christian gentleman in the fullest sense of this term. While lamenting his early passing, just as he was in the fullness of possession of those wonderful qualities of mind and heart which made his work so distinguished and so successful, we should, nevertheless, feel thankful for the privilege of having worked, though for all too short a time, with such a fine exemplar of all the manly and Christian virtues.
Xavier Boys Addressed By Very Rev J Sullivan SJ
In an address to the boys of the College, the Very Rev J Sullivan SJ, acting Rector; said that the College had sustained a heavy loss in the death of the Rev Fr E Frost SJ. All the public schools and associations connected with the public schools, the Education Department, Old Xaverians' Associa tion, and other bodies had shown their sympathy for Xavier, and expressed deep regret at the death of Fr Frost. The educational work of Fr Frost was referred to, also, in sympathetic letters received from Christian Brothers, Marist and De La Salle Brothers, and teaching Orders of Nuns, and all associated with Xaxier felt that a fiue tribute had been paid to the late Rector by the representative assemblage at the Requiem in St Patrick's Cathedral and the funeral in the Booroondara Cemetery, Kew. He hoped that the boys of Xavier would cherish the memory of the late Rector, and try to live up to his ideals.
An Old Xaverian writes:
“A great man has passed to his reward, a cultured Irish gentleman, a friend to all, a faithful priest of God. In all my long connection with Xavier there has been no one for whom I had a greater respect and affection than for Fr Frost. He was a wise counsellor and a faithful friend. He brought Xavier to the forefront of the Public Schools, consolidated the Old Boys into a united body, fostered public school spirit to the highest degree. His death is a national calamity”.
A tribute to Fr. Frost, by one of the boys - Denis McCauley.
To the boys, there is something incomprehensible about the death of their Rector. They cannot realise that the man who ruled over then is dead. Even though they had been expecting it for a long time, the news when it came seemed very sudden. The ordinary routine of school life receives a jolt, and for a while things are confused and uncertain. Like a river that has been turned from its old course into a new one, school life flows over unfamiliar ground. Gradually it works out a new course, gradually the ruffled surface calms, and once more it flows smoothly on.
The effect on the public is similar to that on the school, except that it is less intimate. The number of friends and the amount of respect a man in such a position can attain, if he has the character, is remarkable. The public is decidedly unsentimental, but it halts in its stride at the death of the Rector of a public school. An air of quiet solemnity stills for a moment the clatter and bustle of the city. Only a pause, then the great commercial wheel grinds once more on its way.
A funeral is always an impressive sight, but, perhaps, those long lines of bareheaded boys accentuate this feeling. The average schoolboy is a light-hearted person. Surely, therefore, the event that can bring three hundred of them together, grave faced and quiet, must indeed be a momentous one. Solemnly, by the hands of his own prefects, a great man is conveyed to the graveside. A whole school stands in homage while he is committed to the earth.
“For what greater honour could a man wish?”
-oOo-
Old Xaverian’s Association
Father Frost
Old Boys will never forget the sad news of June 17th, when it was announced that our beloved Patron, Fr E Frost SJ, had died. To many it came as a great shock, as only a few of us knew that he had been so seriously ill. Not only was he our Patron, but he was also our Association's guide and adviser, To him the OXA was just as important as the College itself. He made it a point to attend all our functions and meetings and by his keen interest, tact, and charming personality earned the love and re spect of every Old Xaverian who knew him.
For many years the OXA had been drifting on in a hopeless way and had practically no connection with the College. When Father Frost was made Patron he at once realised this position and set to work to build up a great Old Boys' Association with true traditions and love for its old School. The days when there was little in common between the past and present have gone, and Father Frost had the happiness of seeing a great bond of friendship and unity established between the Old Boys and the College. Amongst the great works which he did in connection with the running of the Association was to start the week-end retreats. He considered this one of his greatest achievements, as from eight who attended the first retreat in 1927, the numbers rapidly increased to over fifty in 1930. To the Committee of the OXA he was a special friend, he understood the troubles which so often arise in the running of an Association and was always so willing to give us his help and advice.
A few hours before his death he received a last message from his beloved Old Boys. We sent him a large bunch of violets and carnations with the following message attached: “Your Old Boys are longing for the day when you will be with them again”. As his eyesight had failed he requested his nurse to read this message to him several times.
On the Thursday evening, many Old Boys assembled in the College Chapel to pay a last respect to their beloved Patron whose body lay in state before the High Altar, they kept a continual watch from 8 o'clock till 7 the following morning.
As the years go on, and the Association grows, so will there be added glory to Father Frost's name, his life, and his life's works. May he rest in peace
◆ https://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/don_tran/fam_his/frost/edmond_frosts_children.htm#:~:text=EDMOND%20VINCENT%20FROST%201884%2D1931,completed%20at%20Stoneyhurst%20College%2C%20England.
The Frosts of County Clare, Ireland by Janet Frost
The Children of Dr Edmond Frost
- EDMOND VINCENT FROST 1884-1931 Was educated at St Flannan’s College Ennis. His earlier studies were in Dublin and he entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1901 aged 17. He took a BA degree in 1906 at Dublin University. His higher studies in philosophy were completed at Stoneyhurst College, England. In 1908 he returned to Ireland to teach classics at Clongowes Wood College, a famous catholic boys’ school, for five years. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1915. In 1922 he went to Australia and was appointed to the staff of Xavier College as First Prefect and sports master, as he had an especial interest in athletics and sports. In 1923 he became Rector (headmaster) of the College. He was a fine classical scholar, a man of learning and culture and a born teacher.
He died of septicaemia in 1931, when the above tributes were paid to him. The funeral was held in St Patrick’s Cathedral which seats 4000, and was filled with mourners. In the press report of his funeral it is stated that a cousin of his, Dr A J Frost was chief mourner at the funeral.
This information is from a press report of his funeral.
