>>>   MARY OUR LADY OF FAITH AND FORTITUDE The statue of Mary originally stood on a site overlooking the main playing field of Saint Joseph's College (a.k.a. Saint Joseph International School) from May 1952 to July 2000.  It was put in place in 1952 to commemorate the school's 50th Anniversary. S.J.C. (S.J.I.S.) was established in 1901 by the Marianist Order of the Catholic church, an order dedicated to Mary, hence the name "Marianist". It provided schooling for English speaking local and foreign children and had classes 1 to 12. Its high scholastic standards enabled many graduates to go on to universities the world over.  Many of the original Brothers and Priests were from Alsace-Lorraine. 22 Marianist lie buried in this cemetery.  The school closed in June 2000 ending 99 years of existence. Some Alumni felt they wanted a permanent remembrance of the school. They asked the Marianist Order for the Mary statue, to have it re-situated in the cemetery. Permission was granted in July 2000. The marble statue of Mary is over 2 meters high and weighs 2.7 tons.  It is now situated on a site over-looking the Marianist's grave. Although the statue may be said to have a religious theme, those who arranged for its relocation intended that the statue simply be regarded as a remembrance to all Alumni of the school and the education, including moral teaching and strict discipline instilled in the students by the Marianist, irregardless of the student's race, religion or social standing. It is a statue whose motherly countenance overlooked ALL ALUMNI during the school years. Total cost for the moving and refurbishing of the statue came to about \1.7 million, partly allocated by the Alumni Association plus generous donations received from Alumni and friends. including many living overseas, whose spirit of affection to their Alma Mater, enabled us to fulfill our wish.  * This message was authored by John Komor (Class '54), Chairperson of this Statue Committee.   This message is planned to be put up in the Archives Museum in the Cemetery Building, which will also include all individual donor's   name.   DEDICATION CEREMONY The dedication .ceremony for the statue was held on December 9th, 2000 from 3 pm.  We were blessed with a beautiful weather, with plenty sunshine and warmth, for this memorable occasion. As you will note from the pictures, many Alumni attended, some from the Class of '44 and up.  Welcome speech given by Cecil Baclay (Class '52) the President, followed by John Komor (Class '54) Chairperson of the Statue Committee, who briefed the attendees on the work done to receive the statue and re-installing it in its present location.  Then Fr. Alfred Burke , the pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral blessed the statue with holy water. We then all got together for a light refreshment, and reminisced of our good old school days. In closing, we the Officers of the Alumni Association 2000, wish to take this opportunity to thank all those who have generously donated toward this project of the statue. We ask that whenever you are in the vicinity of the Yokohama Foreign Cemetery, please drop by and visit the statue as well as the Brothers who lie rested near the statue. Donations for the Statue of Mary Relocation: We are still opened to accept donations for the upkeep of the statue.  Any amount you can donate is appreciated.  Please make donations through the Alumni Account: SJIS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION The Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank Tamachi Branch, Tokyo Branch N0. 043 Account No. 2045506