By Brian Guinane ‘26

On Thursday, Jan 22, 2026, Brother Rice held our annual Founder’s Day. Founder´s Day is a day where we celebrate and honor the legacy of Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice.

Every year, Brother Rice invites a guest speaker to inform the student body how important this day is. Vice President Greg Nye ‘90 spoke to the student body about the Brotherhood, the expectations, and the culture that Brother Rice has to offer.

Principal Mr. Alberts and President Mr. Donahue both spoke to the student body and faculty about what Founder´s Day means to Brother Rice. Then, seniors followed them up talking about their time at Brother Rice including Colin Nye ‘26, Emeir White ´26, and Roman Manjarrez ‘26.

On this special day, the school also inducted two new members into yhe Brother Rice Hall of Fame. This year, Brother Dan Casey was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Father Mark Walter received his honorary diploma from Brother Rice. He was originally inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.

Father Mark is the third person in Brother Rice history to receive an honorary diploma, the only others being former principal Jim Antos and Coach Tom Mitchell.

Brother Casey said, “It’s quite an honor to be among the group of very special people who are already inducted into the Hall of Fame.  It was great to be part of the Founder´s Day celebration, it was great to have my family there, and it was great to have all of the students I have gotten to know over the years.” He was extremely grateful to receive this award, and Brother Rice is lucky to have Brother Casey as part of the faculty.

Father Mark Walter said, “Receiving the honorary diploma identified that Brother Rice is my home, the students, parents, and the teachers are a family, and it’s a Christian family. With that, we are honoring Jesus Christ by having this school and being part of this family is important. I think as Men of Edmund, we are all living manfully in Christ Jesus is something all Brother Rice Crusaders want to do, and it means so much to me that I can become an actual Brother Rice Crusader, and it is such a pleasure to become an honorary alumni.” Although Father Mark just received his diploma, Crusader Nation has always thought of him as a Crusader.

Both of these Crusaders have made such a big impact on the student body and faculty.