To a drum roll and a smart salute by members of the First and Sixth Trinidad and Tobago Sea Scouts guard of honour, the procession of Holy Ghost Fathers, Bishop Sydney Charles and the jubilarian Fr Arthur Lai Fook entered the St Mary’s College chapel.

Fr Arthur Lai Fook, CSSp

Friday, July 20, was indeed a special day – the 60th anniversary of priestly ordination of Fr Arthur Lai Fook CSSp – and his family and confrères gathered to celebrate the occasion and to honour the brilliant mathematician, teacher and above all priest of God.

Fr Gerard Farfan in his homily reminded the congregation that an anniversary signifies perseverance and endurance, “it represents a commitment to an ideal and endurance in pursuit of that ideal”.

Our response to God’s faithful keeping of his promises to us can only be one of gratitude. He ended his homily with a prayer for the gift of more men like Fr Lai Fook.

A reception hosted by Fr Lai Fook’s family, followed in the College Hall. Among the speakers was Sir Ellis Clarke who revealed, to the amusement of all gathered, how he had managed to once beat Fr Lai Fook in an exam.

Another speaker was Rikki Harnanan, a 1980 scholarship winner who spoke on behalf of all the Island Schol winners taught by Fr Lai Fook in the period 1950-2005. He described Fr Lai Fook as a “genuine patriot” who gave unrelenting public service, who not only taught mathematics but discipline, honesty and how to be good citizens.

The celebration reflected the love, admiration, pride and place of honour Fr Lai Fook – Kowfoo (uncle) holds in the hearts of his family members, a number of whom came from abroad for the occasion.

Former St Mary’s College student and retired teacher Roland Ramsumair spoke with Fr Lai Fook on the eve of his diamond jubilee celebration.

“Look Jap coming!” With this whispered warning from the lookout student, a sudden hush would fall upon our classroom as every tongue became silent and every "out of desk" student hurried to his seat.

Who was this "Jap" who would walk the corridors and pop into the many classrooms of St Mary's College (CIC) during my time there in the sixties. He is none other than Rev Fr Arthur Lai Fook CSSp, who last July 20 celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

A 60th anniversary is almost always an occasion of great rejoicing but this particular celebration holds even greater significance when one considers that Fr Lai Fook has spent 56 of these years at the same institution - as a priest and teacher.

 If we add to these his seven years as a student and one year as a young teacher, Fr Lai Fook will have chalked up 64 years at CIC. That must be a modern day record. And, up to June of this year, he was still teaching A-Level Further Mathematics.

In an interview with the Catholic News, Fr Lai Fook shared some of his life history and views on a variety of matters. He has a remarkable memory for a man of 88. It is as sharp as it was in the sixties, and it is amazing how well he remembers so many past students and so many details.

Fr Lai Fook has educated leaders in every sphere of life in our country, but did himself come from very humble beginnings. He was born on July 5, 1919, at Penal Rock Road in South Trinidad, where his parents owned a shop.

He was the last of eight children. When he was one year old, he was sent to live at Queen Street, Port of Spain, to be cared for by an older brother and sister so as to be able to attend school later. He remains eternally grateful to his siblings.

He attended Columbus Boys' RC School (now called Nelson Street Boys' RC) from where he won a College Exhibition Scholarship to St Mary's College. In 1937, he won one of the two Island Scholarships and the Jerningham Gold Medal (now called the President's Medal).

Fr Lai Fook with scholarship winners who were his specially invited guests at his Diamond jubilee celebration Sitting L to R: Gregory Armorer (1980), Michael Paty (1967), Sir Ellis Clarke (1936), Fr Arthur Lai Fook (1937), Michael Chung (1955), Keith Maynard (1972), Subash Gosine (1979) Standing L to R: Derwin Howell (1980), Claire McEwain (1982), Rikki Harnanan (1980), Catherine Sutcliff (1988), Shane Latchman (2004), Bhishan Jacelon (2002)

After a one-year teaching stint at his alma mater, he went abroad to pursue studies for the priesthood. He recalled that while studying in Ireland during World War II, a German plane found its way into that neutral country and dropped two bombs in the area around his House of Studies. He joked that if a third bomb had been dropped, it might have been his death anniversary now being observed.

When asked about his choice of vocation, Fr Lai Fook said that up to Form Five he had had no interest in becoming a priest. However, through the influence of Fr English, his Sixth Form Mathematics teacher – of whom he has fond memories, he decided to answer God's call to the priesthood. He pursued priestly studies and "secular studies" for ten years. He obtained his BA Phil, STB, BSc (Maths), MSc (Maths) and a Higher Dip Ed during that time.

Fr Lai Fook returned to Trinidad and Tobago in 1948 to begin a teaching stint that has lasted up until this year. Interestingly, while Fr Lai Fook's name is synonymous with Mathematics, he recalled that he did teach Latin, Greek and French in his first term.

He must have temporarily replaced the legendary Fr Leonard Graf. But after that, it was Mathematics evermore. He said teaching the subject has brought him great satisfaction, but he lamented that many students were either losing interest in their studies or giving up too easily in the face of difficulties.

Known for his frankness, Fr Lai Fook did not hesitate to express his views on certain contemporary issues in Trinidad. To improve the quality of education, he advised that a serious effort should be made to develop primary education.

He said programmes must be established to improve the level of training for teachers at both primary and secondary level. An essential part of this training, he added, should be Ethics and Religious Education.

He expressed concern that fewer and fewer men were entering the teaching profession and said he believed that this was due in great part to the unattractive salaries that teachers were paid. The Roman Catholic priest and teacher supported the call for better remuneration for those in the teaching profession.

Fr Lai Fook is also saddened by the continuing breakdown in family life. He noted that there was a lot of talk about this problem in every quarter but that very little was being done to promote better family life. He pointed to the growing number of fatherless homes, observing that this was no longer a phenomenon of only the working class.

Commenting on the current state of the nation, Fr Lai Fook said crime and violence have reached frightening levels and attributed the dramatic upsurge to the illegal drug trade and, more so, to the breakdown in family life.

Among the suggestions from this jubilarian priest and educator on how to improve the quality of life in Trinidad and Tobago are the following:
- Promote better family life values
- Improve the quality of education
- Deal firmly with corruption at every level in the society

The question now is: what’s next for Fr Lai Fook? This may be the official end of his more than 55 years of teaching. He has not expressed any interest in doing administrative parish work but remains ever willing to respond to any request to celebrate Sunday Mass.Fr Lai Fook is looking forward to a happy retirement with his brother Spiritans.

To those priests and other persons who hope to one day celebrate their 60th anniversary, he had this advice: "Live your life one day at a time for we don't know what the future has for us."

Congratulations, Fr Arthur Lai Fook. May peace and happiness be yours!
Euge, serve bone; ad multos et felices annos.

PROFILE

Fr Lai Fook’s career has been a distinguished one. In 1934 he won the Jerningham Silver Medal for first place in the Junior Cambridge Exam, in 1935 the Jerningham Book Prize for first place in the Cambridge School Certificate and in 1936 took second place in the Open Scholarship.

He won the Open Scholarship in 1937 in Mathematics and the Jerningham Gold Medal. He returned to St Mary’s in 1948 where he was responsible for coaching many of the students who won Island Scholarships for CIC over the years.

From 1962 to 1964 he was a lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Nigeria and from 1964-1966 at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus. He then returned to CIC where he served as Principal from 1971-1978.

He was awarded the Chaconia Medal in 1990. In 1999 he was inducted into the St Mary’s College Hall of Fame.