The seeds to a life of service to the Lord were planted deep within the future Brother of the Sacred Heart Richard Leven, an adoptee from a Philadelphia-area orphanage. His parents’ devotion to the Sacred Heart acted as a beacon toward which he joyfully walked, and he has continued to do so for 65 years.
“I come from a very religious family,” recalled Brother Richard of Metuchen’s St. Joseph High School Hall of Fame. “I can still remember the day [when] our house was consecrated to the Sacred Heart. We also had a statue of the Blessed Mother in our backyard, and we had the daily routine of praying the family rosary.”
A fortuitous visit to his grammar school, St. Joseph in Warrington, Pa. from Brother of the Sacred Heart George Woodburn fanned the flame of young Richard’s future vocation. The pictures Brother George showed of the brothers working with orphans struck a chord in the young adoptee; he professed his first vows in the Brothers Chapel on the campus of St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, on Aug. 15, 1959.
Brother Richard said, “Brother George influenced me by his dedication to the Christian education of youth. [He] was my mentor when I entered our community, and through his example and encouragement, I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”
In addition to his duties as religion and physical education teacher, Brother Richard founded the St. Joseph High School cross country team which he led to a 168-16 record, including 27 Middlesex County/Greater Middlesex Conference and Catholic track Conference titles and two state championships. During an eight-year assignment to the former Phillipsburg Catholic High School, he sparked a friendship with its soccer coach, Msgr. Seamus Brennan, and the two joined talents to lead the team to a county championship.
Back at St. Joseph High School and retired from coaching cross country and track in 2020 after 46 years, Brother Richard still assists in the freshman guidance program “where I get to meet and guide our newest students through their St. Joseph High School journey,” he said. Asked to define his favorite aspects of living life as a religious, unsurprisingly, the brother focuses on his long years as a sports, and life, coach.
“Over the past 65 years, I have the enjoyed the opportunity to inspire, by example, the Christian values needed by our students to become men of faith,” he declared. “I have spent 53 years at St. Joe’s and the school community is like a family. I receive tremendous satisfaction on Graduation Day when I see the fruits of our labor. I also enjoy the letters of appreciation received from former students and the life-long friendships developed from my former runners.”
Brother Richard continued, “I also love working with the kids. It’s part of the reason why I joined the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. I enjoy seeing the impact of the teachings of [founder] Father Andre Coindre and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart have had on so many of our alumni and current students.”
The long-time religious stated his greatest challenge as “the lack of vocations to our religious community, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. We have so many of our students involved in Campus Ministry and other religious activities, but they are not ready to answer the call to religious life.”
Brother Richard recommended a young man contemplating the priesthood or religious life “sit in quiet prayer, praying for discernment, and say this simple prayer: ‘Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.’”