In 1831, Father Louis Querbes founded the Clerics of Saint Viator. The order was created during the French Revolution, where clergymen were persecuted and poverty ran rampant amongst young people. Father Querbes trained Catholic men and clergy to teach Christian Doctrine. For hundreds of years, the Viatorians continued this mission. A young, rising figure in the order, Brother Peter Lamick has continued this mission into the present day.
“Brother Pete”, as people often call him, started his journey to becoming a Viatorian as a student at Saint Viator. He originally did not seek religious life and intended to become a doctor. During college, Lamick reflected on his life experiences and the important people that impacted him greatly. Several of these influential companions included Viatorian members like Brother Michael Goscho, Brother Robert Ruhr, and Father Hall. The experiences Lamick had with these holy religious models made him aspire to emulate their lives. He later contacted Father Corey Brost and began his journey as a Viatorian.
He returned to his alma mater, Saint Viator High School, and served as a teacher in the Scanlan Center. There, he assisted students with their studies and taught them valuable academic techniques. In 2020, Brother Peter transferred to Cristo Rey Saint Viator in Las Vegas, Nevada. During this time, he participated in a teacher formation program. The program paired Lamick with the assistant principal of the school and sought to improve his teaching strategies as well as promote more proactive learning. In the summer of 2021, he returned back to Arlington Heights to serve as a religion teacher.
Currently, he teaches Christian Ethics and Catholic Morality for seniors and the Fundamentals of the Catholic Faith for freshmen.
“I hope my classes provide opportunities for my students to learn about their faith and wrestle with important questions about faith and one’s vocation,” said Lamick. “I want to help young people connect and deepen their connection with God”.
The journey to understanding one’s faith and vocation may be stressful in this modern age. The recent controversies facing the church and religion being less of a central figure in daily life has caused many to turn away from their faith.
“Many young people and young adults aren’t finding that their faith is relevant to their lives and are walking away from organized religion,” said Lamick when asked about today’s most pressing problems facing young Catholics.
God works in mysterious ways. Through dialogue with the Lord and others people are better able to gain an understanding of God’s plan. Brother Lamick has been in every student’s shoes at Saint Viator. His empathetic nature and drive to help others makes him an integral member of the community for this generation of Viator students and likely for future ones as well.