The Alumni Dinner at Catholic High School in Little Rock Oct. 10 was one to remember.
After Razorback basketball coach John Calipari addressed a crowd of more than 800 alumni, another notable guest had a surprise.
Kevin Kresse, a 1979 graduate and nationally recognized artist and sculptor, honored the school’s longtime rector, Msgr. Lawrence Frederick, with a bust of his likeness. The bust was designed by Kresse to honor Father Fred and mark the 70th anniversary of Msgr. Frederick’s graduation from Catholic High.
“The older we get, the more years we put in our rearview mirror, I think the more clearly we can see the past, we can appreciate the people who really helped us when we were young and dumb: our parents, our mentors, our teachers,” Kresse told the crowd after the unveiling. “And for me, that’s how it’s been for Father Fred.”
Msgr. Frederick graduated from CHS in 1955 and was assigned to the school by then-Bishop Albert L. Fletcher in 1966 after leaving his position at NASA to become a priest. The Little Rock native, known to students and alumni as Father Fred, was named rector in 2001.
Kresse, who recently created an 8-foot bronze statue of Arkansas-born musician Johnny Cash for the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall, finally had time upon completing the Cash statue to create a bust to honor Father Fred.
“The bust was the brainchild of its creator, alumnus Kevin Kresse,” head of school Steve Straessle told Arkansas Catholic. “He had been wanting to do something for Father Fred, the man who had impacted him so much both academically and spiritually, and knew his greatest talents could be uniquely brought to bear. He mentioned the idea to a few fellow alumni, and they joined in to make it happen. Kevin, after placing the statue of Johnny Cash in National Statuary Hall, turned his vision to capturing the essence of Catholic High through the face of a priest. In Kevin’s words, ‘This is the face of dedication, it is the face of love.’”
Incredibly moved but ever humble, Father Fred told Arkansas Catholic about his shock at the unveiling.
“Emotions ran from shock, surprise, embarrassment, to thanking God that I had used some of his gifts,” the 89-year-old priest said. “This honor I see as something you would give to someone who has some great talent, (who has) done some very special thing or written and published books. I have done nothing different from what any other priest does — try my best to cover the assignment given by the bishop. I have done nothing different from what any other teacher does — show up in the classroom and hopefully teach students to reason and think. It is a great honor, and I appreciate all those involved and thank them. Again, I cannot see how I have done anything special.”
But Kresse thinks otherwise.
During his speech after the unveiling, Kresse praised Msgr. Frederick for the guidance and dedication he had shown to Kresse over the years, along with thousands of other young men.
“His face is the face of what dedication, hard work, faith, love and service looks like,” he said. “Father Fred, we appreciate you and love you more than you’ll ever know.”
The bust of Father Fred will be on permanent display at Catholic High.
