The story of how Br. Rob Robertson, CSV, came to join the Viatorians is slightly different from that of his
Br. Rob Robertson, CSV
confreres. Unlike many of them, Br. Rob wasn’t taught by Viatorians, nor did he get to know them at his local parish. In fact, he wasn’t even Catholic.
His introduction to the Viatorians dates back to 1980. That’s when he was called by the late Fr. Robert Erickson, CSV, to apply for a teaching job at Griffin High School in Springfield, IL.
At the time, Br. Rob says he wasn’t sure about his future career path. Yet, that fateful call would lead not only to a career in education but conversion to Catholicism and religious life. He has never looked back and over his more than 30 years in ministry, he has positively impacted the lives of thousands of young people.
Fr. Robert Erickson and then novice, Br. Rob Robertson
After entering religious life in 1987, Br. Rob would spend six years teaching religion and in Campus Ministry at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, and a total of 20 years at Saint Viator High School in Campus Ministry and as a guidance counselor.
During those years, Br. Rob is credited with being one of the faculty leaders who introduced the Kairos retreat program to the school, back in 1992, and it has spread to nearly all the places where Viatorians minister to young people.
Br. Rob Robertson, bottom right, with teens from the St. Viator Catholic Community delegation at the VYC
In 2015, Br. Rob returned to Las Vegas to work at St. Viator Catholic School as a counselor, before he filled an opening at Bishop Gorman High School in Campus Ministry. Over the last two years, he was among the founding staff of Cristo Rey St. Viator, serving as a counselor. In the fall of 2021, he returned to Saint Viator High School to serve as a guidance counselor.
Over the years, he has served in leadership of his community and on regional committees. In 2017, he was elected to serve on the Provincial Council.
But he always returns to his calling of accompanying young people on their faith journeys. To this day, he credits that fateful moment when he answered the call from Fr. Erickson.
“It changed my life,” he says, “and has been more rewarding than I ever could have thought. I certainly had no idea that God had a plan of a religious vocation for me. God certainly does work in mysterious ways.”