Crusader Templar Award
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Tampa Catholic’s Order of the Crusader Templar is our highest honor. It is bestowed periodically by the school to recognize someone who has brought particular honor to Tampa Catholic and themselves through their works and deeds. The Templars embody the TC traditions of Faith, Excellence and Family and are an asset to our Tampa Catholic Family and Community. We are proud to honor them.
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Members of The Order of the Crusader Templar
- John Ramil ‘73 -- retired President and Chief Executive Officer, TECO Energy
- Most Reverend Robert N. Lynch -- retired Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg
- Abelardo “Abbey” Sierra (deceased) -- former parent board member
- Jack Carney -- former Tampa Catholic teacher and administrator
- Nicholas J. “Nick” DiMaggio, Jr. (deceased) -- former coach and athletic director
- Msgr. John F. Scully, PA (deceased) -- Founding President of Tampa Catholic
- Sister Julie Sullivan, OP (deceased) –- former teacher and principal
- Jesse G. Roger -- former Tampa Catholic administrator
- Sister Carol Coston, O.P. -- former teacher
- Col. Emilio T. Gonzalez, Ph.D. ’74 -- former Director, National Security Council for the White House, former Director for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, former Director and CEO of Miami-Dade Aviation Department and Miami International Airport, former City Manager for Miami, FL, currently the co-chairman of Mercury public Affairs
- Rod Lindsay (deceased) -- former faculty, coach and alumni director
- Robert K Henriquez ’82 -- Florida Legislator, former Tampa Catholic football coach, current Hillsborough County Property Appraiser
- Carol Ann Hailey -- retired teacher of 43 years
- Msgr. Laurence E. Higgins (deceased) -- Former Tampa Catholic Board Member and Pastor Emeritus, St. Lawrence
- Tom Murray (deceased) -- First Athletic Director & Football Coach 1963-1970 for Tampa Catholic
- Jenifer Zambito Prado '76 and Juan Prado '76 -- Alumni, Past Parents, Philanthropic Contributors
- Linda Flowers -- retired teacher of 34 years
- Craig Latimer '70 -- Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections and TC board member, and current president of the Florida Supervisors of Elections
- Br. Christopher Burns, CFC -- Christian Brother, current faculty member, campus minister, and club moderator for over 30 years at Tampa Catholic
Crusader Templar Award
During the Crusades, within the ranks of the Crusaders was an elite fighting force, highly trained, well-equipped and highly motivated; one of the tenets of their squad was that they were forbidden from retreating in battle. These Crusaders were called the Templars. They were the toughest Crusaders on the battlefield.
Their fundraising campaigns asked for donations of money, land, or noble-born sons to join the Order, with the implication that donations would help both to defend Jerusalem, and to ensure the charitable giver of a place in Heaven. The Order's efforts were helped substantially by the patronage of St. Bernard, the leading churchman of the day.
The Templars were also shrewd tacticians, following the dream of Saint Bernard who had declared that a small force, under the right conditions, could defeat a much larger enemy.
The Knights Templar were truly part of the fabric of everyday society in Europe for nearly 200 years.
The order owed its rapid growth in popularity to the fact that it combined the two great passions of the Middle Ages, religious fervor and martial prowess. The Vows of the Templar Knights exhorted them to put on the armor of obedience, and to associate themselves with piety and humility for the defense of the Holy Catholic Church.
A Templar Crusader is truly a fearless knight, and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armor of faith, just as his body is protected by the armor of steel. He is thus doubly-armed, and need not fear neither demons nor men. The motto of the Templars is