SPIRITUAL LIFE

 

Visitors to Jesuit often comment on the strong religious identity of the school. They notice not just the external markers of identity – the Chapel of the Holy Cross, the Bell Tower, the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto – but the inner disposition of the students and faculty. More frequent visitors also observe the programs that foster religious growth and deepen the Ignatian identity of our school community.

The first of Jesuit’s three strategic priorities is to be a national model in forming a community of faith. The school seeks to develop young men of character grounded in faith. This is a great challenge for Jesuit schools around the country, and Jesuit High School of Tampa lives out its identity as a Catholic, Jesuit school and community of faith in many ways:

• Community Service – Tens of thousands of hours contributed by our students, faculty, and staff serving others in need, not only here in Tampa, but through immersion experiences across North America. Led by director of community service Andy Wood '92, the school is renewing its effort to anchor Jesuit’s community service in the Gospel imperative to serve “the least” of the brethren of Jesus.
• Retreat Program – The commitment to a strong, annual retreat program, whose centerpiece is the Junior Kairos retreat. The retreats have increasingly become moments of conversion and renewal of faith for many of our students. The Peer Ministry program, led by assistant principal of mission and formation Jimmy Mitchell, has engaged students as witnesses and examples for their own classmates.
• Sacramental Life/Worship – Two daily Masses offered on campus, Masses and confessions celebrated on all retreats, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament once a month, an altar server program that includes nearly 10% of the student body, a liturgical choir of rare quality that draws from the rich patrimony of Western liturgical music.
• Daily Instruction – An outstanding theology department with an integrated curriculum that seeks to reach the heart and mind of our students, and that exposes them to Catholic belief, practice, and tradition. Special talks and religious presentations at Convocation by nationally-known figures of faith as well as by members of Jesuit's own school community augment what the students receive in class.
• Faculty/Staff Formation – An annual two-day faculty/staff retreat led by Jesuit retreat masters from around the country; a three-year Ignatian identity program for new faculty and staff; faculty/staff participation in student retreats, mission trips, and pilgrimages; the presence on campus of the Jesuit residence and the contribution and leadership offered by Jesuit priests and scholastics.

The identity of Jesuit High School is anchored and given direction by our mission to form “Men for Others,” engaged in the world and dedicated to serving God by being open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving, and just. At Jesuit, these ideals are being lived out each day, better than ever, by the current generation of Tiger students.