IN THIS ISSUE - McQuaid Jesuit High School

More documents

Recommendations

Info

1972 The Year That Almost Wasn't By Bob Bradley Forty years ago, in September of 1971, McQuaid Jesuit’s 15th graduating class began its senior year. Had history gone differently, those 164 young men might have been the last to call themselves McQuaid alumni. As Bill O’Malley, S.J., narrates in his history of McQuaid’s first 25 years, "Phoenix" (hereafter paraphrased), our school came right to the brink of being phased out, beginning in 1968 when the Class of 1972 were freshmen. There were 18 Jesuits at McQuaid in ’68, down from a high of 33 in the late ’50s. With Jesuit numbers dwindling as new vocations plummeted through the ’60s, the New York Province administrators had undertaken an extensive series of meetings among all Jesuit communities in 1967-68 to determine whether they could continue to staff nine high schools adequately. It had been the most fundamental principle of St. Ignatius in governing the Society that, where the needs were many and the Jesuits were few, the Society should go where the greater glory of God and the good of souls (the magis) promised to result. The question for the McQuaid Jesuit community, therefore, was: given the needs of the Church in New York and New Jersey and the various other apostolates of the province, could McQuaid Jesuit High School legitimately continue to make a call on the diminishing resources of the province – or would it be a great service, however painful, to close McQuaid and reassign the McQuaid Jesuits to other apostolates, where their service could make a broader or deeper or more long-lasting contribution to the Kingdom of God? Their reluctant decision, in July of ’68, was to phase out two schools, McQuaid and Brooklyn Prep, and close both of them in 1972. (Brooklyn Prep, founded in 1908, actually did close in ’72.) Provincial Fr. Robert Mitchell met with McQuaid rector, Fr. Albert Bartlett, and principal, Fr. Joseph Gersitz, in late August and conveyed the bad news to them. Soon after, the vice-provincial for secondary schools, Fr. Joseph Browne, met with Fr. Bartlett - and the lay advisors he had enlisted in 1966 - to explain the reasons for the decision. One large factor was a mounting debt in the range of $700,000. To their eternal glory, Fr. Bartlett and his lay advisors refused to accept that decision without a fight. 4 History of McQ The New York Province had plans to close McQuaid Jesuit after the class of 1972 graduated. A group of men came together and helped save the school, ensuring the future of McQuaid. They set to work to construct a plan that would stave off McQuaid’s closing. On a Friday in mid-September, Fr. Bartlett summoned McQuaid’s faculty and staff to a meeting to inform them that a press release, set to appear in the New York Times the following Monday, would officially announce the closing of the two schools. He reassured them that he and 10 of the lay advisors would fly to New York the next morning to make their case for a stay of execution. He was hopeful that they would prevail. That delegation, all of them McQuaid parents with business or legal know-how, was led by Tom Presutti and consisted of Joe Mancini, Mark Tuohey, Gerry Kennedy, Tony Cashette, Herb Vanden Brul, George Schiller, Vince Stanley, William “Wee” Wilmot, and Judge John Conway. After an all-day meeting, their persuasive efforts were successful. Fr. Mitchell agreed to give McQuaid until December 1 (a deadline later extended by seven months) to evolve a plan whereby the school could continue to exist under the responsibility of a Board of Trustees and with reduced Jesuit participation. The Times story on Brooklyn Prep’s phasing-out appeared two days later. McQuaid’s name had been deleted. Thus began negotiations between the New York Province, Fr. Bartlett, and the lay advisors that continued until late in 1969. That December, a contract
was signed that essentially turned the responsibility for McQuaid’s survival over to a Board of Trustees, headed by Fr. John McDonald, that included seven Jesuits and three laymen, with an additional layman to be added each year. In effect, McQuaid was “cut loose” to sink or swim according to its own devices. The trustees agreed that, should McQuaid cease to be a “secondary school for boys” or “no longer supplement the regular education with training in the doctrine and practice of the Catholic Church,” the trustees would be obliged from the sale of the school to pay the more than $1 million owed to the province, antecedent to any other outstanding debts. The rest is interesting history, but Nearly 40 years ago, as described in the article, "1972, The Year that Almost Wasn't," Albert Bartlett, S.J., and a group of lay men fought to keep McQuaid's doors open and a Jesuit education possible for future generations of Rochester's young men. This special group of men wrestled with a plan for the school to excel as fewer Jesuits took residence here in Rochester. Fundamental to the plan was the ability of lay men and women to carry on the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Today, it is not only McQuaid counting on the help of lay men and women to ensure the Jesuit future in Rochester. The Society of Jesus is well aware of the diminishing vocations across the world and has become proactive in training lay leaders to work with them to maintain and strengthen the Jesuit mission in its high schools across the country. In the book, What makes a Jesuit school Jesuit?, the Jesuit Secondary Education Association (JSEA) has defined the relationship between Jesuit schools and the Society of Jesus by setting forth the criteria that a school must meet in order to verify its Jesuit nature. The language uses phrases that reference "partners for mission" and "cooperation in mission" when describing how lay and Jesuits will work together to bring the ideals of St. Ignatius of Loyola to life at Jesuit schools. We are endeavored in a service of faith that promotes justice, has a reflective spiritual component, and strives to bring the gift of Christ to our world, complementing the academic excellence that consistently has been our most recognized attribute. St. Ignatius of Loyola The Ignatian Mission of McQuaid Jesuit In the years that followed the difficult decisions of the late 1960s, McQuaid Jesuit has worked diligently to maintain its academic and Jesuit the account of how McQuaid and its Board of Trustees brought about a happy outcome would be the stuff of a much larger article. Suffice it to say that more than 5,000 McQuaid alumni can thank their tuxedos with red carnations and their diploma walk across the Eastman Theatre stage to the selfless men mentioned above and the many Jesuits and laypersons who have served the school so generously these past forty years. Looking at the vibrant and expanded McQuaid Jesuit of 2011, it’s hard to think of Rochester without “that school on Clinton and Elmwood.” But it almost happened. By Janet Dacey traditions in excellence. Reflection on the hard questions regarding Jesuit presence and mission at McQuaid Jesuit continues to this day. Faculty and staff are aware that they must continually work to educate potential parents and students about what exactly makes McQuaid a Jesuit school and how that prepares our students to be "Men for Others." It is a community effort that encourages our students to develop the attributes of the graduate at graduation: to be intellectually competent, open to growth, committed to justice, religious and loving. The Jesuit Identity displayed on the back of a jersey Parents and coaches participate annually in an athletic program designed to acknowledge the role athletics plays in developing men of conscience. Campus Ministry provides retreat and reflection opportunities at every grade level. Christian Service offers submersion trips and other volunteer opportunities to help students recognize the gifts and goodness they have received from God and share them with their community. Faculty and staff are invited to share ideas and best practices regarding their participation in the mission at Leadership Seminars, Symposiums and Colloquia sponsored by the JSEA. These programs illustrate the proactive nature of the efforts taken by the Jesuits to ensure that all members of the community work together to preserve the tradition of developing young men "dedicated to serving God and humanity and guided by a profound sense of justice." As a result of this collective effort, we are confident that we will continue to provide a service to "the greater glory of God" and that the Society of Jesus will continue to support our shared mission at McQuaid Jesuit. Staying Ignatian 5
Page 1 and 2: Cauldron Fall 2011 Students working
Page 3 and 4: From the President Edward F. Salmon
Page 5: Students Volunteer at Camp Koinonia
Page 9 and 10: Second Generation Knights In June,
Page 11 and 12: 1 Picture Descriptions 1. Classmate
Page 13 and 14: Top Row(l-r): Tom Schott ’79, McQ
Page 15 and 16: McQuaid Jesuit Remembers The follow
Page 17 and 18: Alumni Communications and Marketing
Page 19 and 20: Mr. & Mrs. Bernard L. Salamone Dr.
Page 21 and 22: Mrs. Michael Spagnola Dr. David Spe
Page 23 and 24: Mr. Michael F. Sullivan ’70 Mr. K
Page 25 and 26: Mr. & Mrs. Laurence W. Feasel ’60
Page 27 and 28: Mrs. Madge Callari Mr. & Mrs. Peter
Page 29 and 30: Mr. & Mrs. Paul H. May ’59 Ms. Jo
Page 31 and 32: The Rivalry Returns to McQuaid! Joi

IN THIS ISSUE - McQuaid Jesuit High School

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?