From the Headmaster

Dear Friends of Delbarton,

On April 17, the St. Mary’s Abbey Benedictine community celebrated Easter, the day we mark the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation. Easter is the culmination of the shortest liturgical season of the year, the Triduum (literally, “three days, ”), the period between the end of Lent on Holy Thursday afternoon and the start of the fifty-day Easter season at the Great Vigil on Holy Saturday evening. What made this year’s Easter celebration special, and that of the Triduum as well, was the presence of so many members of the Delbarton family at these great liturgies. From Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday, the monks saw many familiar faces, and many who we had not seen since the Covid pandemic began in March 2020. The key Easter themes of new life and hope were especially poignant among congregants and monks alike in 2022.

Even before Lent began in early March, other signs of new life and hope were present all over campus. Once again, we welcomed accepted students from the Classes of 2028 and 2026, and their parents as well. These new students came from an applicant pool just below last year’s record of 420 applicants for both 7th and 9th grades (414 total applicants). Our Admissions Committee continually marvels at the breadth and depth of talent among our applicants, and in selecting these new classes, we welcome an incredibly diverse group of young men to Mendham Road.

In addition, now that St. Benedict Hall is one year old (we opened on April 13, 2021), we have turned our attention to our next major construction project: the North Field House Complex at Regan Stadium. The combination Field House building, parking lot, tennis courts and concrete home bleachers has been in the planning since the early 1990s, and, at long last, it’s rising day by day! The new bleachers will become available to our fans sometime this spring, and the remainder of the project is scheduled for completion and occupancy by the end of January 2023. Like St. Benedict Hall, this project will dramatically improve the quality of the student experience at Delbarton, and provide signature Delbarton hospitality to our families and guests. The ordinary rhythms of the school year thus continue alongside the new and sometimes visually startling. The essentials of the Delbarton Experience remain unchanged: the spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical transformation young men experience in their years here, the community spirit and brotherhood that lasts for a lifetime, the awareness that Delbarton is a spiritual home well beyond graduation. Where we grow and develop is in our ability to grasp the meaning of these essentials of our Benedictine Catholic culture, and to enhance the physical setting where these transformations take place. Such growth ensures we never become static, stale, or dismissive of the changing world around us. Far from it! Here at Delbarton, we apply our values to our wider community, and send our young men into society ready to transform it for the good, as they were transformed from boys into men of faith, intellect, and servant leadership.

Yours in Christ and St. Benedict,

Fr. Michael Tidd, O.S.B. Headmaster