F R OM T H E P R E S I D E N T
Dear Parents, Friends and Sons of Xavier: Greetings from 16th Street. The last few weeks have seen us welcome the Class of 2025 and the newest members of the faculty and staff, welcome back our upperclassmen, take the football field for the first time in nearly two years and gather nearly 1,200 strong for the Mass of the Holy Spirit. Ms. Kim Smith, our headmaster, is off to an outstanding start and is deeply engaged in the work. I’m delighted to have Ms. Smith with us. I’m also delighted that we can all gather again to pray and celebrate Xavier together. We had a beautiful Mass on Friday, September 10, to remember the Sons of Xavier, family members and friends lost on 9/11. While the loss will always be with us, the opportunity to remember John Ryan ’74†, Edmund McNally ’78†, Christopher Hanley ’84†, Michael Andrews ’85†, John Farrell ’87†, James Riches ’89†, Matthew Burke ’91†, Sean Lugano ’91†, James Coyle ’93†, and Charles Heeran ’96† along with the many family members and friends taken from us that day 20 years ago was important. Remembering 2
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brought its own graces. There is a power to remembering and celebrating lives well lived and that is what we did at our liturgy. I am especially grateful to Fr. Dan Gatti, S.J. ’59 and Fr. Dan Murphy ’65 for being with us that day. The dedication of the Sons of Xavier Center in honor of John Courtney Murray, S.J. ’20 and the COL Donald Cook, USMC ’52 Library provided another opportunity to remember and celebrate. I look forward to sharing the full story of this space with you in the Annual Report. On August 18 and 19, Kim Smith and I gathered with 15 of our colleagues at our annual leadership retreat at the Linwood Spiritual Center in Rhinebeck, New York. Linwood is an apostolic work of the Society of St. Ursula, which also sponsors Notre Dame High School in Manhattan. The congregation is rooted in Ignatian spirituality and has been a great partner with Xavier and the Jesuits for many years. Our two days at Linwood provided a wonderful opportunity to pray together and to reflect on our work. Our conversations were wide-ranging, yet always centered on God at work in our lives at Xavier and the need
