Iggy Goes to College

A bit silly but poignant in the fact that the students at my alma mater would take the time to make such a movie. I never knew that Martelli cut St. Ignatius from the St. Joe's basketball team. Not even as a walk-on Phil? Cameos by Dan Joyce, SJ and Phil Florio, SJ.


A short movie that was made in 2007, for a Freshman retreat at Saint Joseph's University (in Philadelphia, PA). Comedic and poignant, with a long-winded lecture by the one and only Fr. Dan Joyce, SJ.

Iggy Goes to College
Here is "Iggy Goes to College"--a video created by Brit Keesling '10 and Sal Profaci '10 for the freshman Escape retreat. It tells the tale of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier, two college roommates who together founded the Society of Jesus, which eventually founded ST. JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY!! Featuring the acting talents of Phil Martelli, Fr. Phil, Fr. Joyce, Dave Moffa, and much much more!!

from Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit...

The following from by buddy Joseph at Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit -- Jesuit's Saint Mary Assunta Chapel Open To The Public. One of the finest blogs out there.

For more click The Rooms of St. Ignatius.

AMDG @ SJU

Special thanks to Fr. James Moore, SJ and Fr. Bill Byron, SJ for their spiritual direction this year in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius based on the 19th annotation. A beautiful Mass to end our season, and plenty of doughnuts to lure the guys back to the Carriage House.

I attended an all day meeting of the National Alumni Board at St. Joseph's as well. The day began with an update from University President Timothy Lannon, SJ. A few items...

• The Erivan K. Haub School of Business is the largest Jesuit business school in the nation and its part-time MBA program is 20th in the nation and #1 in Philadelphia.


• The GEP (General Education Program) will finally be implemented to replace the current GER.


• 143 St. Joe's students studied abroad; 30 programs on 5 different continents.


• 261 international students are enrolled at St. Joe's, with most coming from China, India, and Saudi Arabia. The communist government in China limits undergraduate students to one semester but many enjoy their time on Hawk Hill and come back for their post graduate degrees.


• SJU athletic teams had 91 student-athletes were named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for achieving a GPA of 3.5 or higher while 248 student-athletes were named to he St. Joseph's Athletic Director's Honor Roll for achieving a semester GPA of 3.5 or higher.


• St. Joseph's currently has 17 alumni serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, which is the largest group from any Jesuit institution.


• Not so small... we now have a total enrollment of 8,338 students, 4,687 who are undergraduates.


• SJU receives applications from 43 states and 45 countries. There has been a de-emphasis on the SAT as a determiner for a student's future success. His/her GPA is now used as the primary predictor (2/3). 704 students of color were admitted and 440 students from Jesuit high schools were admitted.


• There will be a three phase, three year conversation about Catholic/Jesuit identity.


• Merion Hall on the Maguire Campus will be renovated to house the Education, English and Sociology Departments. The John and Maryanne Henning Post Learning Commons will break ground in 2011 as well as the First-Year Residence Hall (presumably to be called Brzozowski Hall) will also break ground next year on Guest Lawn.
  
  
  
  

Hawk baseball in Camden this weekend

By the way, If you’re doing an update between now & Saturday morning, can you include this?

OldHawk73



Hawk Baseball at Campbell’s Field


Last Saturday (5/8/10) I went to the Hawks-Fordham game at Campbell's Field. They play Xavier at 11AM on Sat. 5/22.

Other than the outcome (19-3 Loss), it was a good time. I'd recommend it to anyone who can get there. Parking and admission are free. All of the seats are very good, and there are so many empty ones to choose from. It would be a great experience for kids of Little League age to see a game up real close.

The concession stands weren't open. So, bring your own snacks.

Besides, where else can you hear "Night at the Roxy" in a minor league ballpark?

Hope to see you there!

Update: Hawks need to win both of their last 2 games to get into the A-10 Tournament, Fri at 1PM, Sat at 11AM

Meet Leo Carlin...

Meet Leo Carlin... a proud alumnus of St. Joseph's Prep and St. Joseph's College and the looooong time ticket manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. Leo went to SJC with my father and his lovely wife Kay attended St. Columba's in Swampoodle (23rd and Lehigh) and John W. Hallahan Catholic High School for Girls with my mother. One of the really good guys out there, and he obviously knows where to go for his tickets ;-)

Below an article about 'Uncle' Leo when he was nominated to the NFL Hall of Fame. He was nominated again this year as well.


Ecstatic, Overwhelmed Carlin Nominated For Hall - Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are proud to announce that director of ticket client relations Leo Carlin is among a list of 124 players, coaches and contributors who have been nominated for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2008.

A pioneer in the ticketing industry, Carlin has been a vital member of the Eagles organization for a span of five decades. Armed with an infectious personality that combines sharp wit, a true love for the job and selfless compassion for customers and co-workers alike, Carlin has satisfied millions of rabid Eagles fans without ever stepping onto the playing field.

"I first want to tell you, just at the outset, that I'm incredibly honored with the situation that's taken place just in these last 20 hours, and it has been a whirlwind. I'm also very gratified with the number of people I have heard from, it's been fantastic," said Carlin during a press conference on Wednesday. "I think our computer guys are afraid my computer's going to blow up with the emails that are coming through from around the league. I want you to know that I'm not only thrilled about this, I recognize that there are some very, very prestigious people who are also nominated for this and I'm just thrilled to be with them. I know what the odds are. I'm very, very happy to be before you to today. (Jokingly) I know you mentioned something about the Dallas Cowboys a minute ago and you mentioned something about (Dallas WR Terrell Owens) T.O., but don't worry here's Leo."

Carlin originally joined the Eagles as a part-time ticket office employee in 1960 and participated in the ticketing efforts for the Eagles' 1960 NFL Championship Game victory over the Green Bay Packers. He was hired as the club's full-time ticket manager in 1964. During the 1970's, Carlin also served as the club's business manager and helped the Eagles become the first NFL team to merge ticketing with computer data processing. He was also appointed to represent the Eagles on the city of Philadelphia's committee for the construction of Veterans Stadium.

Carlin joined the Eagles in 1960 prior to the NFL Championship Game
In 1985, Carlin was appointed as the team's representative to the NFL to facilitate regional television broadcasts of Eagles home games. In that role, he negotiated with local television stations to lift potential blackouts of those home games.

Carlin has helped bridge the gap from the franchise's infancy to the dominating sport it has become today in Philadelphia. He led the effort in transitioning ticket operations for the Eagles four times into three different stadiums – Franklin Field, Veterans Stadium, and Lincoln Financial Field. After transferring the ticket system into the Vet in 1970, Carlin was forced to transition back to Franklin Field once it was determined the stadium would not be ready for play that year.

In fact, he is the only ticket manager in league history to work with the same team in three different stadiums. Along the way, Carlin has worked for five Eagles owners and fostered friendly relationships with numerous coaches and players from many different eras.

With the Cowboys coming to Lincoln Financial Field this Sunday, Carlin is one of the most popular people in the city.

"Oh, there are hundreds. Probably the biggest hear-from-type-thing that happened, was when we were changing stadiums into this stadium," said Carlin. "Our IT guys checked the backlog of my phone calls trying to get into my line. Now, my voice message could only hold, I think, 99 messages. But, the IT people checked, trying to get in in one week's time and it was close to 2,000. So, every now and then somebody would say, 'I called you, but you didn't call me back.' Yeah, well, true. I think I missed that one. It was hard because I pride myself in trying to communicate with the public as best as possible. I try, anyway. But, I never thought that in those days, long ago, that it was going to become the popular thing that it is today. The chances are some of you didn't either. This is a very popular sport and in a very popular town."

Along with the Chicago Bears' George McCaskey, Carlin helped earn the ticket office personnel a seat at the annual NFL meetings, which continues to this day. He has co-chaired the ticket manager's portion of the NFL meetings.

In 1980, Carlin led the ticketing process for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
Today, Carlin serves as the spokesperson for all Eagles ticketing matters. Leo and his wife, Kay, have been married for 48 years and have seven children, including four boys who went on to play college football, and 19 grandchildren. Born in Atlantic City, NJ, on Sept. 16, 1937, Carlin is a graduate of St. Joseph's Prep and St. Joseph's University and is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Young Hawks with and for others...

You know how passionate I am about Saint Joseph’s basketball. I share a few quick but amazing stories about three Hawks today. Two of them you may have seen on the sidelines as senior managers and the third ‘just a face in the crowd.’

With all of the negative press heard too often about those in and around the collegiate sporting community here are three minutes that will let you discover the spirit and accomplishments of these tremendous members of the Class of 2010. There are pieces in here that will resonate with each of you.

Joe Cabrey



Saint Joseph's University Hawk Profiles - Molly Porth '10

English and Spanish
Havertown, Pa




Molly Porth has taken full advantage of her time on Hawk Hill. Always involved and committed to her studies, Molly’s list of activities and achievements is long, and “Fulbright recipient” can now be added to that list. She received the prestigious scholarship to teach English in Mexico next year, a fusion of her interests in travel and teaching.

Molly, a double major in English and Spanish, first got the idea to apply for the Fulbright when studying abroad in Santiago, Chile, her junior year. She was nearing the end of her time there, and wasn’t ready to leave. Her father, Steve Porth ’80, Ph.D., associate dean of the Erivan K. Haub School of Business and professor of management, who was visiting at the time, suggested the Fulbright as a way to continue immersing herself in the Spanish language after graduation.

Teaching isn’t a new interest for Molly. During the spring semester of 2009, she was a fulltime student and also taught high school students Spanish at her alma mater, Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Molly is excited at the prospect of teaching again. “I enjoy working with teenage students,” she says. “My age offers me a unique opportunity to serve as mentor as well as a teacher, and relate to them in a more direct way, like their peers would.”

Considering her background, Steve said he “wasn’t at all surprised that Molly received the Fulbright” but was still extremely delighted that she did. Father and daughter will be heading to El Hongo and Tijuana, Mexico, this May, as part of the Summer Immersion Program. Steve is the faculty facilitator of the trip and Molly is the student leader.

During her time at Saint Joseph’s, Molly has shown her school spirit by managing the basketball team for four years. She has also been a part of Harambee African Awareness and a member of the honors program and Jesuit honors society. She has been a Summer Scholar multiple times, researching how media portrays the pharmaceutical industry. Her younger brother, Leo, is a freshman at SJU and will continue her research this summer.

Molly isn’t sure what she’ll do after her year in Mexico, but all the possibilities she has in mind relate to her passions for the Spanish language, traveling and teaching. She is considering pursuing more teaching opportunities abroad but is also interested in entering a graduate program in either Immigration Law or Ethnography, which deals with travel writing and sociological research.


Saint Joseph's University Hawk Profiles - Michael Mungai '10

Economics
Dagoretti, Kenya



Michael Mungai's journey to Hawk Hill began in Africa with a photo of a snow-covered Barbelin bell tower. Along the way to graduation, worked to found both Harambee, a student-run group promoting awareness of African culture, and Dagoretti4kids, an educational outreach program for homeless Dagoretti youths, and has been involved with other international advocacy effortsreach program that now provides housing and schooling to more than 30 street children.

When Mungai was just 14 years old, he left his home to live on the streets of Dagoretti, Kenya to help ease the financial burden on his mother, who cared for Mungai and his three siblings as a single parent. Living as a Dagoretti street boy, Mungai experienced great pain and hunger, but his selfless decision showed his charitable nature, always looking to give even when he, himself, had nothing.

“She was struggling to feed us and I wanted to help, so I said ‘I’m going to be a man’ and went out on my own,” the economics major said.

While living on the streets of Dagoretti, Mungai met Christof Putzel, a visiting American filmmaker from the University of Connecticut. At the time, Putzel was filming “Left Behind,” a documentary on the country’s AIDS orphans and street children. Mungai built a close relationship with Putzel, acting as his guide and translator.

Before leaving Kenya, Putzel introduced Mungai to Bonnie Graboski, an Allentown, Pa., woman volunteering at an orphanage. Graboski took Mungai off the streets and encouraged him to return to school, which he was forced to leave due to his family’s financial difficulties. Graboski funded Mungai’s education through the end of high school.

“She is the most important woman in my life after my mother,” Mungai said. Together they enlisted the help of volunteers and sponsors to form Dagoretti4kids (D4K) in 2003, an outreach program that now provides housing and schooling to more than 30 street children.

Mungai was introduced to Saint Joseph’s University by Mark Orrs ’03, who had seen Mungai in Putzel’s documentary and sought him out while volunteering at an African orphanage. The two quickly became good friends, and Orrs suggested that Mungai consider attending SJU.

“I remember seeing St. Joe’s for the first time on Mark’s computer and seeing Barbelin covered in snow, and thinking that I wanted to be there,” Mungai said.

Orrs was able to secure a full scholarship for Mungai from University President Timothy R. Lannon, S.J. But like many international students, Mungai faced difficulties in assimilating to American culture, improving his English and making new friends as a freshman. That didn’t stop him from getting involved, however.

“I looked for people I could identify with, but there weren’t many people who knew much about my country and its culture,” Mungai said. “That’s when I decided to start Harambee to spread awareness and address the lenses of misconception people see my country through.”

In its four years on campus, Harambee has worked to educate the university community about the African continent through events such as African Awareness Week, which included a food-tasting event that allowed students to get a “taste of African culture and African food,” according to Mungai. The organization also works to raise money to fight the HIV/AIDs epidemic in the country by selling necklaces and bracelets made by HIV-positive women. The money is meant to help them afford food and medicine. Harambee also works to support D4K.

Following graduation, Mungai hopes to have a career in social justice and is considering graduate school, where he would work toward a master’s degree in international marketing.

“There was a time when I thought social justice could be achieved through aid and intervention, but I’ve learned from my classes that sustainable social justice is related to the overall economic welfare of a country and that it is a product of that market,” Mungai said.



Saint Joseph's University Hawk Profiles - Brittany Keesling '10

History
West Chester, Pa.


History major Brittany Keesling has quite the resume. She’s worked as manager of the Saint Joseph’s University men’s basketball team, distinguished herself as a stand out student, and babysat regularly in her free time. She’s also helped with the production of a documentary about young girls in Kenya, utilized two Summer Scholars awards to research health and education issues in the Nairobi Province, maintains a Web site devoted to raising money for rehabilitated Kenyan street boys, and is financing a little Kenyan girl’s private education.

Keesling’s devotion to service will continue in the summer following the 2010 Commencement at Saint Joseph’s, when she’ll spend time expanding her own horizons while helping others. In the next four months, the West Chester native plans to travel to Mexico, South Africa and Kenya – and not simply for her own enjoyment.

In Mexico, she plans to challenge herself by learning Spanish through an SJU summer immersion program in the company of 2010 Fulbright Scholar Molly Porth. In South Africa, she’s slated to teach young girls about hygiene and health issues at a United Nations-sponsored school. And in Kenya, she’ll lead a group of fellow students offering service to Dagoretti4Kids (D4K), an educational outreach program based in the village of Saigon, which is located in the Dagoretti Province. D4K was founded in part by fellow SJU graduate Michael Mungai ’10, in 2003.

Keesling’s passion for serving the international community started with a friendship developed during a philosophy class, where she met Mungai, an international student who grew up on the streets of Dagoretti. Over the course of the semester, the two became good friends, and Keesling grew more and more fascinated by Mungai’s culture and experiences. Toward the end of the spring semester of 2008, he asked Keesling to collaborate on a documentary project he had planned in Dagoretti, funded by the University’s Summer Scholars program.

“It was an opportunity to dive into the culture with someone that I knew really well,” says Keesling. “So I jumped on it.”

The project, a documentary about teenage girls’ use of sanitary napkins and the impact the lack of such items has on their education, required Keesling to interview the teens and their families, while Mungai conducted research. But while their project centered on teen girls, the two stayed at D4K, which houses former street boys between the ages of 8 and 20.

“They became like my little brothers,” she says. “Inside those gates, you’re safe and happy. Everyone wants to be there.”

Throughout the course of the project, a woman from the village, Margaret, then 18, helped Keesling translate during interviews. As the weeks progressed, Margaret’s mother, Grace, and Keesling’s mother, Nina, who traveled to Dagoretti with the two SJU students, became close – so close in fact, that Nina is funding Margaret’s nursing education at a college in western Kenya.

One year later, in the summer of 2009, Keesling found herself the recipient of another Summer Scholars award, this time to return to Kenya with classmates Molly Porth and Reggie Alberto to study the public education system.

“Kenya’s public system is, fortunately, free from kindergarten until eighth grade,” explains Keesling, “but there aren’t enough teachers or facilities. In the school where I worked, the student-to-teacher ratio is about sixty-to-one, and the average for the region is about forty-five-to-one. At the end of the summer all I could think was, ‘what can I do for these kids, on a local level?’”

This second project prompted Keesling to think of ways to impact the lives of Dagoretti’s youth locally, believing that she can – and will – make a difference in their lives. The result was the redesigned D4K Web site, dagoretti4kids.org, now maintained by Keesling and her mother.

“The boys in D4K go to private schools, so their educations need to be funded. I wanted to help by raising funds from the United States, and I realized that one way to do that was through online donations,” says Keesling. “I want to promote a second chance for these boys – to turn their challenges into opportunities.”

In addition to her work on the Web site and her continued dedication to D4K, Keesling is also helping a young girl she met during her first visit to Dagoretti in 2008. Mercy (pronounced “Marcie”) was just 10 when the two met, but a bond formed quickly. Now, back in Philadelphia, Keesling is helping Mercy much like Nina is helping Margaret: by funding her education. For about 20 American dollars a month, Keesling is paying for Mercy to attend a private primary school in Kenya, and hopes in the future to make enough money to be able to send Mercy to college.

Keesling hopes to help initiate an immersion program at SJU in the course of the next few years, with the goal of creating a lasting connection between the University students and the village.

“There are things you have to be committed to. There are so many more steps that can be taken,” says Keesling. “Helping Mercy, and D4K are just a few.”

The Jesuit?

Paz Vega All Set To Star In Paul Schrader’s “The Jesuit”

May 15, (THAINDIAN NEWS) All the fans of noted Spanish actress Paz Vega take note. If recent reports are to be believed then the “10 Items or Less” star has joined the star cast of ensemble drama “The Jesuit” which is all set to be directed by well-known film maker Paul Schrader. Although according to the details that have been available till now about the upcoming project, the flick also boasts of many other renowned names but Paz Vega’s addition to the list would surely contribute in accentuating the hype about the movie.

According to reports that have been available, “The Jesuit” would be a revenge saga with the 34 year old actress playing one of the leading roles. Apart from Paz Vega, the other stars would are reportedly in talks with the production company include Michelle Rodriguez, Willem Dafoe as well as Oscar Isaac. It has been revealed that the much awaited movie would be directed by ace director Paul Schrader while John Morrissey and Santiago Garcia associated with Open Window Productions would be taking care of the production details.

In the meanwhile, anticipation has been running extremely high among all Paz Vega fans since it has come to light that the highly acclaimed actress would be part of the Paul Schrader directed movie. Although details pertaining to filming and the final release of the flick has not been available as yet, one thing is for sure that the fans of the Spanish actress are eagerly waiting for it. Whether the expectations of the fans are finally fulfilled remains to be seen when the flick ultimately hits theaters.

Don't know what this has to do with the Jesuits but she's hot ;-)

What parish are ya from?

Memories shall not parish - Philadelphia Daily News

By Ronnie Polaneczky
Philadelphia Daily News

Daily News Columnist

WHEN the Philadelphia Archdiocese announced that Cardinal Dougherty and North Catholic high schools would be closed at the end of this school year, I immediately thought of football.

I attended another archdiocesan high school - Bishop McDevitt, in Wyncote, class of '76 (Go, Lancers!). Before every football game, the pep squad would plaster the hallways with handmade posters boasting how our team was gonna kick the cleats off whichever opponent had the stupidity to think it'd survive the trounce of shame we'd inflict on the field.

Dougherty and North were particularly detested rivals. Their schools were almost twice our size, and their teams evinced a swagger that let us know, even if we crushed them on the field, that we were still the chumps.

I loathed those teams with a harmless hatred preserved ever since in the soft-focus part of my brain where memories are always current and untouched.

In that place, the Archdiocese has dozens of teeming parishes and schools, each so identified with its community that thousands of Catholics thought in terms of parishes, not towns or neighborhoods, when we envisioned the region's geography.

You weren't from Mount Airy; you were from St. Raymond. You weren't from Norristown; you were from Holy Saviour. Fox Chase? St. Cecilia. Cobbs Creek? St. Cyprian. South Philly? Well, for God's sake, which part? St. Monica? St. Rita? Stella Maris?

Me, I was from Holy Martyrs, which non-Catholics might know as tiny Oreland, Pa.

Many of the parishes were founded in the postwar, golden age of Philadelphia Catholicism, when families were so big - my parents had nine of us - we jammed the pews on Sunday.

But it's not our parents' Archdiocese anymore. It hasn't been for a very long time.

The region's Catholic families are smaller. Many have moved far beyond the city's borders, leaving behind crumbling buildings - some that were once magnificent. Others, horrified by the Archdiocese's handling of the sex-abuse scandal within its own house, have abandoned the church altogether.

Without enough families to support them - with dollars, religious fervor or both - the Archdiocese is sort of rightsizing itself. Some parishes are closing or merging, and their schools doing the same. In some cases, the changes appear to make sense. Others - like the shuttering of Dougherty and North Catholic, which I've covered in this column - are a betrayal.

The closings are tough for Catholics still attached to their parishes. For anyone else, it's downright disorienting to think that a certain neighborhood may no longer be associated with the school that once anchored it.

Take Queen of Peace, in Ardsley, and St. John of the Cross, in Roslyn. The parishes will merge their schools at the Queen of Peace site this fall. So, will Roslyn still be "St. John of the Cross," once there's no longer a St. John's school to anchor the town in anyone's mental geography? Or is it now just "Roslyn"?

It's a silly question. But at least I know that other born-and-bred Philly Catholics might be sensing the same seismic shift of the region's landscape and asking themselves the same thing.

Next month, my alma mater, Holy Martyrs grade school, will be among the newest handful of Catholic schools that will shut their doors forever.

(click on title for the entire article)

Jesuit Homeboy needs some help...

Nothing stops a bullet like a job” is the motto of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention program in the United States. Founded in 1986 by Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest, Homeboy offers job training, tattoo removal and employment to Los Angeles gang members who are seeking to leave gang life behind. Boyle and his work have been featured in newspapers and magazines across the country.

Here's two ways to help; buy Fr. Boyle's book - Tattoos on the Heart - Greg Boyle, SJ, or donate on line at [HOMEBOY] industries.

Jesuit-Run Gang Ministry Cuts Staff

By David Finnigan
Religion News Service

LOS ANGELES (RNS) A prominent anti-gang ministry here run by a Jesuit priest has laid off 330 of its 427 staffers as its deals with a $5 million deficit and decreasing donations because of the poor economy.

The Rev. Gregory Boyle's Homeboy Industries has been life-changing for hundreds of Southern California gang members seeking redemption and job training. But on Friday (May 14) the organization announced the dismissal of three-fourths of its staff, a move that shocked L.A. philanthropic circles and prompted a fresh round of donations.

"People have been coming through here non-stop (over the weekend)," Boyle said. "It's not enough to save us, but we're hopeful."

For 18 years, Homeboy Industries has helped ex-gang members with free programs offering tattoo removal and jobs in the Homeboy bakery, cafe, catering company, silkscreen shop, and merchandising unit. Saying, "nothing stops a bullet like a job," Boyle has become a force in crime-infested East Los Angeles, respected by gang members and police.

The non-profit moved into a large, two-story building near downtown Los Angeles three years ago, fueled by increased demand for Homeboy's anti-gang work. The extra space then allowed Homeboy to create a program, "commensurate with the size of the building," said Boyle, explaining how his paid staff jumped to 427. "We probably didn't prepare ourselves very well in terms of capitalizing the move."

The increase in Homeboy's paid staff was occurring alongside the national decrease in foundation grants prompted by the economic slump, with the $5 million deficit a problem since last November. "Foundations started to pull back," Boyle said.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan publicly has vowed to help Boyle raise the $5 million needed to keep Homeboy open. The loss of three-fourths of his staff came after Boyle received much flattering press for his memoir, "Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion," published in March.

The priest said his Catholic order, the Society of Jesus, "helps a little. We're kind of on our own over here."

Since the May 14th layoff announcement, online donations have been helping, too. "Things are trickling in, we've probably gotten about $70,000 in the online donations," Boyle said. "Lots of people are starting to position to, we hope, help."

America Magazine - Homeboy Heartbreak

I had just finished reading Father Gregory Boyle S.J.’s penetratingly spiritual, truly hope-filled and uplifting book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. It had made my own, often enough alas, shriveled spirit soar and evoked genuine desires for greater compassion, to feel the imprint of God’s boundless love as a seal—even a kind of tattoo—on my heart. Then, I read the heartbreaking news in The Los Angeles Times that Boyle’s justly famous Homeboy Industries were five million dollars in arrears and Boyle had to let two-thirds of his 400 workers go. Boyle who claims in his book that “the highest form of sanctity is to live in hell and not lose hope” had to confess that “Hope has left the [Homeboy] building a little bit.”

Greg Boyle (whom gang members affectionately dub G) started his gang re-habilitation project over twenty years ago. He had, previously, been the pastor of the Jesuit parish in East Los Angeles, Dolores Mission, where drive by gang related shootings were and continue to be common. Boyle has presided over 168 funerals of young men gunned down by rival gangs. Homeboy Industries takes as its slogan: “Nothing Stops a Bullet like a Job” and proclaims “Jobs not Jail." Over the years, Homeboy Industries (which includes a Homeboy Bakery, a Home girl Café and a Homeboy silk-screen factory) have offered counseling, gang-related tattoo removals and, most of all, jobs to take, over the years, thousands of gang members off the streets. Remarkably, for someone who remembers that Jesus preached "love your enemies," Homeboy brings together rival, enemy gang members and forges friendships, alliances and a "truce of God" on them. Having such avowed enemies actually work together is nothing short of a miracle.
Boyle claims of his deeply moving Tattoos on the Heart that it is not a memoir of his twenty years of working with gangs nor a how-to book to deal with gangs. Boyle uses his touching stories of gang members to help us put a human face on them, not as some tourists into a kind of exotic foreign land, but as a way to recognize our own wounds. Boyle has the soul of a poet and sprinkles, aptly, throughout the book, pithy citations from the poetry of Hafez, Annie Dillard, Mary Oliver, Galway Kinnell, Jack Gilbert. Some samples include, from Mary Oliver, the admonition that “All things are inventions of holiness, some more rascally than others." From Kinnell: “Sometimes it is necessary to re-teach a thing its loveliness.” From Gilbert: “The pregnant heart is driven to hopes that are the wrong size for this world."

Tattoos of the Heart is modest in its claims for success. Boyle knows his projects have represented a tiny drop in a pretty deep bucket. Clearly, Boyle has come to love the young gang members in his neighborhood. He wants us to learn how to bear the largeness of God. God, he claims, looks beyond our faults and sees our needs. We need to move from the "one false move and I will get you" God to the "no matter what--I love you" God. Alas, we tend to create a small, parochial God in our own image which makes it hard for us to recognize and rejoice that we are clothed in God’s goodness. God beholds us and she is smiling. Luckily, the God of surprises seems an unwilling participant in our efforts to pigeonhole him. Faced with broken humanity, we are called to allow our hearts to be broken by the very thing that breaks the heart of God. As Boyle puts it: “We need the disruption of categories that lead us to abandon the difficult, the disagreeable and the least likely to go very far.”

At one point, Boyle who has had to go hat in hand to foundations and donors to raise money for his important and hopeful enterprises laments the new emphasis on quick and quantifiable results-based philanthropy. He knows that God’s work is often slow. He cites Mother Teresa: “ We are not called to be successful but faithful.” Such fidelity mirrors the strategy of Jesus which was not centered on taking the right stand on issues but rather in standing in the right place.

Boyle has become a sort of Los Angeles icon. He has been frequently interviewed on National Public Radio or on television about his work. Some influential politicians and high ranking officials in the Los Angeles Police Department have learned from him that mere anti-crime measures which do not look to education, counseling (and getting jobs!) for gang members will not, in the long pull, be effective. Boyle also has his critics who accuse him of being an apologist for gang members. Reading his book, his apology—if that is the right word—is never for violence, never for crime, but for the potentialities of gang members to become law-abiding, hard working husbands and fathers. His apology is for the possibility of grace, even in the hearts of hardened gang members and the largeness of God. For him, the role of a priest vis a vis such outcasts is that of Jesus: Jesus ate with, conversed with and called to integrity the outcasts of his society.

For almost ten years I used to go weekly to Boyle’s neighborhood where I taught English as a second language to—mainly undocumented—immigrants who ate and slept in a Dolores Mission shelter program. I remember, vividly, the many nights I could not drive anywhere near the church because of police blockades due to gang-related drive-by shootings ( shootings, often enough, which miss the intended mark and have killed children and innocent by-standers). How to build hope in a world of poverty and unemployment and gang violence? Anyone who has visited Dolores Mission vividly sees how such hope can be and is kindled and kept alive.

But hopeful and successful as Homeboy Industries is, it can seem a hard sell. As Boyle put it, when he had to shut down much of Homeboys’ activities, (remember that Homeboys’ operations serve more than 12,00 gang members or former gang members a year): “If these were puppies or little kids, we wouldn’t be in this trouble. But they are tattooed gang members with records. So, I think a lot of people love this place but not the folks who can write the big checks, the “'Save the Hollywood sign' kinds of checks”.

I was talking to my pastor the other day about how profoundly moved I was by reading Tattoos of the Heart. He told me that he has been surprised by the number of wealthy friends of his—none of them obvious bleeding hearts or liberal—who also have recounted their being deeply touched by the book. Boyle is not some ideologue. He invites us to a place where hope and fidelity to God’s largess and compassion also move us. I have been fervently praying for some donor to step up to help the program re-group its projects.

I know—much to my startled surprise—I wept at times reading Boyle’s book. It reminded me that Jesus’ injunctions about "peace," "justice to the poor in our land" are not mere airy platitudes. They demand painstaking, often heart-breaking, effort and tireless work. Key to that happening is what Boyle insists on: “Allowing our hearts to be broken by the very thing that breaks the heart of God.”

John Coleman, S.J.

Way to go Joe...

Glad to hear that Joe will be playing Division I ball next year. His coach at the Prep, Hall of Famer Bill "Speedy" Morris, told me he has never coached anyone with a better shot. Enjoy college Joe... but not too much ;-)

Prep’s Nardi commits to Hartford for hoops - Philadelphia Inquirer

St. Joseph's Prep senior Joe Nardi was thinking of trying to be a walk-on basketball player at St. Joseph's University. That plan changed after John Gallagher was hired last month as coach at the University of Hartford.

Gallagher touched base with Prep coach Speedy Morris, who was head coach at La Salle University when Gallagher was there as an assistant, and Morris passed along Nardi's name as a potential recruit.

Gallagher soon made a scholarship offer, and Nardi, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound guard and long-range sniper, readily accepted.

"I knew all along that I wanted to keep playing," Nardi said. "I just didn't know how things would work out for me. Luckily, it did."

Last season, Nardi averaged about 15 points as the Hawks went 17-8 overall and advanced to the Catholic League semifinal before losing to Neumann-Goretti. Nardi shot 7 for 12 from three-point land en route to 27 points in the 74-60 loss.

"I really like Coach Gallagher and his style of offense," Nardi said. "His teams shoot a lot of three-pointers. That's my game."

Nardi, of Audubon, N.J., earned first-team all-Catholic Red Division honors in each of the last two seasons. He plans to major in business at Hartford.


Below is Joe's buzzer beater against Roman Catholic High School in the Philadelphia Catholic League's Quarterfinal game....

Sr. Mary Scullion, RSM at St. Joseph's Prep

Sister Mary Scullion, founder and director of Project Home (Project H.O.M.E.: Ending Homelessness in Philadelphia), an alumna of St. Joseph's University and one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people, will speak at the Prep on Tuesday, May 18 at 7 p.m., as part of the Taggart Cultural Events Series. Sister Mary will offer "A Call to Justice, A Call to Action." This talk was rescheduled from February due to inclement weather.

Sister Mary Scullion has been involved in service work and advocacy for homeless and mentally ill persons since 1978. In 1985, she co-founded Women of Hope which provides supportive housing for homeless mentally ill women. In 1988, she helped establish the Outreach Coordination Center, a nationally recognized model, which coordinates street outreach to chronically homeless persons in Philadelphia.

In 1989, Sister Mary and Joan Dawson McConnon co-founded Project H.O.M.E. Since that time, Project H.O.M.E. has grown tremendously - now offering 459 units of housing in Philadelphia, including 272 units of supportive housing.

To RSVP for this free event, go to www.sjprep.org/taggart or call 215-978-1018.

"From one great Jesuit school to another..."

Look out Atlantic 10 & Philadelphia Big 5... the Hawks have reloaded.





St. Peter's Prep star Ronald Roberts chooses Saint Joseph's - NJ.com

St. Peter's Prep senior forward Ronald Roberts will sign a Grant in Aid on Tuesday morning to play for coach Phil Martelli at Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia.

Roberts, a Third Team All-State selection this past winter, was released from his national letter of intent to St. John's on April 13. He originally chose St. John's over Saint Joseph's during the early signing period on Nov. 19.

St. John's hired Steve Lavin as its new head coach on March 30 after parting ways with former coach Norm Roberts on March 19.

Roberts, a 6-6, 190-pound forward, notched 18 double-doubles in 28 games this season while averaging 19 points and 12.7 rebounds to help St. Peter's Prep to a 25-4 record and the No. 6 ranking in The Star-Ledger Top 20.

"From one great Jesuit school to another, we are excited to have Ronald play for a former National Coach of the Year with a great incoming freshmen class," St. Peter's Prep coach Mike Kelly said last night. "Ronald wants nothing more than to improve his game, get to the NCAA Tournament and play for a great coach. I believe he will realize all of that at Saint Joe's."

The late signing period for college basketball ends May 19.




Staten Island's Kanacevic chooses St. Joseph's - NYPOST.com

In an ironic twist, Halil Kanacevic will now play at a higher level than he intended in the first place.

The former Hofstra forward verbally committed to transfer to St. Joseph's University, which recruited the Staten Island product when he was at Curtis. The Philadelphia school is in the Atlantic-10, a step up from the CAA.

“The program speaks for itself,” said the versatile 6-foot-8 Kanacevic, who averaged a team-high 7.6 rebounds for the Pride along with 8.6 points. “It’s a great place, they’ve won, gone to the tournament. Coach [Phil] Martelli is a good coach. I felt comfortable there. I like the school a lot.”


Martelli has led St. Joe's to the NCAA Tournament five times in 16 years, including an Elite Eight berth in 2004, and has compiled a 289-187 record in that time.

Kanacevic asked for his release from Hofstra when coach Tom Pecora bolted the Long Island school to take the job at Fordham. Since, the Pride hired former Providence College coach Tim Welsh, who resigned on Monday after a DWI charge. Fellow New York City native, Chaz Williams, has reportedly asked for his release, too.

Kanacevic said he also considered Providence, DePaul, Vermont and Monmouth, but St. Joe's was at the top of his list from the start. He will have to sit out the 2010-11 season, but will still have three years of eligibility.

“It’s a new challenge, new setting, new surrounding,” he said. “I got a year to see how the conference, how the level of play is. I’ll be ready to make an impact when I’m able to play.”



Saint Joseph's gets recruit on rebound from St. John's - Philadelphia Daily News

By DICK JERARDI
Philadelphia Daily News

jerardd@phillynews.com

There is an old saying in recruiting that close does not count. Well, sometimes it does.
Ronald Roberts, a 6-7 senior forward from St. Peter's Prep in Jersey City, N.J., was really interested in Saint Joseph's. But the lure of the Big East and a chance to play in Madison Square Garden trumped the Big 5 and Hawk Hill. Roberts signed with St. John's last fall. St. Joe's was the runner-up.

Then, Norm Roberts (no relation) was fired as St. John's coach. Steve Lavin was hired as the replacement. Ron Roberts did not want to play for somebody he did not know. So, he got out of his letter on intent and reopened his recruiting. He has now committed to St. Joe's.

With that, the complete makeover, St. Joe's edition, is done. After the Hawks lost 20 games last season, changes were inevitable. Well, two players have transferred. Five high school players are on the way. A transfer is coming. And, because St. Joe's is one over the 13-scholarship limit at the moment, at least one other player will be transferring out soon.

"He developed such a tremendous bond with coach [Phil] Martelli in the recruiting process that it was difficult for him when he chose St. John's," St. Peter's coach Mike Kelly said of Roberts. "When the coaching switch happened, it was just a logical thing . . . The only sticking point continued to be whether he was going to play in a power conference or not. I said, 'Ron, you've got to go where people love you.' "

The incoming class also includes Patrick Swilling, a guard from Brother Martin in New Orleans; Langston Galloway, a guard from Baton Rouge, La.; Plymouth-Whitemarsh big man C.J. Aiken; and swingman Daryus Quarles from Paulsboro (N.J.) High. Also, Hofstra freshman forward Halil Kanacevic said last week he will transfer to St. Joe's. So, all of these players essentially will be in the same class, after Kanacevic sits out the mandatory transfer year.

Sophomores Temi Adebayo and A.J. Rogers were released from their scholarships.

Roberts averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds for St. Peter's, which finished 25-4 while playing a very strong schedule.

A smiling Ignatius -- how nice.

Adsum: Contemporary Paintings on Ignatian Spirituality
May 16, 2010 - June 18, 2010
The Xavier University Art Gallery
Located at the A.B. Cohen Center
1658 Herald Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45207

Watch Holly's interview about Adsum with Xavier University by clicking here.

Did you see Holly's article in Company Magazine? You can download the article in pdf form by clicking here.

You can visit their website by clicking here.

Below are some paintings from Holly's new show. If you are interested in purchasing your own book of Adsum, please click here.

"These paintings represent my interpretation of the mission of St. Ignatius Loyola. They incorporate all I know and feel about my life as a Catholic and as an artist. The process of creating this body of work has taken me almost three years in which I have been continuously supported by the Xavier University Community. My research for the exhibition included completing the Spiritual Exercises with Darrell Burns, S.J. and attending the 2008 Ignatian Pilgrimage led by Tom Landy, Director of the Center for Religion, Ethics, and Culture at Holy Cross University."

Adsum
Contemporary paintings on Ignatian spirituality As an alumna of a Jesuit school, artist Holly Schapker of Cincinnati, Ohio, already had a familiarity and an understanding of who St. Ignatius Loyola was and of Ignatian spirituality. After she graduated from Xavier University with a major in Art, Schapker continued her painting education with a strong focus on painting outdoor scenes. It was only after she completed the Spiritual Exercises with Fr. Darrell Burns, SJ, and attended an Ignatian pilgrimage led by Tom Landy, Director of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at College of the Holy Cross, that Schapker knew she wanted to create a series of paintings based on the life of St. Ignatius.

“These paintings represent my interpretation of the mission of St. Ignatius. They incorporate all I know and all I feel about my life as a Catholic and an alumna of a Jesuit university,” said Schapker. “The process of creating this body of work based on Ignatius Loyola has taken me almost three years to complete and is derived from my interpretation as a contemporary American woman of Ignatius Loyola’s life, mission, and Spiritual Exercises.” Large oils on canvas—the Montserrat Landscape, the largest, is 6 by 4 ft.—they include unique textures created by actual maps, leaves, or twigs.

The exhibition is titled Adsum, Latin for “Here I am.” The expression is gleaned from Mary’s response to the annunciation event, when the angel Gabriel asked her consent to become the mother of God’s son. Mary’s yes is understood in her open and faith-filled response, “[Here] I am, the Lord’s handmaid. Let it be done to me as you say.” “Not a word that is well translated in the English language, “Adsum” means being in astate of mind where the person is completely available and willing to serve God,” said Schapker. “St. Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises allowed me to approach this state in my painting studio and outside of it.”

Schapker’s work will be on display at the Sixth Heartland-Delta Triennial Conference from May 25–28 at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Hundreds of faculty, staff, and administrators from the network of the 12 Jesuit colleges and universities within the Midwest and Delta provinces will be in attendance. Held since 1994, the conference aims to engage higher education professionals in animating the Jesuit mission in today’s world. This year’s theme, “The World is Our House: Looking Within and Beyond Our Walls,” focuses on the globalization of society and its ever-changing realities on Jesuit campuses.

All things Hawk...

DC and UT made it official -- Owen Michael, the Big O, is a Hawk!

As is Danielle, daughter of 44 buddy Howard Feldman, who snubbed the Temple and Drexel mascots to have her picture taken with the St. Joe's Hawk at the Phillies game ;-)

Prom night at St. Joseph's Preparatory School, and of course since the boys must take two years of Latin... the Hawk says Seize the Night!

Cheesin' for the camera, outside our palatial estate (which bears a striking resemblance to Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park)

And finally HAPPY BIRTHDAY to cousin Chrissie, posing with Jack Bauer!

Hawks Turn in Top Performance at Dad Vail; SJU Earns Overall Points Trophy


PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's men's and women's rowing teams combined to win the Overall Points Trophy at the 72nd Annual Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta on the Schuylkil River. The Hawks took home a total of one gold medal, two silvers and four bronze. SJU also medaled in seven grand finals.

It marks the first time that Saint Joseph's has won the combined points trophy since 2006, when the Hawks had captured it for two consecutive years. Saint Joseph's was second in the men's standings, edging Delaware, 26-25.

The Saint Joseph's men's Freshman 8 claimed gold by defeating Drexel. The Varsity 8 won the Petite Final, although that race does not count in the points standings.

SJU finished second to Michigan State in the Freshman Lightweight 8 and took third place in both the Varsity Lightweight 8 and the Varsity Lightweight 4.

Good day off...

Out on the Hill today...

to James Moore, SJ -- thanks for the talk, and the tan ;-)

A "get well soon" to Terrence Toland, SJ as well.

Up the courts, OLC, NE Philly ;-)

Where were the protestants?

Diana Butler Bass: Is Western Christianity Suffering From Spiritual Amnesia?

In the 1990s, I taught history and theology at an evangelical college, a place where the students were serious young Christians. One day, lecturing on the medieval church and the Crusades, I explained how in 1095 Pope Urban II launched a holy war against Muslims. Most of the students took notes. One young woman, looking very worried by the idea of Christians starting a war, shot up her hand. "Professor," she began, clearly wanting to blame Roman Catholics for the affair, "what did the Protestants say about this?"

"Well," I answered slowly, "there were no Protestants in 1095." I did not have the heart to tell her that Protestantism would not exist until more than four hundred years later.

Puzzled, she blurted out, "But where were they?"

At the present juncture of history, Western Christianity is suffering from a bad case of spiritual amnesia. Even those who claim to be devout or conservative often know little about the history of their faith traditions. Our loss of memory began more than two centuries ago, at the high tide of the Enlightenment. As modern society developed, the condition of broken memory -- being disconnected from the past -- became more widespread. Indeed, in the words of one French Catholic thinker, the primary spiritual dilemma of contemporary religion is the "loss and reconstruction" of memory.

In some ways, understanding the loss is easy. Many modern thinkers wanted to forget. To them, European Christianity was a trash heap of magic, superstition, and repressive tradition, a faith needing to be enlightened by Reason and Science. The medieval world was like a stained-glass window in one of Christendom's ancient cathedrals -- pretty, perhaps, but you cannot see through it. As the Middle Ages ended, rationalists and revolutionaries smashed the cathedral windows to let in the clear light of human progress.

Click title for the entire article.

Jeer, jeer, for ole Notre Dame...

Jenkins released his recent statement at the same the South Bend Tribune published an article following up on an investigation by the Sycamore Trust, a Notre Dame alumni watchdog group, which discovered that previous protesters trespassing on Notre Dame's campus were treated much more leniently. The Tribune article largely confirmed the Sycamore Trust report, saying that "there have been variations in how some protesters were handled at the university."

Notre Dame Anti-Military, Pro-Gay Protesters Let Go; Pro-Lifers Still Face Fines, Imprisonment

“The stark facts, then, are that the University has treated pro-gay and anti-military demonstrators far more generously than pro-life demonstraters," alleges the Sycamore Trust

By Kathleen Gilbert and John Jalsevac

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, April 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - While numerous pro-life protesters who were arrested for trespassing at the University of Notre Dame last year continue to face up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine, anti-military and pro-gay demonstrators who were previously arrested on campus had their charges dropped, according to a shocking new investigation by the Sycamore Trust. Furthermore, the president of the University, Fr. John Jenkins, has reportedly refused to discuss the disparate treatment.

William Dempsey, Notre Dame alumnus and president of the Sycamore Trust, notes in the organization's latest bulletin that Jenkins has responded to inquiries about the pro-lifers (who were arrested last May while peacefully protesting Obama’s commencement speech and honorary degree) by saying that, "The University cannot have one set of rules for causes we oppose, and another more lenient set of rules for causes we support. We have one consistent set of rules for demonstrations on campus – no matter the cause."

While Notre Dame does not have power to drop the charges, the University's recommendation to dismiss would likely carry great weight with the St. Joseph County prosecutor.

Dempsey says that "we doubted that any organization would saddle itself with such an inflexible policy." Hence, his organization set about investigating how past trespassers have been treated.

It turns out that members of the pro-gay group Soulforce, and Catholic Worker anti-ROTC demonstrators, who were arrested for trespassing on campus in March 2007, were let off scot free. Dempsey says that he interviewed participants in each case, who "all state that, after they were taken into custody and processed on the campus, they were released and heard nothing more." It is unclear whether the decision not to pursue the cases further was made by the university or the district prosecutors, although the Trust suggests that it originated with the university.

Having related the information to Notre Dame, says Dempsey, a spokesman replied that "this exchange is no longer serving any purpose from our perspective, and, as a result, we have decided to discontinue communications with you on this topic."

After writing Fr. Jenkins, the Trust reported that "his brief response was not encouraging."

"He seconded the spokesman’s termination of the discussion and he characterized as 'not warranted' unidentified 'inferences' and 'assumptions' in Bill Dempsey’s wide-ranging exchanges with the University spokesman, but he did not dispute the facts respecting the Soulforce and Catholic Workers arrests."

"The stark facts, then," the Trust alleges, "are that the University has treated pro-gay and anti-military demonstrators far more generously than pro-life demonstrators and that it declines to explain why.

"The mystery of the University’s attitude toward the pro-life demonstrators deepens."

The bulletin further points out how the prosecution of the pro-life "Notre Dame 88" can and already has wreaked havoc on the defendants' lives, even prior to sentencing: the Trust reports that one defendant and her husband have already been declined as foster parents thanks to the trespassing charges.

"The University’s position is bewildering, for there are many compelling reasons for the University to recommend to the prosecutor that he drop these cases," notes the group. "The University’s stance obviously impairs Father Jenkins’s post-Obama efforts to shore up Notre Dame’s pro-life credentials. The demonstrators are intensely dedicated and include many notably sympathetic individuals."

"The question, then, is why the University persists in endorsing these prosecutions."



To sign a petition to free the ND 88, click here.
For University of Notre Dame contact information, click here.

Prep names new football coach

St. Joseph's Prep Names Infante as New Football Coach

PHILADELPHIA - St. Joseph's Prep has named Gabe Infante as its new football coach. Infante has been head coach at Paramus Catholic High School for the past two seasons after two years as defensive coordinator at Bergen Catholic.

"Our search committee did an outstanding job to examine all of the candidates who applied and I was thrilled at the names brought through the process," says Prep Principal Michael Gomez, who along with President Rev. George Bur, S.J., and Athletic Director Jim Murray made the final decision. "I am excited about Coach Infante and his passion, intensity and enthusiasm."

At Paramus Catholic, Infante took over a program in decline and has helped to rebuild it to respectability. Last season, the team improved to five wins. Prior to that, Infante was part of the Bergen Catholic coaching staff as the team rose to national prominence and a state title.

A three-sport athlete in high school (football quarterback, basketball point guard and baseball shortstop) at Memorial High School and former Division I player at The College of the Holy Cross, Infante has been a successful head coach, defensive coordinator, strength coach and college recruiter liaison. In addition to his time at Paramus Catholic and Bergen Catholic, Infante was selected by the American Football Coaches Association to be the defensive coordinator for the USA Junior National Team, which defeated a World team in an all-star game. He also has served as an assistant head coach at Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington and defensive coordinator at Memorial High School in West New York, N.J.

"It is truly an honor and privilege to have been selected as the Head Football Coach at the Prep," says Infante. "I am excited about working with our young men and continuing the tradition of excellence that has been the hallmark of this program." At Paramus Catholic, Infante worked tirelessly with student athletes in the college selection process and developed an excellent reputation among college coaches for his professionalism and expertise.

Infante is a graduate of New York Law School and is a licensed attorney in the state of New Jersey. In addition to his coaching duties, Infante also taught Criminal Justice, Law & Ethics, and Sociology at Paramus Catholic. He served as the school's Director of Public Relations.

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COACHING HISTORY

Paramus Catholic High School
Head Coach 2008-10

Team USA National Team
Defensive Coordinator 2010

Bergen Catholic High School
Defensive Coordinator 2006-08

Queen of Peace High School
Assistant Head Coach 2003-06

Memorial High School
Defensive Coordinator 1997-2003

Contact:
Bill Avington
Director of Marketing and Communications
215-978-1962 / bavington@sjprep.org