Sasha Giese ’26 of Rumson, New Jersey, delivered the student address at the 2023 Hall of Fame Dinner. “The special thing about Xavier is that we’re always there to help each other to shoulder even the heaviest of burdens,” he told the crowd. “We’ve got each other.”
2. From the President
3. News from 16th Street
12. An Enduring Symbol of Xavier
22. The Turkey Bowl at 100
30. Lives of Faith
38. Sons of Xavier
64. Back Story
Jim Keenan, S.J.’s famed black book, in which he recorded countless milestones in the lives of those to whom he ministered during his 67 years as a Jesuit.
Xavier’s Mission
Founded in 1847, Xavier High School is an academically rigorous, Catholic, Jesuit, college preparatory school in New York City that educates intelligent, motivated young men of diverse backgrounds and means. Xavier teaches students to take responsibility for their lives, to lead with integrity, to act justly in service of others, to pursue excellence in every endeavor and to deepen their relationship with God. Ultimately, Xavier forms young men who will go forth to transform the world for God’s greater glory.
On the Cover
A portrait of Jim Keenan, S.J. painted by Sergei V. Chernikov. The painting hangs in Keenan Commons in Fernandez-Duminuco Hall.
WINTER 2024
Xavier High School
Jack Raslowsky P’16 President
Kim Smith Headmaster
Shawna Gallagher Vega, APR Vice President for Communications and Marketing Editor, Xavier Magazine
Contributors
Nick Barone ’16
Ralph Dinielli
Eric Krebs ’17
Michael LiVigni P’21
Michael O’Brien ’19
Tom O’Hara ’69 P’04 ’06
Mike Oliveri
Jennifer Reeder
Astrea Slezak
Mark Wyville
Photography
Michael Marmora
Design
Erbach Communications Group
How to Reach Us
Xavier Magazine
30 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Email: news@xavierhs.org
Class Notes: classnotes@xavierhs.org
I say more: the just man justices; Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces; Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is — Christ — for Christ plays in ten thousand places, Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.
—“As Kingfishers Catch Fire”
Gerard Manley HopkinsDear Parents, Friends and Sons of Xavier:
There is a certain “grace of office” in being the president of Xavier High School. My work brings me to people, places and experiences solely because I have the honor of serving as Xavier’s president. Not for any particular gift of my own, but instead because of the position I hold. This “grace of office” is a free and unmerited blessing (from God) that I personally experience day in and day out.
There are times, however, when I am particularly aware of this grace of office. This has been the case for much of this new year. In Maimonides Hospital visiting and praying with John Foley P’77 ’79 ’81 ’84 ’86, his wife Dona and members of their family as John was going home to the Lord. Grace. At the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia, with a wonderful Xavier contingent for the promotion to Colonel of Geoff Cole, USA ’95. Grace. Hot chocolate in Georgetown with Peter Akhrass ’23 reflecting on his college experience, an experience filled with learning, growth and a paper on artificial intelligence and the First Amendment accepted for publication in the Georgetown University Undergraduate Law Review. Grace. Breakfast
with Bob Baratta ’58 as he shared news of his latest research and drug development. Grace. Listening to a conversation about the teaching of writing and rhetoric with Dr. James Nagle and Ms. Mary-Grace Gannon P’03 ’07 as we were chaperoning a world religion class on a visit to the Hindu Temple Society of North America. Grace. The joy of our students competing. The gratitude of our alumni for the lessons learned on 16th Street that served them so well through the years. The warm welcome of Xavier families and friends in California, Florida, Colorado, Nevada and places near and far. All grace.
Fr. Jim Keenan, S.J. graces the cover of this magazine. Jim understood grace. He was, as he came to know deeply during his first experience of the Spiritual Exercises as a Jesuit novice, “a loved sinner,” and that forever defined his life. He was loved deeply by God and this allowed him to love deeply. He never focused too much on our sin, but he did love us and he loved us as close as humanly possible to how God loves us. Warmly. Completely. Warts and all. This was Jim’s life as a Jesuit and his life as a priest.
It is also Jim’s invitation to us, an invitation to love one another, and to do the hard things to make that love real. Forgive. Reach out. Show up. Pray. Cherish the sacraments. Forty-three years after he left his last formal assignment at Xavier, Jim is our cover story for the last time. It is a tribute to this “loved sinner” who loved Xavier, her Sons and their families, along with his family and friends, so well.
My thanks to Shawna Gallagher Vega who did outstanding work capturing Jim’s life for our cover story and to Jim’s sisters, Mary and Rose, and all his friends who contributed to this effort. Jim would have delighted in the breadth and depth of Xavier represented in this magazine, the breadth and depth of God’s grace alive in the lives of the people at Xavier. Lives of faith. Lives of family. Lives lived on the football field, in the admissions office and even birding in Central Park. Lives lived near and far filled with opportunities to encounter the living God.
I return often to Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “As Kingfishers Catch Fire.” Jim Keenan “justiced.” He “kept grace: that kept all his goings graces.” He knew the “Christ who plays in 10,000 places, lovely in limbs and lovely in eyes not his, to the Father through the features of men’s faces.” He dwells with that Christ now.
May Xavier always inspire us to justice, to keep grace and all our goings graces—and to act in God’s eye what in God’s eye we are, Christ playing in 10,000 places, lovely in limbs and lovely in eyes not his, to the Father through the features of men’s faces.
Jack Raslowsky President
On February 8, robotics students faced off in the annual STEAM Lab Challenge, the culmination of weeks of hard work and preparation that began just before Christmas break. Each team of four students designed and programmed two robots, and their goal was to score as many points as possible in two minutes. “The theme of the game changes each year. This year it was a cybersecurity theme,” said computer science and technology department chair Michael Chiafulio P’23 ’27. “We did a seeding round earlier in the week where each team gets three chances to score as many points as they can in two minutes. Based on those scores, the teams are ranked from 1-10. Then we did the head-to-head round on February 8 with 10 teams from both sections of students who take the class. It’s a double elimination tourney, and I create a March Madness-style tourney bracket on the screen to track the matches.” The STEAM Lab Challenge prepares students for the New York/New Jersey Autonomous Botball Tournament held each May. Last year, two Xavier teams participated in that international contest, taking home first and second place in New York/New Jersey and posting the third-highest score in the world. This year’s STEAM Lab Challenge winners—Antonio Viscoso ’24, Tristan Rinck ’24, Sunny Chan ’24, and Brendan Meyers ’24— will lead Xavier in this year’s tournament. “This is an amazing class for future engineers,” Chiafulio said of Xavier’s robotics curriculum. “Students really get to be self-directed while testing prototypes and iterating solutions to complex problems.”
In November, Xavier NYC Birding Team president Jack Ferrie ’25 captured this photo of a starling in Central Park. Members of the team have visited Central Park and Green-Wood Cemetery in recent months to catch glimpses of the city’s most common resident and migratory birds.
In September, the Great Irish Fair of New York honored English teacher Margaret Gonzalez P’24 with its Saint Brigid Award. Several of Gonzalez’s colleagues and students attended the fair, held at Brooklyn’s Holy Name of Jesus Parish, to celebrate her honor.
Eight students joined Director of Campus Ministry Kaija DeWitt-Allen, campus minister Pablo Talavera, liturgical music coordinator Dee Kittany, and President Jack Raslowsky at the annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in October. The event, held in Washington, D.C., is the largest annual Catholic social justice gathering in the United States.
Religion teacher Dr. Robert Cortegiano successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, “Intra-Ecclesial Reform Movements After Vatican II: ‘FutureChurch’ as a Model for Discerning the Sensus Fidelium,” at Fordham University on November 2. He earned his Ph.D. in systematic theology from Fordham in February and will participate in the May graduation ceremony at Rose Hill.
Xavier blessed and dedicated two new spaces with significant student impact—the Valerie and Michael Puglisi ’68 Admissions Office
and Welcome Center and the William J. McGowan, S.J. College Counseling Center— on December 13. The spaces are a testament to the generosity of the Puglisis as well as Su and Bob Robotti ’71, who funded the college counseling center. Their gifts were part of Xavier’s 175th anniversary campaign, For Generations to Come.
The JV football team took home the CHSAA AA championship on November 18, defeating St. Francis Prep, 30-16.
The Xavier Dramatics Society performed Will Eno’s Middletown, a modern take on the
1. English teacher Margaret Gonzalez P’24 with her son, Padraig Long ’24, and Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Luciano Lovallo at the Great Irish Fair of New York, where Gonzalez was honored. 2. Students and faculty at the Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice in Washington, D.C. 3. Members of the Xavier community celebrate the blessing and dedication of the Valerie and Michael Puglisi ’68 Admissions Office and Welcome Center and the William J. McGowan, S.J. College Counseling Center.
classic Our Town, in December. Their next production, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, premieres on March 22 in Keenan Commons.
Xavier’s Regimental Drum Corps performed at the Drumming for Our Veterans benefit concert, an annual fundraiser for the Northport and Stony Brook VA hospitals, on January 6. The Drum Corps is the brainchild of Frank Dorritie ’64, who traveled to New York for the event.
Art teacher Billy Maloney ’01 was accepted for a summer art residency at Guttenberg Arts, a nonprofit print studio, community garden, and community arts center in West New York,
New Jersey that was co-founded by Matt Barteluce ’99. “I will have 24-hour access to the studio to produce a body of work over the summer, teach a few community art classes, and expand my own art practice,” Maloney said. “I will finish with a gallery showing of the work produced during the May-to-August residency on Saturday, September 7.”
Xavier hosted the inaugural Jesuit High School Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Mass and Breakfast on January 15. Mario Powell, S.J., vice chair of Xavier’s Board of Trustees, celebrated Mass in the Student Chapel. The Rev. Dr. Gary Dorrien, the Reinhold Neibuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of
Religion at Columbia University, addressed attendees at the breakfast.
Xavier’s 175th anniversary video, Band of Brothers: Xavier at 175, won a Bronze Brilliance Award from InspirED School Marketers in January. The film, which premiered at the 175th Anniversary Gala on December 3, 2022, features interviews with Sons of Xavier from the Classes of 1944-2023. Judges called Band of Brothers “a skillfully executed piece that immerses viewers in a journey through the school’s history and its future prospects. Through interviews with students from various decades and the use of archival photos, the video vividly portrays the genuine history and profound impact the school has had on its students.”
As incoming families celebrated their sons’ admission to the Class of 2028 on social media this January and February, alumni and parents chimed in with hundreds of congratulatory comments.
Congratulations on your new journey! Welcome, best decision my son ever made. Amazing administration, faculty, families, and GREAT young men!
— Susan DeLorenzoCongratulations! You’ll be surrounded by some of the best young men you’ll ever meet. Seize the opportunities and enjoy! Class of ’84
— Barry Rochford
Welcome. It will change your life.
— Dan Simonette
You have made one of the best decisions you will ever make.
Welcome. SOX ’73
— Timothy TrottCongratulations! A great school with so much to offer. Enjoy your next four years there, and do not be afraid to use all the available resources. From an older Son of Xavier – Class of 1980, welcome!
— Alberto RosaThe first time Dennis Baker, S.J. stepped foot on 16th Street, he was 14 years old. His Canisius High School freshman basketball team played against Xavier.
They may have won the game, but Xavier won him over.
“I keep coming back. … In Jesuit life you have a lot of homes. This will always be one of them, without a doubt,” Baker said. “I’m like an old penny they can’t get rid of.”
In October 2023, about 30 years after his first visit to Xavier, Baker was named president of Loyola Blakefield, a school for boys in grades 6-12 located in Towson, Maryland. He jumped into the role right away. Despite an official January 1 start date, Baker said he visited the school weekly during November to meet his new team and to become immersed in the community.
“It’s been an absolute whirlwind, but also a lot of fun. It’s a place that God is close. You can feel it,” Baker said. “And being around the students is fantastic. It fills you up. They’re genuine and sincere, and just fun to be around. And I’ve really enjoyed that.”
Supporting relationships between students and teachers
is something that Baker said is crucial in Jesuit education, adding that if there was one thing he missed in his current life, it was being in a classroom.
Baker taught for two years between graduating college and entering the Society of Jesus. After completing his novitiate and philosophy studies, he returned to the classroom at Xavier in 2009.
On 16th Street, he taught history to freshmen and seniors and served as the assistant varsity basketball coach and head freshman baseball coach.
“I think it was good for the students to see a Jesuit who didn’t teach religion. I taught a secular subject,” Baker said. “I think the guys got a kick out of that.”
From 2016-21, Baker served as president of Xavier High School in Chuuk, Micronesia. He championed fundraising efforts there, aiding in a lasting legacy of renovations including the school’s student chapel and other essential spaces.
From 16th Street to Micronesia, and back to 16th Street—in 2021 Baker returned to New York to work as Xavier’s Director of Engagement and Planned Giving for one year.
Baker said working closely with President Jack Raslowsky
was immensely important for his development as an educator and priest.
“Jack has known me since before I entered the Jesuits. He is a deft administrator and has so much experience. … It was a wonderful year. It was exactly what I needed.”
For his final period of formation in the Society, Baker was missioned to his tertianship in South Africa. When he returned in the summer of 2023, he served as the head of the Higher Achievement Program (HAP) at Xavier. HAP is a tuition-free, fiveweek summer program for rising eighth grade boys to learn more about Xavier and enrich themselves through academics and sports at the school.
Baker said Xavier prepared him well for his new role as president of Loyola Blakefield, having taught him the skills necessary to complete the role’s primary responsibilities.
“Xavier taught me how to be a priest. And I think that’s what Loyola Blakefield needs right now. A caring, loving priest at the helm. And on my best days, that’s what I am.” Astrea Slezak is Xavier’s Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing. She is a graduate of Marist College.
This Other Eden by Paul Harding
This Other Eden is a story based on the eviction of the mixed-race residents of Malaga Island in Maine in 1912. It is a challenging yet beautiful story of family, community, and the impact that society has when it judges and persecutes people because of their differences.
As with her first three novels, Lauren Belfer weaves a tapestry of intrigue out of the interplay of interesting fictional characters and well-researched history. It’s one of those books you can’t stop reading but don’t want to end.
Interviews with Francis Bacon by David Sylvester
Interviews with Francis Bacon was an eye-opening dive into this cryptic and mesmerizing painter’s world and creative process. Bacon is one of my all-time favorites, and hearing the thoughts and philosophy behind his works in his own words gave me valuable insight into the man behind these spellbinding images that have entranced me since a very early age.
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Middlemarch is an incredible book full of deep human insight, colorful characters, and unsurpassed prose that never gets to the point of being intrusive or overbearing. Five out of five stars!
The Dictionary People: The Unsung Heroes Who
Created the Oxford English Dictionary by Sarah Ogilvie
The Dictionary People is a book that chronicles, alphabetically, the stories of the many people involved in putting together the Oxford English Dictionary. It is not the first book I have read about the creation of the OED, a hard copy of which I was gifted soon after I became headmaster. The OED does feel like a miraculous feat, and I enjoyed learning about the humanity that made it so.
It’s 8:15 a.m. in the Valerie and Michael Puglisi ’68 Admissions Office and Welcome Center. Prospective students participating in the Knight for a Day program fill the conference room, where Claudia Tierney P’20 and Robert Harding ’17—Xavier’s Associate and Assistant Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, respectively—greet them. Two doors over, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Luciano Lovallo starts his day meeting a prospective parent before pivoting to welcome an unexpected arrival.
The day unfolds with tours—Lovallo sharing tales of Xavier’s history and rigorous academics, Tierney offering a Xavier parent’s perspective. The building buzzes with questions and answers and the excitement of prospective families. Then, after a full day of classes and activities, Harding gathers prospective Knights for a final tour. Their young eyes light up as they witness the limitless possibilities of a Xavier education.
“Every encounter with a prospective student and their family is an opportunity for us to live Xavier’s mission,” Lovallo said. “God called each of us to Xavier, and now we are God’s conduits to bring the next generation of Sons of Xavier and their families into this community so they too can strive to change the world for God’s greater glory. That is life-fulfilling work. That is life-changing work, and we are energized by that—each phone call, each visit, each genuine smile on a Knight’s face, and each expression of trust reflected on a parent’s face signaling their child is in loving hands.”
On a wet and windy January evening, dozens of friends of Jim Keenan, S.J. arrived on 16th Street to mark what would have been the beloved Jesuit’s 87th birthday. For many, the sheets of rain and whipping wind evoked memories of his 80th birthday party seven years earlier, when more than 650 souls—undeterred by a snowstorm—fêted him at Xavier.
Much had changed in those years. Jim Keenan was gone now, his inimitable bassbaritone extinguished. The familiar twinkle in his eye could be seen only in his portrait, hanging in a place of prominence in the room that bears his name—Keenan Commons.
If the old adage that no one whose name is still spoken truly dies, Jim Keenan will surely live forever.
James Francis Keenan was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, the first child of Bridget Anne (née Clarke) and Patrick Keenan, Irish immigrants from Cavan and Monaghan, on January 9, 1937. Two years later, Annie and Packy, as they were better known, welcomed a second son, Thomas.
The Keenan home served as the central gathering place for an intergenerational brood. Annie Keenan’s St. Patrick’s Day and Thanksgiving parties were the stuff of legend, but everyday gatherings were just as essential. Young Jimmy and Thomas loved to entertain their cousins in the basement, where
“I always felt Fr. Keenan was rooting for me—and all of us. He wanted us to do well in our classes. He wanted to make sure we were applying to colleges we were interested in. He knew if someone had a family crisis, and he would check in on us. At Xavier, we had the feeling that Fr. Keenan considered us more than students who would be gone in four years. We felt we were truly part of his Xavier family.”
—Michael Gargiulo ’77Yet the stories of him remained, as they will for years to come. Friends, colleagues, brother Jesuits, and six decades’ worth of Sons of Xavier shared those stories as they remembered him this January. At his wake, prayer service, and funeral last August, hundreds more recounted their recollections—happy and sad, comical and moving. Yet more shared the profound ways he impacted their lives in the pages that follow.
Packy kept a much-loved toy soldier molding machine for his sons, and take family trips up the block to Carvel.
“That house in Queens was a hub for the Keenans and the Clarkes,” Ed Goutink, Jim Keenan’s nephew, recalled. “The door was wide open, so people were always there, and Uncle Jim was shaped by that closeness of the family. And not just immediate family—the tentacles that spread out from the family.”
Family and a deep sense of faith sustained the Keenans and the Clarkes through brutal losses. In October 1948, 9-year-old Thomas Keenan died suddenly in his sleep, struck down by rheumatic fever. Six years earlier, in June 1942, Annie Keenan’s sister, Mary, died in childbirth, as did her baby. Without hesitation or fanfare, Annie and Packy took Mary’s husband, Bernard Fitzsimmons (better known as Fitzy), and two daughters, Rose and Mary, into their home and raised the girls as their own. Jim Keenan would refer to Rose and Mary as his sisters for the rest of his life—and he would never miss an opportunity to comfort someone during an illness, upon a death, or on the anniversary of a death.
Annie and Packy embodied the stoicism of the old Irish, responding to their trials with strength and good humor—traits Keenan carried with him through the years. Devout Catholics, the family attended Blessed Sacrament parish in Jackson Heights and said a rosary together each night. “We would rattle it off so we could get up and get going,” Keenan’s sister, Mary Goutink, remembered with a laugh.
“We were a regular old Irish family,” added his other sister, Rose Fitzsimmons-Capezza. “Very religious, no meat on Friday. If you talked in church, you would get killed.”
Mary noted that while her brother had a girlfriend during his high school years, she wasn’t surprised when he felt called to the priesthood. Many of his friends from Bishop Loughlin became Christian Brothers, but, once again influenced by family, 19-year-old Jim Keenan decided to become a Jesuit. His older cousin, Johnny Keenan, S.J. ’42, had just been ordained in the Maryland province the year before.
Jim Keenan entered the Society of Jesus at St. Andrew on Hudson on August 14, 1956. After his time in the novitiate, he pursued philosophy studies at Loyola Seminary in Shrub Oak, New York. When it came time for regency, the third step in his Jesuit formation, he was missioned to his cousin Johnny’s alma mater—Xavier High School.
In the summer of 1963, Mr. Jim Keenan, S.J. arrived on 16th Street as a lanky, 26-year-old scholastic. He was one of 30 Jesuits on the Xavier staff that year.
The young man from Jackson Heights taught history and English and threw himself into school life, moderating the cheerleading squad and assisting with the Sodality and the Evening Parade, Xavier’s yearbook. In succeeding years, he would help guide the Chess Club and the Student Council.
1. Keenan with his parents, Packy and Annie, on the day he professed First Vows. 2. In his first year as a scholastic, the young Jesuit moderated the cheerleading squad. 3. Keenan as associate headmaster for administration, as pictured in the 1973 yearbook. 4. In this photo from the 1977 yearbook, Keenan—then Xavier’s headmaster—speaks to the student body. 1. 2.
Dan Denihan ’65 was a 16-year-old sophomore when he ended up in Jim Keenan’s first history class in 1963. “He wasn’t much older than we were. He was like one of us,” Denihan said. “He was finding his way through Xavier, just as we were finding our way through Xavier.”
Denihan had lost his father two years earlier, when he was in eighth grade, and the new scholastic became an important counselor for him. “He knew my personal circumstance, and he made time for me,” he remembered. “That was something that not everybody does. He helped me during a difficult time when I was looking for fatherly guidance.”
“The one thing that always stood out was his kindness,” Denihan continued. “Some scholastics, they were trying to be tough guys. Jim was such a kind, nurturing person, and he was able to make us feel much more comfortable. Xavier was a very disciplined place, but he had a different way of looking at things. He was so easy to talk to—and that’s important for a 16-year-old.”
In 1966, Keenan left Xavier to pursue theology studies at Woodstock College in Maryland, but his time away from 16th Street would be short-lived. He returned in 1970, one year after his ordination at Fordham University Church, as associate headmaster for administration. Four years later, he was
named Xavier’s 46th headmaster, and three years after that, its 29th president.
Five decades after he took the reins at Xavier, students and faculty alike recall his deeply relational and tremendously effective style of leadership.
“He made you feel like he was your special priest, but he was really everybody’s special priest.”
—Dan Denihan ’65
Dr. Franklin Caesar ’72 P’00 vividly remembers his 1977 interview with Keenan for an open position in the English department. Caesar prepared diligently for his interview, but Keenan didn’t ask him about English or pedagogy or classroom management. First, he asked him about his parents.
“I didn’t know that he knew my parents,” said Caesar, who had never had Keenan as a teacher. “I’m the third of seven siblings. My two older brothers went to Rice, I went to Xavier, my younger brother Edward went to Rice, and my youngest brother Francis went to Xavier. And Fr. Keenan’s asking me about my family—‘How’s Arturo and Gabriel?’ Those were my two older brothers who went to Rice!”
Caesar was so disarmed that he was
unprepared for what happened next. After a short conversation, Keenan offered him the job on the spot. “Fr. Keenan said, ‘Here’s a contract. Sign on the dotted line,’” he recalled with a laugh. “I thought, ‘What just happened?’ It wasn’t, ‘Do you want it? Do you think you can handle it?’ It was, ‘Here’s a contract. I’ll give you a copy after you sign it.’”
Caesar said Keenan set a pervasive standard of excellence as headmaster and later as president. “He was straight-up— straightforward. He didn’t play when it came to the academics,” he said. “Fr. Keenan expected his teachers to be on time and be prepared. He would walk into a classroom out of the clear blue and stand in the back. This attitude was formed among teachers, I felt, that we were there to instruct these students in a way that’s going to be of quality. The expectation was that the headmaster could walk into your classroom at any time, and you can’t change course if you aren’t on course.”
From his standpoint as a student, Michael Gargiulo ’77 also felt Keenan’s desire for him and his classmates to excel. “I always felt Fr. Keenan was rooting for me—and all of us,” he said. “He wanted us to do well in our classes. He wanted to make sure we were applying to colleges we were interested in. He knew if someone had a family crisis, and he would check in on us. At Xavier, we had the feeling that Fr. Keenan considered us more than students who would be gone in four years. We felt we were truly part of his Xavier family.”
Gargiulo first noted Keenan’s profound care and concern for others when he arrived at Xavier as a sophomore transfer student in 1974.
“It’s always tough because everyone had a year together, and you’re the new kid,” Gargiulo said. “I remember, though, in my first or second day at Xavier, running into Fr. Keenan outside his office. He greeted me in that Fr. Keenan voice: ‘Hello, Michael.’ I remember being shocked that he knew my name. Years later, he told me that he would practice matching the students’ names with their pictures. It must have taken hours, but Fr. Keenan knew how important it was for the
students to feel they were not anonymous at Xavier—that he knew who they were and that they were a part of the Xavier community.”
But Keenan’s attentiveness and his memorable voice—“the voice of God”—not only expressed care and concern for students, it kept them in line.
“We all met him through his voice. The voice of God would come through the little speaker in the classroom,” said Dr. Tom McGinn ’78, who still remembers how little got past Keenan. As a sophomore on Xavier’s inaugural rugby team, McGinn attended a team party, and within days, he was called into his headmaster’s office. “[Keenan] explained to me that he had heard the news about the party and it should not happen again. It was a
friend of mine’s house. It wasn’t even a Xavier house! I thought, how does he know? Who’s the birdie telling him all of this?”
Years later, when they would be guests at the same parties, Keenan still encouraged suitable behavior in McGinn. “He would quickly make his way over to me, shake my hand, give me that look, and say in his deep baritone voice, ‘Thomas, please behave,’ even though I was 50 years old, a professor and a doctor,” McGinn recalled.
Keenan’s brother Jesuits understood that they were part of his extended family, too. Living in community is essential to life in the Society, and Jim Keenan took that seriously. Throughout his life, he made an effort to stay in touch with the men with whom he served— both those who remained in the Society and those who left—and he particularly relished the role of mentor.
When Vin Biagi, S.J. ’67 returned to Xavier as a scholastic in 1973, Keenan went out of his way to transcend what was then a standard distance between ordained priests and young scholastics. “They weren’t nasty to us, but they didn’t have much to do with us,” Biagi recalled. “Jim was just the opposite. He was always the bigger brother slipping you $10 so you could go out and do something—literally.”
Biagi hadn’t known Keenan well during his days as a Xavier student, but he quickly grew to admire him as a friend and role model. “Just watching him, I learned so much about what it meant to be a good priest,” he said. “His thoughtfulness, his generosity of spirit and time and energy—up until his dying day, he never stopped. I just had so much respect and admiration and deep affection for him. He was definitely one of those people in your life who makes you the person you are.”
Ed Goutink recalled that his uncle (a “quasi-celebrity” in the family, by his recollection) always extended an invitation to his fellow Jesuits to accompany him when he went home to Queens. “Whether it be a holy day or some sort of Irish day of celebration or just a random Sunday and Grandma was hosting dinner, he always had a couple of his buddies—fellow priests—with him,” Goutink
1. Four presidents of Xavier—Keenan (1977-81), Bill Wood, S.J. (1967-77), Anthony LaBau, S.J. (1964-67), and Pat Sullivan, S.J. (1981-88). 2. Keenan with his parents and his sisters Rose, left, and Mary, right.
recalled. “Over the years, several of them became very close. Many of them were Xavier men—Tony Aracich, Henry Zenorini, Joe Lux. He knew they would be welcomed at my grandmother’s house. If they were a friend of Jimmy’s, they were a friend of ours. If he was bringing you along, you were treated with the right amount of dignity and importance.”
“People grow larger than life at Xavier sometimes, but I think Fr. Keenan fit the bill. He is an enduring symbol of what Xavier’s all about.”
—Dr. Franklin Caesar ’72 P’00
Those who came to know the Keenan family developed a clear understanding of how Jim Keenan became the kind of leader he was. Bud Dobbins ’64, who lived with the Keenans during his law school years, witnessed this familial influence first-hand.
Dobbins had long been close with Keenan, and after his college graduation and marriage, he mentioned that he was searching for a place to live. “So he said, ‘Why don’t you stay in my parents’ basement apartment in Jackson
Heights?’” Dobbins recalled.
“I loved Annie and Packy,” Dobbins continued. “Annie, she ruled the family. She was a strong Irish woman, the master of hospitality and generousness. His dad, Packy, wasn’t as sociably outgoing as Annie—he was kind of private, but I could see Packy as the pub owner he was, talking to his patrons. That outreach and caring. It was in Jim’s DNA, how he related to people.”
“He knew family was important,” Ed Goutink added. “At the end of the day, everything revolved around family.”
In 1981, Keenan was named president of McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, where he remained for seven years. The presidencies of Canisius High School (1989-1994) in Buffalo and Saint Peter’s Prep (1994-2006) in Jersey City followed. He would never again work at Xavier. Yet his relationships with Xavier’s Sons—even those he never crossed paths with on 16th Street—deepened through the decades.
Tom O’Hara ’69 P’04 ’06 never met Keenan during his student years, but he worked for him when he taught social studies on 16th Street in the late 1970s. More than
four decades later, in 2020, as O’Hara awoke from three days of unconsciousness after a complicated surgery at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he learned Keenan and Vin Biagi had concelebrated an emergency Mass for him. Keenan called O’Hara often to encourage him during his recovery. “The Boss took seriously his duty to look after the flock. He was the best testament to Xavier there is,” O’Hara said. “If you were part of the family, you were his responsibility.”
If you were part of the extended Xavier family, it turns out you were his responsibility, too.
“All of my family members felt close to him,” Dan Denihan said. “Jim married Kathleen and me, he baptized and married all five of our children, and he christened all 18 of our grandchildren. My mom loved him, too.”
For years, Keenan traveled out to Long Island each January to celebrate Mass with the Denihan family on the Sunday closest to Edith Denihan Tomlin P’65’s birthday—right up to her 99th birthday in January 2020. And when the Lord called her home three months later, not even a global pandemic could keep Jim Keenan from celebrating her funeral.
“All of the churches were closed, and all of the priests were locked up in quarantine,”
Denihan said. “Jack Raslowsky drove Jim out, and we had a beautiful burial service. Nothing deterred Jim. That’s the type of wonderful person he was. He made you feel like he was your special priest, but he was really everybody’s special priest.”
Denihan’s lifelong friend, Ken Nolan ’65, echoed those sentiments.
“I had one grandchild who unfortunately only lived a day,” said Nolan, who never had Keenan in class but became friends with him later through Denihan. “The next day, Jim showed up unannounced to visit my daughter.”
Shortly before his death, Keenan celebrated the funeral Mass for the mother of one of Nolan’s sons-in-law. “He’d never say no,” Nolan said. In fact, when an arcane rule at Nolan’s local parish prevented his twin daughters from celebrating their First Communions together, Keenan stepped in and celebrated a personal Communion Mass in their home—a treasured memory for the family.
“He was a real person who gave you practical answers,” Nolan said. “He wasn’t pontificating. He applied Catholic moral theology to everyday life.”
When he was inducted into the Xavier Hall of Fame last fall, Tom McGinn ended his speech by celebrating Jim Keenan—one of three men who had nominated him for the honor.
“I wanted to not just mention him, but truly honor him,” McGinn said later, recalling moments when Keenan’s support sustained his family. In 2001, as his sister-inlaw Dr. Regina McGinn—wife of his brother Dr. Joseph McGinn ’73 P’10—was dying of cancer in her early 40s, Keenan anointed and later buried her. Twenty years later, he was at Tom McGinn’s side as his best friend from Xavier, Donald Ryan ’78, was succumbing to the same disease.
“Jim was at his house almost every weekend. Just being with Donald and Jim during his last few months was a beautiful thing,” McGinn recalled. “Donald wanted to have more parties before he died. Jim
1. At his 80th birthday celebration with his nieces, Maureen Goutink and Ellen Gallagher. 2. At center stage after a 2016 Xavier Dramatics Society production of Our Town, the first play ever performed in Keenan Commons. 3. Keenan at his 80th birthday celebration alongside Bob Donnelly ’64, Bud Dobbins ’64, and Joe Fisher ’64. 4. Vin Biagi, S.J. ’67 snapped a classic photo of Keenan writing notes during a 2016 Xavier basketball game.would show up for all of them. He and I would end up sitting in a corner talking about Jesuit spirituality.”
On November 30, 2022, Michael Gargiulo had just parked his car when his phone rang. “I looked down and saw it was Fr. Keenan. I knew immediately why he was calling and it brought me to tears. It was exactly a year since my father had passed away, and Fr. Keenan knew that day would be tough,” Gargiulo said. “No doubt, he had marked the day in that notebook of his, the one in which he kept track of Xavier weddings and funerals, christenings and graduations. And every other significant event in the lives of people he touched. Imagine, though—45 years after I graduated, Fr. Keenan called just to see how I was doing. That’s what made him special. That’s the Jim Keenan everyone loved.”
Franklin Caesar shared a similar memory that transpired more than 40 years after the end of his time working for Keenan. On August 17, 2022, the first anniversary of his mother Virginia Caesar P’72 ’81’s death, he received a classic Keenan phone call: “Franklin, I said a Mass for your mother this morning.”
“People grow larger than life at Xavier sometimes, but I think Fr. Keenan fit the bill,” Caesar reflected. “He is an enduring symbol of what Xavier’s all about.”
Ray Otton ’00 met Jim Keenan as a colleague at the former USA Northeast Province office. Eight months later, Otton’s mother died. “My mother was a severe diabetic and lost her legs. He kept me level during those times,” Otton remembered. “He counseled me through that, was there at the wake, after the wake.” Years later, as Otton’s mother-in-law was in decline after a series of strokes, Keenan would bring Communion to her, his father-in-law, and their neighbors in Brooklyn.
Otton and Keenan developed a close bond that deepened over the years, punctuated by the joy and laughter of near-nightly phone calls, the silliness of their joint office Halloween costumes, and in the end, their final goodbye. Otton was holding Keenan’s
hand as he took his last breath.
“No one will ever be as selfless or as special as he was, but if everyone can just carve out a little more time for everyone else, he’d be happy,” Otton said. “He is the closest person to a saint that I’ll ever meet.”
Through his friendship and example, Keenan shaped a new generation of educational leaders in a way that remains palpable at schools across the USA East Province. At Canisius High School, he became a mentor to David Ciancimino, S.J. ’77, who would go on to serve as principal at Canisius, as headmaster at Xavier, as provincial, and since 2015, as president at Canisius.
a formative presence in my life and the lives of so many over many years.”
Xavier President Jack Raslowsky was the young principal of Saint Peter’s Prep when Jim Keenan arrived as president in Jersey City in 1994. The two men became partners in the work and fast friends, developing a lasting connection based on shared values. “All this conversation about partnership and lay leadership and collegiality, he made it real. He lived all that stuff,” Raslowsky said. “He gave great witness to partnering with the laity.”
Until Keenan’s death, they would often visit the sick or attend wakes and funerals together, a matter of deep importance to both men. “I think we got those things in the same way—the need to do it, the importance
“It was remarkable to hear one after the other say, he married me, he christened their kids, he married them, he christened their kids, he said the funeral Mass for my parents. He was not a guy that exercised, he didn’t drink energy drinks—he just had relentless energy. He was driven to do these things.”
—Ed Goutink, Fr. Keenan’s nephew
“In my first assignment as a priest, I arrived at Canisius High School with Fr. Keenan and three other Jesuits. Fr. Keenan would serve as president,” Ciancimino recalled. “We became fast friends and he has been a mentor and dear friend ever since. His warmth and thoughtful care over the years never waned. … Simply put, he was a great man, model priest, and faithful Jesuit who was
of doing it. There was never an ‘It’s too far, there’s too much else to do,’” Raslowsky said. “Jim got the importance of being present, of showing up. I’ve said this time and again: The core of Jim was his priesthood, and the core of that priesthood was Jesus. And at the core of that interaction of his priesthood and Jesus was his sacramental life—not as a social function, not as the way to check a
box—as God entering and reentering our lives through Christ and the mystery of his life, death, and resurrection.”
Dennis Baker, S.J., former president of Xavier High School in Chuuk, Micronesia, and newly installed president of Loyola Blakefield in Maryland, was a Jesuit novice when he first met Jim Keenan in Jersey City in November 2004. A Canisius graduate, Baker had been sent to speak to Saint Peter’s Prep students about vocations, and he was eager to meet the man whose name was still revered in Buffalo.
“Even at that time, he was a legend,” Baker said. “He of course had done his homework, and he knew that I had gone to Canisius. He had this way of making you feel like you were really important, and I think you were really important to him. He was really, really good at that.”
Years later, when the two men lived together in the Xavier Jesuit Community, they enjoyed checking in with each other on
weekend mornings. “I would have a wedding or a baptism, and he would, too. We would have a cup of coffee and say, ‘What do you have today? I have this baptism or wedding— what do you have?’ He was going out to be with the people of God, and I was, too.”
In his final role as director of donor relations for the province, Jim Keenan met Grace Cotter Regan, who went on to become president of Boston College High School. “His voice just sticks in my head—his laugh, those eyes, and his smile. He invited me in like I was an old friend,” she recalled. “I leaned on him. He was so sage, so strategic, and had such a great sense of humor.”
Over time, as he did with so many others, Jim Keenan came to know Grace Cotter Regan’s entire family. And like so many, Cotter Regan learned of Jim Keenan’s greatest gifts in her time of greatest need.
When her father, legendary BC High football coach and athletic director Jim Cotter, was diagnosed with ALS in 2006, Keenan— who had never met her father before—began visiting him whenever he was in Boston. “He would come and say, ‘Let’s go visit Coach,’” Cotter Regan remembered. “He’d be sitting in my dad’s room, and they’d be telling stories and belly laughing. I wasn’t even in the room!”
“Through my tenure here at BC High, I still picked up the phone to ask his advice,” she continued. “His black book is something I think about all the time. Much like Jim, I think about the little things. My father taught me that as well. If you can do that, why wouldn’t you? It doesn’t have to be showy—it’s the whole Ignatian deeds, not words. He knew that pastoral care is most important.”
1. Keenan with his sisters, Mary and Rose. 2. At a party held for Donald Ryan ’78 shortly before Ryan’s passing. 3. Keenan with his family in 2019. 4. With his friend and former colleague, Ray Otton ’00, in 2022.
On the last weekend of his life, Jim Keenan, S.J. was where he was meant to be—with the people of God.
On Saturday, August 12, 2023, he baptized Alessandra Palmieri, granddaughter of Richie Battaglino ’67 P’96, on the main altar at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Later that day, he accompanied the family to a celebratory dinner at Tiro a Segno, the Italian rifle club in Greenwich Village.
swept into action and accompanied him to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital. When they returned to the hospital the following day with their daughter, Antonia Palmieri, she brought baby Alessandra—the last baby Keenan ever baptized. There, they met Keenan’s relatives, including his niece, Maureen Goutink—the first baby he baptized.
“Jim waited for us to say our final goodbyes and spend time with him on his
“Jim was tireless in how he did things—the calls, the availability for the sacraments—but the reality of Jim Keenan is so much bigger than the legend of Jim Keenan. Just as Jesus lives, Jim lives in the faith, the Church, the Society, the God he served so well.”—Jack Raslowsky
For all the sadness that surrounds an unexpected loss, there was notable joy and pride woven throughout Keenan’s wake and prayer service on August 17 and his funeral on August 18. For his family, it was intensely moving to see the impact their brother, uncle, and cousin had made on thousands of lives.
“It was hard to believe. Everyone thought Uncle Jim would live forever. But it got to the point where you’re not even sad anymore, you’re just proud,” said Ed Goutink. “It was remarkable to hear one after the other say, he married me, he christened my kids, he married them, he christened their kids, he said the funeral Mass for my parents. He was not a guy that exercised, he didn’t drink energy drinks—he just had relentless energy. He was driven to do these things.”
“In anybody’s life,” his cousin John Ehrling added, “nobody ever met a better person.”
Those who labored with Keenan most closely through the years emphasized that the reverence in which he was held, both in life and after his death, was about more than a life well-lived.
“He had a great day. We made sure he skipped the subway and had him in a limo going up to St. Patrick’s. Everyone around him felt his loving presence—and the loving presence of Jesus that he brought with him. He connected with everyone, especially Alessandra’s parents and godparents. Fr. Keenan bringing our granddaughter into the Catholic faith is a gift we will always cherish,” Battaglino said. “At dinner, he was eating filet mignon. That was a special night. He loved the rifle club. He was like a celebrity in there. There is a tremendous comfort in knowing Fr. Keenan spent his last day doing what he loved most, surrounded by those he loved and those who loved him.”
After Keenan suffered a heart attack at the Tiro, Battaglino and his wife, Margaret,
final journey to the Lord,” said his sister, Rose Fitzsimmons-Capezza. “He touched the lives of everyone and will be missed.”
Dennis Baker was traveling back to New York when he heard Keenan had fallen ill. After his plane landed, he rushed to Xavier, changed his clothes, and traveled to the hospital. When he arrived, Keenan’s breathing was labored, and it was clear the end was near.
“You probably have not seen a priest cry doing the Anointing of the Sick,” Baker said. “I did my prayers, I took my stole off, and I whispered something that his family couldn’t hear: ‘That’s enough now. No more buses, no more train rides. That’s enough. Thank you for everything. I love you.’”
Jim Keenan died later that day, August 13, at 6:25 p.m. He was 86 years old.
“Jim was tireless in how he did things—the calls, the availability for the sacraments— but the reality of Jim Keenan is so much bigger than the legend of Jim Keenan,” Jack Raslowsky reflected. “Just as Jesus lives, Jim lives in the faith, the church, the Society, the God he served so well.”
“We really make a mistake if we think all of this is about Jim. It was always about God,” Dennis Baker added. “Everybody wanted a piece of him. For us as Jesuits, guys who got to live with him, we were honored by that—that we got most of his time, and he was with us before he was with anybody else. Despite what everybody might say, he was not perfect, but his life was absolutely dedicated to God.”
“God took him in the right way,” his sister, Mary Goutink, said. “Doing what he loved to do.”
Shawna Gallagher Vega is Xavier’s Vice President for Communications and Marketing. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Boston College.
Forty-eight minutes forever.
According to Nick Scerbo, son of former Xavier football player and coach Nick Scerbo ’72, the memorable title of his excellent new history of New Jersey’s storied Shore Conference comes from one coach’s pregame address to his troops.
His players were about to take the field to play their school’s traditional rival in the last game of the season. For most of the seniors, the coach said, it would be the final game of their football careers. Win or lose, he told them, they would remember this day for the rest of their lives: the challenges they met, the deeds they accomplished. Forty-eight minutes forever...
For me and my teammates on the 1968 Xavier Kaydets, our “48 minutes forever” would come with the renewal of New York City’s oldest high school gridiron rivalry on Thanksgiving Day.
Back in August, Daily News sportswriter Bill Travers had picked Xavier to win it all in the Catholic Football Conference. That’s why WPIX-TV had selected our annual season-ending clash with Fordham Prep for a special holiday edition of its High School Game of the Week
And what a show it would be. All students belonged to the Army JROTC in those Vietnam War years, and on Thanksgiving morning, the Xavier Regiment—900 strong and clad in their dress blues— would pass in review on Fordham University’s Jack Coffey Field before taking their seats in the stands. Seated with them would be the “Game Group,” excellent musicians on special assignment from the Regimental Band. The senior players’ moms, dressed in their Sunday best, would muster at midfield, where they would be presented with corsages. The X-Squad, Xavier’s much-decorated drill team, would perform at halftime. And in the broadcast booth calling the game for WPIX would be the legendary Marty Glickman and his partner, New York Giants great Al DeRogatis.
But the fall campaign had not gone as predicted for Coach Leo Paquin’s men. Plagued by injuries to key players like quarterback Tim Moffitt ’70 and fullback Tommy Clarke ’69—both Daily News All City selections—and linebacker Charlie Smith ’69, who would go on to captain Lehigh, the Kaydets had stumbled to a 1-5-1 record. The defeats
were maddeningly narrow: 13-12 (to mighty Farrell), 12-7 (St. John’s Prep), 26-19 (DeWitt Clinton), and 38-30 (Stuyvesant). And an epic battle against Saint Peter’s Prep in Jersey City’s Roosevelt Stadium had ended in a 6-6 tie when Xavier was stopped on the Marauders’ 3-yard line as time expired.
Not surprisingly, Travers had demoted Xavier to 14-point underdogs against the Ancient Foe Who Dwells Atop Rose Hill. But what he (and Fordham Prep) didn’t know was that on this day of days, and for the first time all season, everyone who was supposed to have been in the line-up on opening day was present and fit for duty.
Even better, before kickoff, as Xavier’s starting offensive unit was lined up under the stands waiting to run out onto the field and be introduced on camera, some boisterous young Fordham Prep alumni began showering insults—and cups of beer—down upon them. The Kaydets didn’t look up. And they never looked back. Final score that day: Xavier 32, Fordham Prep 0.
Two weeks later, two teammates and I were recruited by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, a school that was nowhere on our radar before Thanksgiving Day. My gridiron career at Kings Point would
1968
be the opposite of glorious, but I would also be introduced to a quaint English sport there that I would bring back with me to 16th Street when I returned after graduation to coach football.
Forty-eight minutes forever…
Forty years later, when MSG decided to televise the 2008 Turkey Bowl, I was asked to provide Mike Quick and his crew with material they could use on air during lulls in the action. And that was how I discovered one of America’s great high school sports stories.
So…what would you like to know?
Excellent question. The first thing to know about Xavier football history, and especially our gridiron wars with the Ancient Foe, is that record-keeping in the early years ranged from haphazard to nonexistent.
It is written that Xavier played its first football game against Stevens College of New Jersey in 1883. According to the official history, Xavier: Reflections on 150 Years (1847-1997), “This game helped ready Xavier for its first gridiron contest with Fordham, played on December 2, 1883. It ended in a tie score of 6-6.” Since that history was published, however, evidence has surfaced indicating that Xavier football actually got underway the year before, in 1882.
Years ago, Xavier football’s website mentioned a 0-0 tie played in 1886, but according to an article written by Fordham Prep staff in last November’s 100th Turkey Bowl game program, “The first recorded Turkey Bowl took place on November 27, 1887, as chronicled in a Fordham Monthly article: ‘The Xaviers came up on Sunday, November 27, and played a good game. It grew dark before either team scored a single point.’”
1883? 1886? 1887? Dunno. (We’re working on it.)
The earliest year from which an actual Thanksgiving Day score survives is 1905, and that contest wasn’t much of one: Fordham Prep 32, Xavier 0. There was apparently no game in 1906, but we know that the Rams vanquished the men from 16th Street again in 1907 (61-0) and 1908 (10-0).
Three shutouts (by a combined score of 103-0) to start the 20th century? Is that why there’s no record of Fordham Prep and Xavier playing each other again for the next 19 years?
Possibly, but we also know that Xavier discontinued football around the time of World War I, and the program was not reinstated until 1927. According to the official 1997 Xavier history, “It was said to be a new type of football where ‘strategy not beef’ constituted the game.”
In a word: no.
According to The New York Times in 1907, the “Fordham Preps” played “Xavier College” on Halloween. (The Pumpkin Bowl?) The final score was the aforementioned horror: 61-0, Fordham Prep.
Nope.
For decades, “The History” reprinted in the game program each Thanksgiving listed no score for 1929.
No Turkey Bowl in 1929? Why not? The stock market had crashed just a few weeks before, and the Great Depression was on its way. New York was ground zero for this world crisis—was everyone too panicked to concern themselves with something as inconsequential as a high school football game?
When MSG decided to televise the 2008 Turkey Bowl, I was asked to provide Mike Quick and his crew with material they could use on air during lulls in the action. And that was how I discovered one of America’s great high school sports stories.
But in 2008, as I pursued my research for Mike Quick and his MSG crew, I was mucking about in the New York Times online archive late one night and came across articles dated November 6 and 7, 1929, that reported on all the high school football action on November 5— Election Day.
Up at Fordham Field, the reporter wrote, 3,000 spectators were on hand as “St. Francis Xavier and Fordham Prep, two deadly rivals in the Jesuit ranks, played a sensational game, which was won by Xavier, 19 to 13. The feature was furnished by Ben Moynahan of Xavier, who ran
back a punt 70 yards for a touchdown in the final period.”
“Ben Moynahan” was Bernard Moynahan ’30, who went on to become an Army captain in World War II. The Moynahan Trophy, which is awarded annually to Xavier’s best student-athlete, is named in honor and memory of Captain Moynahan, who was killed in action in Italy.
Oh, and the 1930 Xavier-Fordham Prep game was also played on Election Day, with the Kaydets winning that contest as well, 25-6.
And don’t forget the games that were postponed due to bad weather. For many years, the Turkey Bowl was played at Fordham every year, regardless of who the home team was. But the university did not want high school gridders churning Jack Coffey into mud when it rained. Or snowed. That’s why the 1967 game, my first as a Kaydet, was postponed to Saturday, a bleak but dry day on which we played before an intimate gathering of family and friends…and were shut out, 19-0.
On at least one occasion, “The Game” was postponed due to faulty meteorology. In 1987, with the Thanksgiving forecast calling for heavy rain, and an NCAA Division III playoff game scheduled at Jack Coffey Field for that Saturday, the Turkey Bowl was moved to Sunday. Thanksgiving Day dawned clear and sunny, with nary a cloud in the sky.
Just two years later, in 1989, the Turkey Bowl—which also happened to be that year’s Catholic High School Football League B Division Championship Game—was moved to Sunday after New York awakened to eight inches of snow on Thanksgiving morning. Tulio Serrata ’90 picked off a Fordham Prep pass in the end zone in that game to seal another hard-fought win, and the title, for Xavier, 14-12.
As far as we know, the 2020 Turkey Bowl is the only fall classic in 136 years (140 years?) to be canceled on account of plague.
Over the decades, it is Fordham University’s beautiful Rose Hill campus that has most often provided a classic autumn backdrop for what has become a great holiday tradition drawing as many as 8,600 fans. Referred to simply as Fordham Field in early newspaper accounts of The Game, the venue was renamed Jack Coffey Field in the 1950s after Fordham’s legendary athletic director.
But in the 1950s and 1960s, Xavier and Fordham Prep also met at least nine times on Randall’s Island at Triborough Stadium (later renamed Downing Stadium). In recent decades, we have clashed on playing fields as distant and varied as the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, Long Island, and Brooklyn fields that Manhattan’s Knights have also called home, including Midwood High School, Erasmus High School, and Aviator Field—Where the Lion Sleeps.
The Game has also been played at Recreation Park in Long Island City’s Queens Plaza (1932), Mount St. Michael Academy’s McGovern Field (1958), and, in 1985, on John F. Kennedy High School’s AstroTurf field after the Knights and Rams arrived at Jack Coffey Field on Thanksgiving morning to find it submerged in an autumn monsoon.
According to last Thanksgiving’s game program, anyway, the Ancient
Foe leads this series, 55-41-4.
Well, look at YOU! Highlights and miscellany, is it? Coming right up...
1950: Xavier demolishes Fordham Prep, 60-6, to finish the season undefeated at 7-0-1.
1966: Xavier shuts out Fordham Prep, 13-0. Xavier football (and Boston rugby) legend Bill Stevens ’67 recalls The Game being played in an incredible heat inversion. “It was 86 degrees and people were dying all over the city from perhaps the worst smog ever. I was secretly glad that Leo [Paquin, legendary Fordham Block of Granite and longtime Xavier head football coach] had me playing only one way. We won to ease the pain.”
1974: It was a disappointing season for the Bruins, and sophomore Bobby Haskins ’77 will be making his first-ever varsity start at quarterback on Thanksgiving Day. The Daily News responds by making Fordham Prep the prohibitive favorites.
At the traditional Thanksgiving Eve pep rally in a packed gym, the usual parade of coaches and captains address the multitudes, but Xavier’s rambunctious Sons chant for the rookie to take the stage and the microphone. They know the lanky and likeable young man is prone to say whatever comes to mind. Indeed, they are counting on it.
Bobby answers their summons, and he does not disappoint. He is uncharacteristically shy at first, but, egged on by his public, young Mr. Haskins soon warms to the task and delivers a stemwinder right off the top of his noggin that concludes: “… and I guarantee you that tomorrow we will beat the Rams by 40 points!” The coaches’ jaws all hit the floor in unison as the crowd goes wild.
Final score on Thanksgiving Day: Xavier 54, Fordham Prep 6.
For Xavier’s gridiron warriors, the Turkey Bowl is (usually) the last battle in a long, hard campaign that begins three months before, in the heat and dust of training camp. Their autumn, like Julius Caesar’s Gaul, is divided into three parts: the regular schedule, the CHSFL playoffs...and Thanksgiving Day.
1980: The Bruins defeat Fordham Prep, 34-12, for their first Turkey Bowl victory since 1976. There is no love lost between these two teams, and hostilities resume a short time later in front of Fordham University’s Rose Hill gym when the Xavier players surround and ring Fordham’s Victory Bell. It’s the most action this chime has seen since it was the ship’s bell aboard the World War II Japanese aircraft carrier Junyo and was blown into the Pacific near Saipan by an American bomb.
2006: Xavier arrives at Jack Coffey Field as the decided underdog after an undistinguished 4-6 season in the CHSFL’s A Division. The Rams are confident, and for good reason. They have been the victor in 12 of
The epic that is the city’s oldest high school football rivalry is a hundred chapters long now. Those chapters have been written over 140 years—in times of peace and war, prosperity and economic hardship, and tranquility and upheaval, both political and cultural. They are inextricably intertwined with the history, tradition, lore, and legend of 16th Street and New York City.
the previous 14 Turkey Bowls, including the last seven in a row, and are coming off a successful season in which Fordham Prep has gone 9-1 in league play and won the AA Division regular-season championship.
But the Rams are in for a surprise. Xavier head coach Chris Stevens ’83 installed the classic single wing offense earlier that season and, after some fits and starts, The Amazing Fantastic Gridiron Way Back Machine finally kicks into high gear on Thanksgiving morning as the Knights defeat the heavily-favored Rams, 28-14.
This Turkey Bowl’s MVP is fullback and middle linebacker Ryan McTiernan ’07, son of 1968 Turkey Bowl MVP Roger McTiernan ’69 P’07. The game also marks the varsity debut of sophomore running back Seamus Kelly ’09. (Not Yet) Famous Seamus rushes for 89 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, and runs back a kick for 60 more yards, giving the Xavier faithful a memorable first glimpse of the football phenom.
yards and six touchdowns against the Mount, runs for three more TDs against the defending AA champions. Ryan Kilgallen ’13 and Brendan McCabe ’13 chip in two more scores, and the Knights book their place in the CHSFL title game, 38-21.
Another excellent question.
2007: The Knights host the Turkey Bowl at Aviator Field just five days after their historic CHSFL A Division Championship victory. Trailing St. John the Baptist, 27-14, with just 7:20 left in that game, the Four Horsemen of 16th Street—Jimmy Kowalski ’08, Seamus Kelly ’09, Mike Erickson ’08, and Craig Scardapane ’08— exploded for 31 points to stun the Cougars, 45-33, as WNBC sports anchor Bruce Beck and his crew looked on from the sidelines.
Even so, Xavier is again the underdog against the repeat AA Division regular-season champion Rams. With TV crews from WNBC, WABC, WCBS, Fox 5, and MSG jostling each other for position, Xavier Nation turns out in force, filling the stands. There are empty seats on Fordham Prep’s side of the field, but the 16th Street faithful choose instead to stand six deep along Xavier’s sideline from one end zone to the other. The Knights reward their fans with yet another thrilling win, 20-14.
2012: Just days after battling back from a 10-point halftime deficit to upset No. 1 seed Mount St. Michael, 40-36, in their CHSFL playoff opener at Fordham University’s Jack Coffey Field, the Knights find themselves back on Rose Hill, where the Turkey Bowl will double as a CHSFL AA Division semifinal playoff game.
It’s been a long season for Xavier, starting with the death of football coach and athletic director Rod Walker in September, followed by a 5-2 division record that has made the Knights a No. 7 playoff seed, and ending in the floods and fires of Superstorm Sandy. Just two days after that catastrophe, a Nor’easter buries the burnt-out ruins of many players’ and coaches’ houses in snow. A quarter of the team is homeless and their Brooklyn practice fields are no more. Xavier itself is shut down for a week.
But Coach Chris Stevens’ men have vowed to play on, practicing wherever they can find space, including the school cafeteria. They are on a mission, and Xavier Nation has their backs. TV crews from WNBC and WABC bear witness as Tre Solomon ’14, who rushed for 264
For Xavier’s gridiron warriors, the Turkey Bowl is (usually) the last battle in a long, hard campaign that begins three months before, in the heat and dust of training camp. Their autumn, like Julius Caesar’s Gaul, is divided into three parts: the regular schedule, the CHSFL playoffs...and Thanksgiving Day. Each is its own season, but the annual showdown with the Ancient Foe weighs heavily in the final reckoning as to whether the year has been a success or a failure.
For alumni of both schools, the Turkey Bowl serves as Homecoming: an opportunity not only to support our football teams, but also to renew ties with the people with whom we were close during a very important time in our lives. Back in 2010, a Wall Street Journal reporter interviewed me about New York’s Jesuit pigskin classic. I told him it was fitting that this game is played on a holiday centered on the extended family. As always, I said, I would spend Thanksgiving morning and early afternoon with my Xavier family cheering our guys on, and celebrate afterward with the O’Hara clan.
But The Game is bigger than that. This epic that is the city’s oldest high school football rivalry is a hundred chapters long now. Those chapters have been written over 140 years—in times of peace and war, prosperity and economic hardship, and tranquility and upheaval, both political and cultural. They are inextricably intertwined with the history, tradition, lore, and legend of 16th Street and New York City, not to mention the many Xavier families from whom generations of Kaydets, Bruins, and Knights have come forth to play their parts in this saga.
I’ve been there to see nearly half those hundred chapters written— as a player, as a coach, and now as erstwhile scribe. My father, Tom O’Hara ’43 P’69, played, as did my son, Ciaran O’Hara ’06, but there are dozens, if not scores, of other Xavier families who can say the same. None of us can hold a candle to the Tweedy tribe, the Burke brigade, or the House of Steffens, to name but a few 16th Street gridiron dynasties who have contributed whole platoons of fathers, sons, grandfathers, uncles, nephews, and cousins to the cause.
Here’s to the next hundred installments of Xavier’s own Iliad!
A graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Tom O’Hara ’69 P’04 ’06 served as Xavier rugby’s first coach upon the team’s founding in 1976. He was inducted into the Xavier Hall of Fame in 2012.
Interreligious dialogue has long been important on 16th Street—and perhaps never more so than today, as students learn to navigate a deeply divided society. With this in mind, students, faculty, and administrators representing diverse traditions gathered in January to share their reflections on faith and religion. They did so in the Sons of Xavier Center, a space that honors John Courtney Murray, S.J. 1920, a chief contributor to Dignitatis humanae, the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Liberty.
Kaija DeWitt-Allen, Director of Campus Ministry (Catholic/ Moderator): What is one practice or ritual or prayer in your religious tradition that you enjoy or find edifying?
Adam Boulamaali ’25 (Muslim): Ramadan is very special to me. It’s kind of difficult being a teenager with a lot of responsibilities and having school on top of everything else, but it’s also helped me find a piece of myself and also find different parts of myself that I didn’t realize I had.
Joshua Dayo ’24 (Catholic): I love to sing, whether it be church-related or not. Singing has always been a part of my life. Sometimes, when I do work, or am at home, I randomly start humming or singing, whether it be church songs or just songs in general.
Ean Tom ’24 (Protestant): I enjoy praying at the dinner table every day, regardless of where that may be. It can even be at a restaurant. It’s really strange because a lot of the time, waiters will tell my family that it’s really nice to see us praying, but it’s just something my family does, because we’re very religious. It’s a shame you don’t see more families doing something like that.
Aaron Shapiro, Faculty (Jewish): My favorite Jewish holiday is Passover because it takes place mostly in the home, and it’s both a family tradition and religious tradition.
Michael Drosos, Faculty (Catholic/Greek Orthodox background): With Greek Orthodox Christians observing Easter on a different day, I experienced a kind of double Lent—each with its unique traditions.
In Catholicism, abstaining from meat on Fridays was a Lenten practice, while in Greek Orthodoxy, it extended to avoiding meat, dairy, and oil throughout the entire Lenten period. As a child, it held a different significance, but with age, it shifted towards inner peace, physical reflection, and spiritual preparation.
Neal Kaushik ’26 (Hindu): My favorite tradition is Ganesh Chaturthi, which means prayer to connect to deeper wisdom and prosperity. Right before any tradition, you have to sit in prayer first. It’s special because Ganesh is the son of Shiva. He’s always perceived as being the first one you pray to, even in the morning, and then you pray to the gods. At times of Diwali, or Holi, that would be one of my special prayers.
Nathan Schulhoff ’26 (Jewish): My favorite ritual is Shabbat. It happens every Friday. I actually didn’t know this until recently, but it’s the most important holiday in Judaism. I love it, because I get to pray to God with my family, which is really special.
Kim Smith, Headmaster (Catholic): Similarly to Shabbat, the liturgical seasons for Catholicism are a repeated routine. I love Lent, for the giving up and the peace that it can bring about. I also love Advent as a liturgical season because the whole goal in that season is to pay attention. I think whether it’s paying attention on Fridays, or pulling out of that spiritual practice of paying attention differently, paying attention
well, or paying attention to wisdom—I love that we’re called to do that regularly. Every year, you have to remember to pay attention again.
“Being able to learn and realize that my religion is similar to what was being taught in class and learning more about the interconnectivity of religions opened my mind up. And it’s also made me more connected to Islam—my God.”
—Adam Boulamaali ’25
DeWitt-Allen: For the students, how has your faith changed, grown, and looked different since you’ve come to Xavier?
Kaushik: I’m realizing how other religions function, and I always try to relate them to my own religion. For example, in Christianity, you look to find your true self and your passions—it’s similar for me. Learning in class is also fun—I get to learn about religion, and that carries across multiple classes. I find this very valuable in my own religion, and I find that all of this connects to my own personal life and my future.
Boulamaali: When I first came to Xavier, I went into my religion class very closed-minded. Being able to learn and realize that my religion is
similar to what was being taught in class and learning more about the interconnectivity of religions opened my mind up. And it’s also made me more connected to Islam—my God. It made me realize the value of other religions as well, and how we’re all similar.
Tom: I think the most growth I’ve seen in myself at Xavier was during my Theology and Ethics class. Because I think it’s important that we realize there are controversial topics out there, and it’s important to talk about them, empathize, and understand other people’s religions and groups.
Dayo: I came from a Catholic school before I came to Xavier. I envisioned religion classes at Xavier to be similar; however, its approach is more specific, starting with the Bible and gradually delving into familiar topics. Theology and Ethics was one of the most interesting classes because of how different it was. It applies more secular thinking to discussions, acknowledging Xavier’s diversity. Instead of asking, “What does the church say about this?” we’re asked, “What does this mean? How can you use this to make your own decisions?”
Schulhoff: Going to school, I was very closed-minded. I didn’t think about how I could have any type of connection with God at all. In my religion class last year, we performed an exercise where we needed to close our eyes and imagine we were in a specific space where God was
talking to us. It was the first time I felt something. Xavier brought me into a new light, and I want to follow that.
Drosos: I’ve been a teacher for more than a decade, and I’ve only taught at public schools. I attended Catholic school from kindergarten until college. My first public school course that I took as a student was in graduate school. Catholicism and faith were things I took for granted in my life and put aside when I was in my early 20s—because I resented the idea that I was always having to pick between Greek Orthodoxy and Catholicism growing up. That was my introduction to what pluralism is, which is this idea of interconnectivity between faith traditions. From a very early age, I felt tension with faith because it felt like I was a political football insofar as defining my faith would simultaneously excite one parent and disappoint the other. Shifting from New York public school to Xavier adds a dimension to my experience as an educator, as I aim to think about how the tenet of cura personalis can be explored in a daily mathematics class. I didn’t just apply to any other school. I applied for a job at Xavier, specifically, because I haven’t been taking my faith for granted.
Shapiro: I’ve been enjoying praying with our homeroom group. The Montserrat retreat also gave me a chance to talk with students and gave the students a chance to have some interfaith dialogue.
DeWitt-Allen: What does daily life look like for you within your religious practice? What are the ways that your faith tradition is woven throughout your day? Has Xavier helped support you in that or encouraged a new awareness of that for you?
Kaushik: During my morning commute, I listen to the prayers of Ganesh and Hanuman. I normally talk to God about how the day is going and how I’m thankful that I’m being kept safe. Once in a while at Xavier, I’ll spend 10 to 20 minutes in an empty space and think about God. Before my time at Xavier, I didn’t know what the presence of God felt like, but now I feel like God is always there for me and that I should be thankful. By the end of the day, I have a 15-minute session with my family, where we talk about how God impacted our life in a good way and how he has been present throughout the day.
“I think the most growth I’ve seen in myself at Xavier was during my Theology and Ethics class. Because I think it’s important that we realize there are controversial topics out there, and it’s important to talk about them, empathize, and understand other people’s religions and groups.”—Ean Tom ’24
Boulamaali: I’m supposed to pray five times a day, although sometimes I’m not able to. I try to pray at least once a day. That usually happens at night or when I get home from school. Throughout the day I always say Bismillah—meaning “in the name of Allah,” which also translates to thankfulness to God. It’s important to carry that thankfulness and recognize that God is with you. During my prayers at night, I try to reflect and I usually make dua, which means to call out to God to grant us his favors and answer our requests. It eases me when I go to bed at night, and it makes me feel a lot better, especially when I’m having a tough day.
Dayo: Before I go to bed, I usually say the Act of Contrition and the Guardian Angel Prayer. I continue my prayer by saying, “Thank you for a great day and for the opportunities I’ve been given.” My father told me that at an early age, he found that there’s very simple value in being able to live another day. He tells me, “You don’t realize the value of something until you lose it.” Realizing that at an early age is a great thing. As a comic book fan, I connect religion to the concept of the multiverse, exploring the idea of different choices and outcomes in various scenarios. In moments of urgency, I question the next best action, seeking guidance from God on potential outcomes to determine the best course of action.
Tom: In the morning, I put an audio version of the Bible on and listen to an interpretation of the reading given by a pastor. I think it’s a good
way to wake up and stay grateful and appreciative of what we have. I’ll also usually say a prayer asking to be a little bit less anxious for the day and to be happier and more appreciative of what I have. On Wednesdays, I go to my youth group, where we’ll do worship.
Schulhoff: I try to practice my faith every day. My family is not very religious, but I want to become a more religious person, so I pray every night. I’ve recently been praying for peace in the Middle East.
Boulamaali: Listening to the Quran really helps me. We all talk about anxiety and struggling—I know from personal experience, being able to listen to something that you hold very dear to you and your faith really helps me calm down.
Drosos: There are small moments when we can be thankful. One of the things you could say in any faith is “thank you.” There’s a really great book called From Heaven to Mirth, by James Martin, S.J., which talks about laughter as a part of faith. I believe when we laugh with other people, we forge genuine connections. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to genuinely connect and laugh with somebody who might be of a different background. It is really prayerful to me because to share laughter is to share understanding—and that is a step towards having important interfaith conversations.
Shapiro: In Judaism, we are called to pray, to act justly, and to look after others. For me, stepping into homeroom is a reminder to do all of those things. Xavier’s mission reminds me to do myself what I want to help my students to do. Then we pray together, often a prayer that helps us to set our intention for the season or the day.
Smith: I like the idea of interruptive prayer. The practice that I like most here at Xavier is the daily Mass that takes place during community period. I try to go every day. My favorite part of that prayer is when I see other people there, who also made a choice or commitment to interrupt a very busy day to pray. What I love about the particulars of that form of prayer is that it gives you time to rest in Scripture—it gives you time to witness mystery, and then it gives you time to think about how you’re going to bring that with you. To get yourself to interrupt your day to do that is a challenge that’s worth it.
DeWitt-Allen: Have your classmates or colleagues expressed curiosity about your faith? What makes you curious about other faiths?
Boulamaali: Usually when it’s my turn to lead my class in prayer at Xavier, I’ll say a Muslim prayer—just something simple, but usually after, everybody asks me what it means. A lot of times, they’re curious about what I’m saying and about the meaning behind it. My coaches are also very supportive and allow me to take breaks [during Ramadan]. It helps me feel stronger, and makes me feel like I can do anything.
Kaushik: In Global 9, we discussed how the caste system in Hinduism works. My friend asked me how the caste system impacts me, what the Hindu gods represent, and how I incorporate them into my prayers.
Through my friends, I’ve started questioning my own religious interests. They encourage me to ask more questions and gain more knowledge about the things we discuss. That’s why I like religion class—even if it’s based on Christianity, I feel like I can still relate it to my religion.
Schulhoff: During Christmas at Xavier last year, I brought in a dreidel and my classmates asked me to explain the backstory of Hanukkah. It was special to have friends asking questions and appreciating my culture—it just shows how connected we all really are.
Tom: We covered a whole unit on Protestantism in AP European History, and lots of questions were being asked by my classmates. It was interesting to learn about my own faith, history, and the culture, and I thought it was interesting to hear how my classmates responded and what questions they had about my faith.
Dayo: I haven’t received a lot of questions about my religion from
“In Judaism, we are called to pray, to act justly, and to look after others. For me, stepping into homeroom is a reminder to do all of those things. Xavier’s mission reminds me to do myself what I want to help my students to do. Then we pray together, often a prayer that helps us to set our intention for the season or the day.”
—Aaron Shapiro
classmates and colleagues and that could simply be because I’ve been in Catholic school all my life, so people know what my faith means. I’ve had so many unique opportunities relating to my faith given to me, though—I sing at church and I’ve been given the chance to say a prayer in Filipino. Experiences like this have been very nice because they’ve
given me the chance to combine something very special to Xavier and something very special to me.
Drosos: I was hesitant when I was your age to identify as being Catholic or being Greek Orthodox. I was raised very much with both faith traditions in a very authentic way. I felt a hesitancy to identify with a specific faith tradition. I know there are a lot of students at Xavier like that, too. I want to make sure, as a teacher, that kids feel okay exploring that tension that they might feel. When teenage boys realize that other people are thinking about similar spiritual big questions, they are less likely to feel lonely. And I think the less lonely we feel, the more likely we are to engage in conversation. I have seen this crystal clear on retreat, especially Kairos. We need boys to talk more about how they are experiencing the world. It changes their life.
“I think St. Francis Xavier’s story supports spiritual journeys. Xavier, Ignatius of Loyola, and Peter Faber became friends at school and their desire to know God was so strong, and that changed the world. There’s something about that story that I think permeates here.”
—Kim SmithShapiro: Both colleagues and students have started thoughtful conversations about faith, and that’s something that almost never happened at the other schools where I’ve worked. At our Montserrat retreat, several students asked me about my faith and my experience of working at Xavier. I’m grateful to them for risking a potentially awkward moment by introducing the topic, and they showed great consideration in the way that they asked. It allowed us to get to know each other and share more of what we believe.
Smith: I think St. Francis Xavier’s story supports spiritual journeys. Xavier, Ignatius of Loyola, and Peter Faber became friends at school and their desire to know God was so strong, and that changed the world. There’s something about that story that I think permeates here. There’s this friendship that matters so greatly here—it matters to me to bear witness to it, to know the history behind it, and that we’re part of this important lineage that uses friendship to call towards God.
DeWitt-Allen: How have your experiences on retreat or doing service been a source of encouragement in living out your own tradition’s call to prayer and good works?
Tom: I grew up in a household that emphasized the importance of mission trips. I attended a public school before Xavier, so I think it’s great that I go to a school that upholds the value of serving others. CFX trips at Xavier have been life-changing. I’ve gotten to
appreciate different people and the insight they’ve given me into their communities, and the fact that we can mutually respect and be in solidarity with one another.
Boulamaali: I’ve volunteered at Xavier Mission and met a man who was wearing a Kufi who had come to receive food. I sat down and spoke with him, and it just opened my mind. I came out of that situation realizing we shared a connection because of our faith and that you can connect with anyone no matter what.
Schulhoff: So far, I’ve only been on the Montserrat retreat. I didn’t understand what it was at first and I think I was the only Jew on the retreat. At night, everyone was praying and it was meaningful to be in an enclosed space where I could communicate with God.
Kaushik: I attended the Via Dei retreat in my freshman year. I had a good time, but I wasn’t thinking much about God at that time. Shortly after the retreat, we had a Mass where I was reminded that I should be grateful for the experience I had. A few days after that, I began reflecting on the fact that I made new friends, that I was doing well, and that I should start looking at God.
Dayo: Service trips, retreats, and the community at Xavier give a tangible physical asset to faith. These experiences also give me something fun to do, or at least something that I can look back on and say was fun—not just because it’s for my own good, but also, especially on service trips, you’re helping those in need and are doing good things.
Drosos: What I found on retreat—as a student and as a teacher—is that there are moments that you least expect to be moved; when you find that kind of moment that really could be a conversation. When we find conversation, and we find an understanding, I think there’s a power to that, too. The moments all of you are talking about are moments from high school that I remember in my 30s—the moments I spent on retreats and with friends. I really learned through retreats as a high schooler how to listen deeply, without necessarily having to chime in with my own experience, too, because there are parts of others’ lives that I’ll never understand. I think through listening and through retreats, we all can do that.
Shapiro: The Montserrat retreat gave us something special—time to reflect together in peace. Without the usual rush and distractions, the students, senior leaders, and teachers were able to think deeply about the life of St. Ignatius, and also about two of our Grad at Grad principles: becoming open to growth and becoming more loving in our relationships with others. The stillness of our retreat house, the beauty of the prayers and ideas, the honesty of our conversations—it was a great encouragement to me to carry my faith out into the world.
DeWitt-Allen: For the students, is there something you’re looking forward to as young people of faith during your time at Xavier, and how might that help you grow in faith?
Kaushik: One thing that stands out to me is Theology and Ethics class
“Service trips, retreats, and the community at Xavier give a tangible physical asset to faith. These experiences also give me something fun to do, or at least something that I can look back on and say was fun—not just because it’s for my own good, but also, especially on service trips, you’re helping those in need and are doing good things.”
—Joshua Dayo ’24
at Xavier—I wonder how that would play out in my life. I also wish to go to more temples to pray. My dad used to go to a temple every Monday and I want to follow in his footsteps and do that, too.
Schulhoff: I really hope to learn more about religion—not just mine, but others as well.
Boulamaali: I want to take World Religions next year. This conversation is sparking more interest in other religions. I’ll do Friday prayer with my dad, and there’s always a very calming feeling coming out of it. I definitely want to incorporate it more into my life because it makes me feel better as a person.
Dayo: As someone who is going to college soon, there’s been this sense of worry that there’s a lot of new things to look forward to. One thing I want to find a way to continue is finding ways of keeping my faith strong—especially in a school that may not be religiously based. I’ve always been in Catholic school, and I find myself asking how I can find a way to keep my faith strong.
Tom: I’m looking forward to being a leader on Kairos. I think this experience will be really important in my faith journey. I’m also looking forward to learning about different cultures and beliefs in World Religions at Xavier, and I’m excited for the opportunity to better understand other people.
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Bob Kramer, former director of international studies at Manhattan College, recently took part in an international panel discussion and reading of poetry in translation at the Jefferson Market Library Auditorium in Manhattan.
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Tom Conniff attended the 100th Turkey Bowl with his sons, Peter ’83 and Chris ’84, on Thanksgiving morning. “Brought back memories of other games over the years and an appreciation of what a great rivalry it is,” he writes. “Despite the loss, Xavier fought hard in a game that wasn’t decided until the last play.”
Dr. Robert Coughlin is professor emeritus of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Connecticut. The International Council of Christians and Jews recently published a reflection of Coughlin’s on its website.
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John Spizziri, Sr. retired in 2015 after practicing law in New Jersey for more than 50 years. He and his wife, Alexandra, moved to Montana to be close to their son, John, and his wife, Diane. They enjoy visiting with their grandchildren and all 20 of their great-grandchildren.
Spizziri writes that he is grateful to Xavier, to Georgetown, and to God for his success. He welcomes contact from his classmates at spizzirijohna@gmail.com.
“When you are in your late eighties, there are more creaks in your body,” Deacon Walter Dauerer writes from his home in Poughquag, New York, “but every day is a gift interacting with five kids, nine grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. The Lord is ever giving. Wish I still had the stamina to visit 16th Street.”
Dr. Frank Perroni serves as a volunteer for Endogena Therapeutics, reaching out to foundations and venture capital companies to raise funds to complete human clinical trials on a new drug to restore sight to patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa or dry advanced macular degeneration. “A marvelous paradigm shift and a gift which will change lives,” he writes.
Brendan Battle and his wife, Viviane, live in Alpharetta, Georgia. His first wife, Alice, died 10 years ago after 52 years of marriage. “I would love to see any classmates traveling in the Atlanta
area,” he writes. Battle can be reached at battlebj@bellsouth.net
Dr. Joseph Juhász is professor emeritus of architecture and environmental design at the University of Colorado. “I am keeping my head above water in these difficult times. I have much to be thankful for, not least my five wonderful children and my five wonderful grandchildren— or indeed the excellent education I received on 16th Street,” he writes. He welcomes contact from his Xavier classmates at juhaszj@stripe.colorado.edu
“Dear ’57 classmates: As the decades accrue, six of them now and counting, my sense of indebtedness/thankfulness for my four years at Xavier becomes more and more clear,” Kevin Morrissey writes. “Late in recognizing and expressing my gratitude, but hopefully not yet at the last.”
Norm Dauerer lives in Hopewell Junction, New York, where he and his wife, Giovina, moved after he graduated college and spent three years in the Army. They have three sons and six grandchildren. Dauerer retired from IBM in 2001 after 36 years of service. Two years ago, he traveled on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. He stays busy caring for his World War II Jeep,
which he uses at military vehicle shows as well as in parades. “At 84 years of age, you need a hobby to stay active,” he writes.
At the 100th Turkey Bowl on November 23, Jim Tierney ’68 snapped a photo of former president Daniel Gatti, S.J. alongside Deacon Frank Orlando ’67 and John Murray ’67.
Bob Galastro lives in Tennessee. He wishes his classmates health and happiness in the coming year.
Members of the Class of 1961 gathered for a festive Christmas lunch on December 12. The lunch was attended by Jack Bradt, Ken Boller, S.J., Garry Cusack, Joe Franlin, Jack Galbraith, Vincent Giffuni, Paul Gowkowski, Jim Harmon, Tom Kavanaugh, Bob Lynch, Neil McDonald, Pat O’Shea, John Piderit, S.J., Fred Salerno, Ed Smith, John Sullivan, and A. Ross Wollen. “Happy to say that our classmates keep in touch and still get together several times a year to celebrate the friendships forged all those years ago at Xavier,” Salerno writes.
The Class of 1962 celebrated its 24th annual Christmas gettogether on December 16, when 15 members of the class convened for lunch. “This has become an event that all look forward to with great anticipation and enjoy thoroughly,” Phil Ambrosini writes. “Not bad for a group of guys who graduated 62 years ago.”
Bill Grubb and his wife, Eileen, are moving back west after a 20-year stint in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. “We had spent most of our adult life in Silicon Valley, and our four children and 13 grandchildren live up and down the West Coast,” he explains. “We continue to be blessed and travel as much as we can. God has certainly looked after us. We are active as ambassadors in our Jesuit parish recruiting program and love attending athletic and other events at Seattle Prep, the Xavier of Seattle, where three of our granddaughters graduated. Life is good!”
This Easter, Rocco Iacovone and his wife, Denise, will return to the prestigious Filamonica Laudamo in Messina, Italy, to work as American improvisers. This time, Rocco
will present a concert of original music with his Italian quintet. The concert, “An American Songbook in Italy,” will be a world premiere of his newest album, A New Songbook, available on the Unseen Rain Records label. As usual, Denise will do a live action painting during the performance. They will also present a workshop on improvisation in music and art to high school age students in Messina and perform and paint in Calabria. At the end of their tour, the quintet will record new music and perform in Palermo before heading home.
Dr. Richard Pisano attended Fordham University and studied medicine at the University of Bologna in Italy. He continues to work in internal medicine as a faculty physician for Montefiore New Rochelle. Pisano enjoys seeing his classmates at their luncheons, dinners, and at the annual Beefsteak Dinner.
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Boston College Law School professor emeritus Frank Herrmann, S.J. was appointed to serve as the inaugural faculty director of the Boston College Companions program, which
began in January. BC Companions is a yearlong immersive education program for individuals looking to renew purpose, explore discernment, and deepen their spirituality at one of the world’s leading Jesuit, Catholic universities. The program combines academic study at BC with elements of Ignatian spirituality and is designed for accomplished leaders and professionals who want to reflect on their experiences, find deeper meaning and purpose, and consider the next chapter in their life journey. Fr. Herrmann, a 1977 graduate of BC Law, joined the faculty in 1991 after more than a decade as a criminal defense lawyer involved in trial and appellate cases. During his career at BC Law, he taught Evidence, Advanced Criminal Procedure, Criminal Process, and Introduction to Lawyering and Professional Responsibility. He also taught clinical programs at the Center for Experiential Learning.
Msgr. Robert J. Thelen is now retired and living in his “ancestral home” in Middle Village, Queens. He is a weekend presider at his home parish, ResurrectionAscension in Rego Park, Queens.
1. Emcee Michael Gargiulo ’77, left, and President Jack Raslowsky, right, with honorees Dr. Thomas McGinn ’78, Paul Gannon ’75, Jim Haybyrne ’62, Rocco Iacovone ’62, Ken Ng ’80, and Armando Núñez ’78. 2. Jane Gannon with Joseph Gannon Jr. ’64. 3. Student speaker Sasha Giese ’26 with his mother, Dr. Alyssa Anderson P’24 ’26, and brother, Sebastian Giese ’24. 4. Billy Maloney ’01, Kathy Concannon, Don Gross ’72 P’03, Vicente Vargas, Kevin Reinhart ’99, Maureen Reinhart P’99 ’04, and Bob Reinhart ’69 P’99 ’04. 5. Fordham University president Tania Tetlow. 6. Dr. John Muller ’75, Ken Ng ’80, Linda Smith, and Elliot Han ’94. 7. Nicole DiMarco and Denise Iacovone.
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Andy Manganaro is enjoying a busy life in Xenia, Ohio. “20th year as chief medical officer at LifeLine Screening. 40th year in cardiothoracic and vascular surgery. 15th year as a daddy to my little girl. Second month as a grandpa to a little girl from my wife’s son,” he writes. “Still racing vintage sports cars and flying my aerobatic Great Lakes biplane. And pretty much everything hurts!”
The Massachusetts Psychological Association recently awarded Dr. Richard Monahan the Ezra Saul Psychological Service Award in recognition of his “outstanding promotion and acceptance of psychological services in Massachusetts.”
Phil Wolters and his wife, Isabelle, celebrated their 50th anniversary on August 18, 2023.
Marty McCormack and his wife, Janet, live in Wichita, Kansas. They traveled east to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ordination of his classmate, Fr. Dan Murphy, on June 25, 2023. A jubilee Mass was celebrated at St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic
Church in Randolph, New Jersey. A reception followed at Resurrection Catholic Church, also in Randolph. “During his career as a priest of the Diocese of Paterson, Dan served as pastor of both of these parishes,” McCormack writes. “Also in attendance at the celebration were Xavier faculty members John Pignone, S.J. and Pablo Talavera from the theology and campus ministry departments. Patrick McCann ’23 was also in attendance and served as a greeter at the Mass.”
Dr. Edward DeSimone, professor of pharmacy sciences at Creighton University, recently spoke to the Heartland Crisis Intervention Team on the causes and personal dynamics of substance use disorders and addiction. The twohour presentation focused on addiction as a disease of the brain and the physiological reasons for its development. The Heartland Crisis Intervention Team is a first responder’s mental health collaborative program built on strong partnerships between law enforcement, mental health provider agencies, and individuals and families affected by mental health and wellness challenges.
DeSimone has been teaching his course on addiction and substance use disorders for over 30 years.
Jim McDonough and his wife recently spent a week in London “celebrating one of those divisibleby-25 birthdays for me,” he writes. “It’s a busy city, but people are very polite and were awfully quick to give up their seats for us in the Tube. I don’t feel the part, but I guess I look it. Perhaps it’s payback for all the times I gave up a seat in the subway when traveling in my Xavier uniform.”
Andy Mihalick recently attended his classmate Peter Costiglio’s 75th birthday party at The Point Ale House in Point Lookout. Many family members and friends attended, including several Xavier alumni.
“In October and November I spent several weeks traveling up, down, and across Patagonia, visiting both Chile and Argentina. This trip had been on my bucket list for decades and I was not disappointed,” Patrick O’Brien reports. “Sights included a rain forest in Chile, a majestic glacier, numerous lakes and rivers, and close encounters with two different species of penguins.
Every day brought new views of the magnificent Andes. My visit concluded with a few days in Buenos Aires, highlighted with a tango lesson followed by practice at a tango dance hall (fun and intriguing!).”
Conrad Tridente and his wife, Jackie, recently moved to Kennebunk, Maine. “After being a lifelong resident of New Jersey, I picked up stakes and we are enjoying life near the ocean and our two youngest grandsons,” he writes. “Definitely a different lifestyle!”
Joseph Garvey reports that members of the Class of 1967 met at the Annandale Bar and Grill for a Christmas gathering on December 11.
Jerome DiCarlo is celebrating 25 years teaching physics and 20 years as science department chair at Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jim Mantle reports that his son, Patrick, a longtime photojournalist at News 12 Long Island, earned his fourth local New York Area Emmy Award in October.
Bob Hubbard and his wife, Kathy, celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary on December 15, 2023.
Dr. Thomas Kosten lives in Houston, Texas, where he often runs into Sons of Xavier. “Over the last few years I have met a number of Xavier alumni here in Houston from as far back as before I was born!” he writes. “I have also met some former classmates like Dr. Herb Abbott, who also went to medical school and is now retired. Remarkable how many years that spans, since I also went to college with him. I have not retired, but have continued my 35 years of work making vaccines, including an anti-COVID vaccine, and soon hope to have an antifentanyl vaccine manufactured and into people to save millions of lives from fentanyl overdoses.”
Bob Reinhart P’94 ’99 and his wife, Maureen P’94 ’99, are enjoying retirement after their long careers on 16th Street. “On our trip to Italy this past October, we spent some time with two of our former colleagues and good friends, Greg Harkness and Anthony SooHoo, S.J.,” Maureen reports. “We traveled to Florence and Siena with Greg, along with spending time with him at his home in Rome. We met up with Anthony on our last night in Rome, where he celebrated Mass in Ignatius’ rooms, and then we all went out to dinner to catch up.”
Scott O’Connell writes that his classmate Peter Reilly challenged him to get involved in the upcoming bicentennial celebration of the Marquis de Lafayette’s celebrated 1824-25 tour of America. He met that challenge by authoring a novel about the event called The Lafayette Circle. “As the tour was meant to celebrate America’s upcoming 50th anniversary, highlight American exceptionalism, and underscore the precepts of the Monroe Doctrine, it had a geopolitical purpose,” O’Connell explains. “The autocratic Holy Alliance of Russia, Prussia, and Austria was not happy about this and decided to send their own anti-democratic message in the form of assassin teams to take out the hero of two worlds. The mix of history and fiction is a tense tour through an America that was only beginning to move toward its manifest destiny. Special thanks to my Xavier history teachers, Mr. Neary and Mr. Caruso, for my
’67 ’68 1. 2. 1. Members of the Class of 1967 at their Christmas gathering. 2. Patrick Mantle, son of Jim Mantle ’68. 3. Bob Hubbard ’69 with his wife, Kathy. 4. Maureen and Bob Reinhart ’69 P’94 ’99 with former Xavier faculty members Anthony SooHoo, S.J. and Greg Harkness in Rome. 3. 4. ’69
introduction to this period of our nation’s past.”
John Molino recently published his fifth suspense novel, Standing Stones. His other books are Murder Gets Even, Death in the Dune, From a Distance, and Distant Light. Molino’s books are available in print and Kindle formats on Amazon.com.
Herb Quinde was recently elected to the board of directors of the U.S.-China Catholic Association, whose mission is to build bridges of friendship and dialogue with the Catholic Church in China.
John N. Frank has been named assistant regional director, Midwest, for Mended Hearts, a national support group for people living with heart disease. His mission is to start new Mended Hearts chapters throughout the Midwest, and he would welcome contact from fellow Sons working in cardiology in the region to assist with chapter development. He can be reached at john_n_frank@yahoo.com.
Robert Hynes ran his eighth New York City Marathon in November with a time of 6 hours, 27 minutes, 24 seconds. He ran his first marathon in 1984. “I’m 70 and plan to do it again when I’m 80,” he writes.
After retiring as commissioner of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in Dublin, Ireland, Patrick Sullivan returned to the U.S. He has since established Finnerty Sullivan Group LLC, a security consulting and private investigations firm in Fairfax, Virginia.
Daniel Carlucci lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The last of my four children married in October,” he writes. “They tell me I had a great time.”
The Preservation League of New York State honored Richard J. Moylan with the Pillar of New York
Award at the Rainbow Room on March 14.
Charlie Butera joins his Xavier brothers in mourning “the one and only Fr. Keenan.”
At the annual meeting of the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts on December 5, 2023, Scott Cameron was elected second vice president of the state association. “While I have been active in conservation policy and programs in Virginia’s Fairfax County for quite some time, my new role will give me an opportunity to learn about and advance the conservation priorities of people from across the Commonwealth of Virginia,” he writes.
The Rev. Bill Keane was named the Connecticut Recreation and Parks Department 2023 Volunteer of the Year.
Tom Masterson writes that he and his wife, Cathleen, are enjoying retirement in Sea Girt, New Jersey. Their son, Jack, married Elizabeth Sheprow at St. Catharine’s Church in Spring Lake on December 8, 2023. Their older daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Ryan Mannion, have two children, Lillian and Henry. Their younger daughter, Beth, and her husband, Andrew Knapp, have a daughter named Madeline and expect their second child in May.
Tom McDonnell is a managing director at Truist Wealth. He maintains a nationwide practice and commutes regularly between Northern Virginia and Chapin, South Carolina. In January, his team made the Forbes | SHOOK 2024 Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams ranking.
Michael Montelongo was elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Corporate Directors in 2023. Montelongo is president and CEO of GRC Advisory Services LLC, a board governance firm.
Christopher Roman is the director of external affairs and community engagement for Las Vegas Recycling, Inc. He is celebrating 30 years living in Southern Nevada and welcomes classmates anytime. He can be reached at chriscroman@gmail.com
Stephen Barry is “doing the snowbird thing in Southwest Florida.” He looks forward to seeing his classmates at their 50th reunion in May.
Kevin McLaughlin served as the keynote speaker at the Irish America Wall Street 50 Awards, held at the New York Yacht Club on October 30. Several members of the Xavier community attended the event, and President Jack Raslowsky introduced McLaughlin before his keynote. McLaughlin’s honor landed him on the cover of the fall 2023 issue of Irish America
William “Chip” Stokes retired as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey at the end of June 2023. He and his wife, Susan, have retired to St. Augustine, Florida, where they love spending time with their children and grandchildren. On the First Sunday of Advent, Stokes led an Advent Quiet Day at the Episcopal Church of Bethesdaby-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, in which he explored the Advent Meditations and Sermons of Alfred Delp, S.J., which were written by Fr. Delp while he served time in a Nazi prison before his execution on the Feast of the Purification, February 2, 1945.
Mark DeGennaro retired from WPIX-TV New York as an editor in October 2022.
Mark Costello lives in New Canaan, Connecticut. In September 2023, he came out of retirement to join Cross Country Consulting as a partner.
Robert Haskins reports that his son, Bobby, a member of the Fairfield Prep Class of 2017, is playing left tackle for the Chicago Bears.
Dr. Michael Driscoll was recently named chief financial officer of the Hydrogen Development Corporation.
Tom Murphy recently completed his third and final term as mayor of Mamaroneck. “I fondly remember my time at Xavier,” he writes. “The lesson of being a man for others was transformative.”
Paul Ching reports that several members of the Class of 1980 attended Xavier’s 2023 Hall of Fame Dinner in support of their classmate, Ken Ng. “A welldeserved honor that we had the great pleasure of sharing with Ken and his family,” Ching writes.
In August 2023, John D’Arienzo was installed as president of the New York State Funeral Directors Association at the group’s annual convention in Saratoga.
“As I approach my retirement,” Fernando Porras writes, “my fondest memories are the great years at Xavier.”
Michael Ryan lives in Queens, where he grew up. He earned tenure at Emerson College, where he teaches film producing and narratology, in 2023. The most recent film he produced, The Ballad of Suzanne Cesaire, was accepted for competition at the Rotterdam Film Festival. The film and accompanying gallery film installation will be part of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2024 Biennial.
Nelson Fernandez has been named director of communications and public affairs at Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) Berkshires, which provides free healthcare to those in the region who are ineligible for health insurance and income-qualified. In his new role, Fernandez is a key member of VIM’s management team and leads efforts to raise awareness of VIM’s impact on the region. He is responsible
for deepening community and business partnerships, engaging public policy stakeholders, and driving both internal and external communications.
Angelo Cuonzo and his wife, Angela, recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. “We live in New Jersey and are essentially empty-nesters,” he writes. “In September, our older son, Anthony, married his longtime girlfriend, Sydney, and they live in Alexandria, Virginia. Our younger son, Andrew, is in his second year at Carnegie Mellon University studying electrical and computer engineering.”
Victor Perez was recently invited to join the board of trustees at Nativity Jesuit Academy, a Jesuit grade school on Milwaukee’s south side that serves a predominantly Latino community. “NJA has its roots in the Nativity educational model, which was founded by the Jesuits on NYC’s Lower East Side in the early 1970s,” he writes.
Michael Tartaglia serves as managing partner of Strategic Tax Planners LLC. The company recently opened an office on Staten Island. They also have offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Nelson Fernandez ’81 believes in the power of words.
In July of 1969, when he and his family left Cuba for Manhattan, Fernandez spoke no English. But with the sponge-like brain of a 6-year-old and a few Upper East Side neighbors to play with, it wasn’t long until he grew accustomed to his new environment. “By the end of that summer, I was getting by and feeling more comfortable hanging out with kids and using the English that I was beginning to acquire and ultimately master,” Fernandez said.
And his linguistic journey didn’t stop there. When it came time for high school, Xavier was an obvious choice. His parents, Jose Fernandez and Emilia Cores P’81, were familiar with—and fond of—the Jesuit educational tradition. A few stops on the downtown 6 train later, he had found a new home on 16th Street.
Fernandez excelled academically, and language classes were no exception. “On my first Latin exam, I actually found an error on the test itself, which I very shyly mentioned to Fr. Charles Burns,” he recalled. His success in Latin led to an invitation from Thomas Tighe, S.J. to participate in a small-group elective in Ancient Greek.
While he studied language in the classroom, Fernandez also embraced it on the stage, performing in the school’s annual plays. Among his roles, he played a leading part as Shylock in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. “It was very interesting to me and very fun,” he said. “We had the costumes, all that stuff.”
But his early years at Xavier were not without their hardships, either. In 1976, when Fernandez was in eighth grade, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Two years later, during his sophomore year at Xavier, she succumbed to her illness. After her death, “everybody was supportive of me taking a chunk of time off,” Fernandez said. “But the truth is that I was so fond of Xavier. It was my support system. I wanted to get back there as quickly as I could.”
It was the mid-1980s, and the AIDS crisis was sweeping America. Fernandez, a young gay man in a rapidly changing world, was “terrified.” In the fall of his senior year, actor Rock Hudson became the first major celebrity in America to die of an AIDS-related illness. “It occurred to me that I wanted to write about the media discourse of the AIDS crisis, and what the way it was being covered revealed about how we as Americans think about big macro issues, like sexuality, death,
“I credit Xavier for inspiring me with confidence and giving me the academic foundation on which really the rest of my life was built.”
Upon returning, Fernandez found himself embraced by his school community—teachers and classmates alike. “I remember going into math class with Mr. Finnegan, who had a reputation for being really tough,” Fernandez says. “He came by and just put a card on my desk that expressed great sympathy for the loss of my mother. It was just one of the many gestures that underscores to me how important a place like Xavier is, not only academically but as a community.”
At Xavier, words—and the acts of grace that accompanied them—brought Fernandez closer to his community. But soon thereafter, he would find himself studying how words could drive people apart. Fernandez would go on to Amherst College, where he studied 19th-century literature. When it came time to write his senior thesis, he found a different, more modern topic impossible to ignore.
and dying,” he said. “That was another transformative experience for me, and it was initially what motivated me to think about, write about, and advocate for people who were sick and dying.”
After a master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton and a multi-decade career in policy and public relations, Fernandez is again devoting himself to that advocacy. The means? Language.
In March of 2020, a short-term rental in the Berkshires became—by happenstance—a semi-permanent move for Fernandez. Great Barrington has become a second home, and with his residence he felt a new sense of obligation to his new community.
That led him to get involved as a volunteer translator for Volunteers in Medicine, a local nonprofit that provides free healthcare to those ineligible for insurance. “As it happens, those who are ineligible by and large tend to
be people with no clear legal status, and here, most of them are Latinos,” Fernandez said. Soon after he began volunteering with VIM, Fernandez found himself speaking with the organization’s executive director, who suggested that he leverage his career and skills as the organization’s new director of communications and public affairs.
Interpreting was a “full circle” moment for Fernandez. “When mom got ill, I was the one who would go with her to doctors and translate for mom. It was very painful for me, but it was something that needed to be done.” With VIM’s help, that need can be filled in Great Barrington, too.
Though he has traded Manhattan for the mountains, Fernandez hasn’t severed ties with New York—or Xavier. In 2018, after Vin Biagi, S.J. ’67 connected him with President Jack Raslowsky, Fernandez became a member of the school’s Board of Trustees. And in addition to his service as a trustee, Fernandez also began to give back as a donor.
“I credit Xavier for inspiring me with confidence and giving me the academic foundation on which really the rest of my life was built,” Fernandez said. “Xavier is at an interesting time where the school is really asking how it can stay relevant, how it can provide a high-value choice for people, and how it can stay on mission and close to the Ignatian values on which it’s founded.” With the help of alumni like Fernandez, that conversation can continue for generations to come.
Eric Krebs ’17 is a graduate of Yale University. He is a writer and economic researcher.
John Devaney, co-owner of East 27 Creative Photography, attended and photographed a diplomatic presentation at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C. in December 2023.
In June 2023, Giancarlo Malchiodi completed 30 years of service as a New York City high school literature teacher. He is now retired. He writes that he was inspired to pursue his vocation by Dr. Franklin Caesar ’72 P’00, Michael Hoag, S.J., Thomas Curley, and Grace Lamour P’82.
Frank Natale reports that his daughter recently graduated with honors from Villanova University. She is now a registered nurse.
Daniel Maher earned a master of arts in theology from St. Joseph’s College on May 12, 2023. He was ordained to the permanent diaconate in the Diocese of Brooklyn two weeks later.
Andrew Dell’Olio P’20 recently joined the law department of the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey, where he concentrates in procurement and infrastructure construction transactions.
James Creighton was recently appointed senior assistant county attorney for the County of Westchester. He works in the litigation bureau of the Department of Law in White Plains. Creighton is a councilman and deputy supervisor for the Town of Cortlandt and completed several years of coursework with the New York Association of Towns to obtain the Certified Town Official designation. He also serves as chair of the Government Action Committee of the Hudson Valley Chamber of Commerce.
In August 2023, Captain Patrick Higgins celebrated his 25th anniversary with the FDNY.
After 27 years of service in the New York City Department of Education as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal, Marlon Hosang is enjoying the gift of retirement. He is taking a year off to be a full-time hockey dad before deciding on his second career. Hosang’s son, Maxwell, attended the Higher Achievement Program in summer 2023 and has been accepted as a member of the Class of 2028.
Ramon Javier recently joined the firm of Hall Booth Smith, P.C. as a partner in the Miami office.
In 2022, Peter Mazurczyk moved to Paris, France. He works as a digital design and marketing consultant for clients in France and the U.S.
Karl Muller is president of the Albany-based Creative Pension Consultants, Inc.
Russell (Newbold) Araya lives in Westminster, Colorado, with his daughters, Penelope and Lucille. “I reestablished my private law practice handling criminal and personal injury matters,” he writes. “Although I just celebrated my 14th year in the Mountain High, I still have yet to find a good slice of pizza out here.”
On July 19, 2023, Christian Sweeney, a senior official at the AFL-CIO, appeared on NPR to discuss workers’ rights and different actions, including strikes, that workers are taking.
Last September, Andy Irizarry celebrated his 20th anniversary as a territory manager with Warson Brand, a global leader and manufacturer of
occupational, safety, military, and law enforcement footwear. During the past two decades, the company has increased sales more than 2,300% and quadrupled in size. “My travels have taken me across the globe, and I can attest that Xavier High School is truly respected wherever my travels have taken me,” he writes.
1992
Thomas Lee was recently named chairman of the American Heart Association Boston Board of Directors.
1993
NYPD Lieutenant Mike Braccia was recently awarded the Suzie Sawyer Distinguished Service Award by Concerns of Police Survivors.
In December 2023, Michael Buckley retired after 26.5 years
of government service in multiple law enforcement positions to spend more time with his wife, Denise, and their three children, Kathlyn, Patrick, and Ryan. “It was a great run that started right out of the gate after graduating from Salve Regina University with my selection as a police officer with the U.S. Park Police (USPP), New York Field Office,” he writes. “With the USPP, I was lucky enough to help protect our nation’s treasures, to teach DARE to grammar school students, to respond to the 9/11 terror attacks to help my fellow New Yorkers, to earn a position on the Marine Patrol Unit, and to get the opportunity to propose to my wife on the torch of the Statue of Liberty. In 2002, I had good luck shine upon me again as I was selected as a Special Agent with the U.S. Customs Service (USCS), New York Office of Investigations, which then
Ottawa, Canada and finally Miami, which enabled me to work with a host of very talented people every day during these endeavors. It also provided me the opportunity to take my family on this journey and live in some really cool locations and make friends and partners for life from all over the globe. None of this would’ve been possible without the lessons learned at Xavier along with the deep friendships that I made while a student there. I truly appreciate all that I learned in my four years on 16th Street; the camaraderie and friendships Xavier alumni bring to bear; and for providing me the fantastic opportunity to gain invaluable life insights and decision-making skills at Xavier. For all those still in law enforcement and the military, thank you for what you do daily to keep up the fight against criminal actors and threats impacting our great country—and most importantly, stay safe each shift.”
merged in March 2003 under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as Homeland Security Investigations. This portion of my career led me to my final assignment as a Deputy Special Agent in Charge with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office. The transfer to USCS/HSI took me places I never imagined when starting out in my law enforcement career. It allowed me to protect the homeland against a multitude of threats and took me to five continents to combat narcotics smuggling, money laundering, child exploitation, human trafficking/smuggling, cyber crimes, weapons smuggling, intellectual property rights violations, violent gangs, and other criminal activities committed by transnational criminal organizations. Over my career with USCS/HSI, I was stationed in New York City, Washington, D.C.,
Dan Castle recently delivered his first TED talk at TEDxDrexelU. The impact of Xavier and the role of faith was woven throughout his talk, “Finding Purpose through the Paradox of Climbing Deeper.”
Dr. Ian Maloney serves as dean of humanities, communications, and education at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. He is also director of the Jack Hazard Fellowship for High School Teachers, a program of the New Literary Project in Berkeley, California.
Patrick “Tubz” Tubridy is a DJ, actor, and real estate agent in the Rockaways and Southeast Florida. He works with Charles Rutenberg Realty in Florida and RE/MAX Elite in New York. RE/MAX, LLC honored him with the 2023 Ambassador Award in Leadership.
John-Breshaire Georges recently earned his doctor of education degree in higher education from the University of Southern Mississippi. He previously earned an MSEd in higher education administration from Baruch College, an MA in culture and
1. Joseph Saladino ’11, Robert Clemente ’11, and Spencer McGregor ’11 . 2. Jim Wickersty ’66, Edward Tempesta ’66, and Ed Bohrer ’66. 3. Members of the Class of 1974 with Jack Raslowsky.
4. Michael Clancy ’90, Chris Febles ’90, Brian Nolan ’90, Michael Zysk ’90, Paul Scariano ’90 P’19 ’21 ’23 ’25, Christian Sweeney ’90, Dave Rivera ’90, and Francis Pope ’90. 5. Members of the Class of 1987.
6. Steven George ’80, Danny Wisotsky ’80, Fred Foster ’80, and Ken Ling ’79. 7. Elliot Han ’94, Mario Punzalan ’94, Dionis Rodriguez ’94, Mike Avalos ’94, Roberto Rodriguez ’94, Arturo Conde ’94, and Bernard Menendez ’94. 8. Will Mendoza ’02 with Ian Johnson ’02. 9. Greg Cerchione ’10 with Rudy Laquinte ’06. 10. Joseph Rescigno ’63, Pete Canning ’63, and Myron Pawliw ’63.
10.
communication and BA in individualized study from New York University, and an AA in general arts and sciences from Pace University.
1995
David Chen lives in Scarsdale with his wife and young daughter.
Captain Timothy Sommella, USCG took command of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Calhoun (WMSL 759), sailed away from Ingalls Shipyard, and is now back in Charleston, South Carolina. He and his crew will be in Baltimore in April to celebrate the commissioning of the cutter. Sommella will move back to Washington, D.C. in July to serve as the U.S. Coast Guard Chief of Congressional Affairs.
Salvatore Vitale P’27 is the father of a Xavier freshman. His son, Salvatore ’27, was a member of the championship-winning JV football team.
Don P. Hooper’s debut novel, True True, received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. The publication noted that “Hooper presents valuable lessons on the healing power of community, forgiveness, and sharing one’s truth.”
Jason Otaño was recently promoted to the rank of Major in the U.S. Army Reserve JAG Corps.
John Khinda acted in four features, more than a dozen shorts, and two web series in 2023. To learn more about his career, visit johnkhinda.com/news
Commander Tommy McDonald took command of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Five One (HSM-51), forward deployed to Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi Japan. HSM-51 is comprised of 330 Navy sailors and 14 MH-60R helicopters, deploying around the Pacific in an effort to secure peace and prosperity throughout the region.
San Iswara and his wife, Rebecca, celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary this past July and traveled to Kenya with their two sons to celebrate. Iswara is managing director and head of advisor acquisition at Rockefeller Capital Management.
Last July, The Irish Echo featured Kevin McCabe’s work as director of strategic initiatives for the Ukraine Children’s Action Project—and the interesting career transition that led him to that role. He previously
served as chief resilience officer for the Battery Park City Authority. McCabe now lives and works in Warsaw, Poland.
In April 2023, the Republican Commissioners of the New York State Board of Elections announced the appointment of Ray Riley as co-executive director of the State Board. Riley previously served as chief clerk of the Brooklyn Borough Office of the New York City Board of Elections, where he managed a staff of 200 people as well as a temporary workforce of 15,000 election inspectors.
Brendan Russo is chief creative director of Sorcery Cinema. He recently produced the first and second Don Rickles Live concerts from the Don Rickles Estate.
After working in sales for nine years at Medallia Inc., Michael Mallett recently took on a new role as vice president, product for AI and automation.
Teddy Droseros is the founder of Grateful Peoples. Over the past several years, the community he created—which has been featured on CBS Mornings—has helped donate more than 22,000 gratitude journals to students across the United States and Canada.
Miguel Gutierrez recently served as head coach for the men’s and women’s Philippine national curling teams in the Pan Continental Curling Championships (PCCC)—their first international event after being officially recognized by the World Curling Federation. The men won silver in their event as both teams continue on their quest to qualify for the Winter Olympics in 2026. This is the third international federation with which Gutierrez has been involved after coaching the Kenyan men’s team in last year’s PCCC and representing Team USA in the Can-Am Cup of Curling in 2019. Gutierrez is involved locally in New York as well, playing and teaching curling in Prospect Park for the Brooklyn Lakeside Curling Club.
Mike Patti recently attended Xavier’s Washington, D.C. reception at the Army and Navy Club. He continues to work in real estate sales and advisory in the TriState area and across the country. He looks forward to traveling to El Salvador, Spain, Ireland, and the Netherlands this year.
Ryan Patrick Woerner serves as general counsel for Bayonne Drydock and Repair, which is led by its president, Michael Cranston
’83. Woerner recently spent time with Christian Lee ’93, principal of Cornerstone Government Affairs in New Orleans, at the Annual Maritime Workboat Convention. Keira Walsh, sister of John Walsh ’19, served as a marketing liaison for Bayonne Drydock at the event.
On November 19, 2023, Michael Chiaia and his wife, Lindy, attended the 2023 National Thanksgiving Turkey Press Conference at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. Afterward, Michael and Lindy got to meet the turkeys, Liberty and Bell, in their hotel suite ahead of their official pardoning by President Joe Biden at the White House.
Dr. Kevin Kenefick recently completed his fellowship in orthopedic manual therapy in November 2023. The fellowship certification is held by fewer than 1% of all physical therapists in the world.
Joe Misseri now works at Google after spending more than a decade at Goldman Sachs. He encourages Xavier alumni with experience in risk and compliance to contact him. Misseri can be reached at misserij@gmail.com.
1. Lindy and Michael Chiaia ’07 with Liberty and Bell.
2. Dr. Kevin Kenefick ’07.
’07
’07
Major Michael Nilsen, USA currently serves as the operations officer for 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment. As part of his work, he has provided crucial training to Ukrainian and NATO troops. He resides in Bavaria with his wife, Christina, and their children, Faith and Landon.
Chris Cimperman is an actor in Los Angeles.
Following his graduation from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, Patrick Nilsen started a position in leveraged finance with JP Morgan.
Mayor Eric Adams recently awarded Joseph Rinaldo a citation for coordinating and executing a rescue effort on Rockaway Beach last summer. “I was able to save a woman’s life who was bitten by a shark while swimming in the ocean,” Rinaldo writes. “I am currently working as a paramedic and police officer for NYPD Counterterrorism. I work on a hazmat team that is responsible for the training and response to any weapons of mass destruction incident in New York City.”
2011
Will Lorenzo authored a chapter, “A Very Scary X-Mas: An Examination of the Christmas Episodes of The X-Files and
Millennium,” in Bloomsbury’s film and television studies academic anthology, The Legacy of The X-Files
2012
Thomas Roemer was recently promoted to vice president at Citigroup.
2013
After spending six years in three different states, Michael Autovino has returned to New York City to work as a meteorologist for Spectrum News NY1. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work in my hometown and for a station that I grew up watching,” he writes.
Brendan Keever works for J.P. Morgan Wealth Management as a client associate with the Canell Group. In November, his team was named a 2023 Forbes | SHOOK Top Wealth Management Team.
2014
In 2023, Stephen Day graduated from Georgetown Law and moved to Philadelphia to clerk for the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court.
Jimmie Raleigh works in the field of patent law as an associate at Knobbe Martens. With a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a law degree, he primarily
works in patent prosecution with a focus on medical devices. Raleigh recently helped advise Signet Healthcare Partners in leading $24 million in Series B funding for Paragonix Technologies, Inc., a leading organ transplant company.
2015
Matthew Rienzi serves as head baseball coach for the Ocean State Waves. “So far I have coached three draft picks in the MLB draft in the past two seasons, with more to come in 2024,” he writes.
Dr. Joseph Santangelo recently graduated from The George Washington University with a doctorate of physical therapy.
2016
Andrew Kiarie Mumbi graduated from Georgetown University in 2020. He is now in his third year at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he has been a member of the transplant team. “We cannot say enough about Xavier for all of their help and support,” his dad, Joe Schrank, writes. “He has truly become a man for others! AMDG.”
Dylan Campbell graduated from Iona University in 2021. He works for the City of New York as a senior project manager in the design and construction department.
Join us for
April 19, 2024
Gotham Hall
xavierhsalumni.org/gala2024
Nominations are open for individuals to be considered for the Xavier Hall of Fame. All nominations are due by September 15, 2024.
The honorees will be inducted at the fall 2025 Hall of Fame Dinner. The Hall of Fame nomination criteria, nomination form, and a list of Hall of Fame members can be found under the alumni tab of our website, www.xavierhs.org.
Please email completed nomination forms to Ryan Kirwan at kirwanr@xavierhs.org.
“Attending Xavier was one of the best experiences of my life,” Gianni Contrera writes. “I learned what talents I had, how to improve on them, and the value of discipline, perseverance, and confidence in myself. After graduating Xavier in 2017, I attended Fordham University where I earned my first bachelor of science degree in biology in 2021. While at Fordham, I decided to bet on myself and pursue higher education in the field of pharmacy. With no knowledge of the region, but full confidence in myself and with the support of my family (who serve as my motivating factor every day), I enrolled at the University of Connecticut. I’ve been showcasing the values learned at home and at Xavier to this day and was inducted into the Pharmacy Leadership Society and National Honor Society for firstgeneration students. I earned my second bachelor of science degree in 2023 in pharmacy studies. I was also elected as the president of the pharmacy student government for the UConn School of Pharmacy, the vice president of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy student chapter at UConn, and the co-chair for the pharmacy ambassador program at the School of Pharmacy. I am gearing up for my last academic semester in the
spring of 2024 before going on a year of rotations called APPEs (advanced pharmacy practice experiences). In May of 2025, I will earn my Doctor of Pharmacy degree and achieve my dream of being the first doctor in my family. I owe all of my success to my father, Jose Contrera, and my mother, Lily Mendoza, as well as the institutions that have given me the opportunity to excel and develop my talents. Go Knights, Rams, and Huskies, and Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam! Sons of Xavier, keep marching on to victory— and I’m just getting started.”
Brandon Sapienza was recently promoted to deputy team leader of North American breaking news at Bloomberg News.
In August 2023, Nicholas Tucker began pursuing his Ph.D. in mental health counseling at Pace University’s Pleasantville campus.
Sebastian Diaz graduated from SUNY Maritime with a bachelor of science degree in marine transportation with a Coast Guard Deck License in May 2023. He currently serves as a 3rd Mate for Transocean in the Gulf of Mexico on board the Deepwater Poseidon.
In May 2022, Christopher Engel graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. He now works at Collins Aerospace, where he was recently promoted to cell lead engineer.
Mackenzie Weisz graduated from the United States Naval Academy in May 2023.
Connor Bradwisch, Frank Thomas, and Andrew Weaver graduated from the United States Naval Academy in May 2023.
After broadcasting Ivy League sports on ESPN+, Sean Cabrera served as one of the color commentators for the New York Jets Spanish radio throughout the 2023 NFL season. He is a graduate of Cornell University.
The Fordham Ram recently profiled Ben Coco, a “super senior” who is completing dual majors in physics and English with a creative writing concentration during his fifth and final year at Rose Hill. He is grateful to have received the Fordham Founder’s Scholarship, enabling him to remain at the university for an extra year. He recently traveled to the University of Notre Dame to participate in
a highly competitive Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) sponsored by the National Science Foundation. While there, he studied galactic archaeology.
Will Palazzolo graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with highest distinction in 2023, completing a bachelor of science degree in business administration and minors in statistics and analytics and data science. He was honored with a UNC Top 10 Scholar-Athlete Award, honoring the top 10 graduating student athletes with the highest cumulative GPAs. He was also recognized as a Tar Heel Leader of Distinction, the highest award given by the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy.
Gregory Steffens and Maseah Young ’23—both members of the St. Bonaventure’s University rugby team—played in the National
Jude Griffith joined Kaseya as one of its youngest sales representatives at age 19. “A year later and I have been constantly learning, improving, and selling,” he writes. “I believe I wouldn’t have been able to keep up at this company without all of the skills I learned from the faculty at Xavier.”
Joseph Rowdis, a student at the College of the Holy Cross, recently capitalized on his longtime study of Italian when he studied abroad in Florence, Italy. His time there “involved a full-on Italian experience, from taking classes in Italian at the Università Degli Studi di Firenze, to living with a host family that speaks Italian, to completing an independent cultural immersion project for a minimum of 20 hours to engage with the Italian community. And I cannot forget about the delicious and amazing food I enjoyed every
second,” he writes. “While living in Florence, I was able to visit many landmarks, such as the Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio, and learn so much about this city through its beautiful artwork and long history. In addition, I spent time on the weekends traveling to other cities in Italy (such as Pisa, Venice, and Rome), as well as across Europe to London, England. Studying abroad helped me grow academically, culturally, and as a whole because I had to independently face a new way of living and navigate through a new city far from home for about four months, and this experience enabled me to go out of my comfort zone and adapt to difficult situations. Overall, I am really glad I decided to study abroad, as this chapter in my life is one that I will never forget.”
Nick Bruno, Giancarlo Nastasi ’18, Stephen Hoey ’18, and Anthony Dabao ’23 helped propel Penn State Rugby to the Mint City Bowl championship in December 2023.
Social media gets credit (and blame) for many things these days, but launching an international rugby career is probably not what jumps to mind when one thinks of Instagram. But for Rob Irimescu ’14, that’s exactly what happened.
The son of Romanian immigrants Nicoleta and Gabriel Irimescu P’14, rugby seemed to come naturally to him. His dad played rugby for RCJ Farul in Constanța, Romania, and the younger Irimescu visited Constanta every summer, ensuring that he stayed connected to his roots. As luck would have it, that connection to Romania would eventually help Irimescu play rugby on the world stage, making him one of the very few, if not the only, Americans to play in the 2023 World Cup.
According to Irimescu, he drew inspiration from Mike Petri ’02 as he began the years of hard work that would build him into a collegiate and professional rugby player and eventually earn him a spot on the Romanian national team.
“I remember being in the weight room with Mike Petri when I was 16,” Irimescu said. “I asked him, ‘What do I have to do to be in your shoes?’”
Petri was a leader of the USA Eagles at the time. He had 57 test caps for the United States, played in Europe, and played in three Rugby World Cups.
“Petri told me to continue working on what I do best but to try and differentiate myself in that one thing,” Irimescu recalled. “He said if I did this I would ‘do
amazing.’ I still think that’s true today! Know yourself and turn your strengths into advantages.”
Advice aside, Irimescu said it was Petri’s work ethic that was his greatest influence: “Seeing him work out and run every single day was the way that Mike led by example.” It was at this early stage of his career that Irimescu came to believe that anything in life was possible if you were willing to put in the work. He said,
of connection to his Romanian heritage gave Irimescu a solid connection with Celea, who would stay in contact, trying to get Irimescu to travel to Romania to play rugby. According to Irimescu, he refused because he wanted to keep his domestic status in Major League Rugby.
In 2022, Irimescu left RUNY to play for their rivals Old Glory DC. In Washington, Irimescu went on to play in all 16 of Old Glory’s matches during the 2022 season
The son of Romanian immigrants Nicoleta and Gabriel Irimescu P’14, rugby seemed to come naturally to him. His dad played rugby for RCJ Farul in Constanta, Romania, and the younger Irimescu visited Constanta every summer, ensuring that he stayed connected to his roots. As luck would have it, that connection to Romania would eventually help Irimescu play rugby on the world stage.
“If you work hard, there is no limit to what you can do, but the work comes before everything.” And Irimescu worked hard.
After he graduated from Xavier, Irimescu played rugby at Penn State. Following his college graduation, he spent time playing with the New York Athletic Club before signing with Rugby United New York (RUNY) in 2019. By 2020, Irimescu was a force on the pro pitch and was getting noticed.
As he tells it, “In 2020, one of the main Romanian rugby recruiters, Bogdan Celea, saw my name on a Rugby United New York team sheet. He contacted me on Instagram and asked if I was Romanian. I replied to him in Romanian.” The years
and was in the starting 15 for 11 of those matches. But with the 2023 World Cup coming, Irimescu made the decision to leave Major League Rugby and play for Romania.
“I figured it was time to give Romania a chance,” Irimescu said. “So I packed my bags, headed to Bucharest, and took the biggest risk of my life.”
The Romanian national team headquarters in Bucharest is at Arcul de Triumf Stadium. Irimescu lived in a hotel adjacent to the stadium for the better part of 2023 while in training for the World Cup. “Training is tough and set-piece-focused,” he said. “This was a challenge at first, but I’m grateful
that I developed appropriately.”
On September 17, 2023, as Petri did years earlier, Irimescu made his World Cup debut against the South Africa side, a perennial rugby powerhouse. According to Irimescu, Romania walked onto the pitch, and they didn’t just want to participate in the World Cup: “We wanted to compete and more importantly, win.”
When describing how it felt to walk out onto the rugby world stage, Irimescu said, “I was able to completely block out the bright lights and loud noises. And when I got on the field, I thought about nothing except my team and our performance. But once it was all over, I was able to enjoy a lovely lap around the field, clapping off the 42,000-plus fans!”
Although Romania was defeated by South Africa in that match, Irimescu personally did well, hitting all four of his lineouts while making several good defensive plays.
As one of the few Americans playing in the World Cup last year (the USA Eagles did not qualify as one of the teams from the Americas), Irimescu joins three other Xavier alumni in having played or coached for the Rugby World Cup: Mike Petri ’02, Seamus Kelly ’09, and head coach of the USA Eagles from 2012-2015, Mike Tolkin ’85.
A graduate of the University at Buffalo and Fordham University, Michael LiVigni P’21 teaches history at Xavier. He served as Xavier’s headmaster from 2006-21.
Michael Ionescu ’15 is engaged to Mackenzie Williams, whom he met at High Point University.
Marv Pierre-Jean ’07 married Maria, his girlfriend of six years and fiancée of three years, on August 25, 2023.
Matthew Hickey ’10 married Clare Mahoney at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on August 20, 2022. Several Sons of Xavier served in the wedding party.
Maurice Sheehy ’10 married Lauren Femia on December 2, 2022.
Thomas Conroy ’11 married Emily Prymula in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 10, 2023.
Joseph Corrado ’11 married Chelsea Suffoletto in Naples, Florida, on December 2, 2023. Many Sons of Xavier, along with President Jack Raslowsky P’16, attended the wedding.
Bob Hubbard ’69 and his wife, Kathy, welcomed Cooper Powers, their 24th grandchild, on October 25, 2023.
Rafael Martinez ’69 welcomed his fifth grandchild, Penelope Josephine Martinez Shearman, on September 16, 2023. “Penny is a healthy and hungry bundle of energy,” he writes.
Paul Malon ’73 welcomed a granddaughter, Olivia Pearce Malon, on December 12, 2023.
Ray McCarthy ’73 welcomed his third grandchild, a girl named Lorraine, on August 22, 2023. “Bryn, Cooper, and Lorraine are the loves of our lives,” he writes.
Joseph Fama ’75 welcomed his sixth grandchild, a boy named Nathaniel, on November 27, 2023. He joins his brother, Xavier, and sister, Sofia. “I am now blessed with three grandsons and three granddaughters,” he writes.
Nevio Murljacic ’77 recently welcomed twin grandchildren, Margaret and Patrick.
Nicholas Sisto ’85 and his wife welcomed their first grandchild, Nicholas III, in March 2023.
Dr. Richard Dauhajre ’87 and his wife, Marianna Codispoti, welcomed their second child, Sabrina Jade, on April 5, 2023.
Nicholas Caesar ’00 and his wife, Nancy, welcomed their first child, Victoria Nicolette, on January 7. Victoria is the first grandchild of Marthajean and Dr. Franklin Caesar ’72 P’00.
Daniel J. Martinez ’05 and his wife, Ciara, welcomed their first child, Declan Joseph, on January 11, 2023.
Major Michael Nilsen, USA ’07 and his wife, Christina, welcomed their second child, Landon, in August 2022. Landon joins his big sister, Faith.
Joe Misseri ’07 and his wife, Lauren, celebrated the arrival of their second daughter, Clara, on May 15, 2023. “Clara’s big sister Emilia is showing her the ropes,” he writes.
Marv Pierre-Jean ’07 and his wife, Maria, welcomed a son, Henry Michael, on May 10, 2023.
Matthew Hickey ’10 and his wife, Clare, welcomed their daughter, Madeline Diamantina Hickey, on July 15, 2023.
Ryan D’Emic ’13 welcomed a son, Hudson, on April 16, 2023.
BOSTON RECEPTION
April 10, 2024
PHILADELPHIA RECEPTION
April 16, 2024
CELEBRATE XAVIER SCHOLARSHIP GALA
April 19, 2024
GOLDEN KNIGHTS LUNCHEON
May 3, 2024
50TH REUNION WEEKEND
May 3-4, 2024
5TH THROUGH 25TH REUNIONS
May 31, 2024
30TH THROUGH 45TH, 55TH AND 60TH REUNIONS
June 1, 2024
GRADUATION AT ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL
June 13, 2024
Watch live at saintpatrickscathedral.org/live
ROCKAWAY RECEPTION
July 9, 2024
JERSEY SHORE RECEPTION
July 17, 2024
QUOGUE RECEPTION
August 22, 2024
For the latest event updates, visit xavierhs.org/events.
Victoria Nicolette Caesar, daughter of Nicholas Caesar ’00 Joe Misseri ’07 with his wife, Lauren, and daughters Clara and Emilia
Gemstain Adu ’24, 10/4/23
Alumni
William LaMothe ’44, 9/21/22
Joseph Gold ’48, 8/23/23
Anton Stifter ’48, 6/10/23
Robert Kapp ’49, 11/20/23
John Keegan ’49, 11/24/23
James Burns ’50, 5/4/23
Rudolph Daus ’51, 6/3/23
Damian Halligan, S.J. ’51, 1/10/24
Paul Oliver ’51, 11/28/23
Vincent Coghlan ’52, 3/16/23
Peter Cutillo ’52, 1/24/24
George Haas ’53, 6/3/23
Walter Kearns, Jr. ’53, 3/22/23
Charles Sheffieck, Jr. ’53, 2/1/23
George Gibson ’54, 8/11/23
Robert Gmelin ’54, 9/20/23
Thomas Carroll ’55, 6/9/23
Joseph DeRose ’55, 4/26/23
Vincent Petti ’55, 6/30/23
Nelson Deusebio ’56, 12/27/23
William Hogan ’56, 6/7/23
John McDermott ’56, 5/2/23
Edward Winn ’56, 7/6/23
Arthur Carine, Jr. ’57, 9/3/23
Everett Worfolk ’57, 8/22/23
Hon. Albert del Rosario ’57, brother of Luis del Rosario, Jr. ’52 and Eduardo del Rosario ’62, 4/18/23
Brian Callaghan ’58, 11/29/23
Dr. Charles Crawford ’58, 8/11/23
Paul McNamara ’58, 8/22/23
Anthony McNulty ’58, 3/18/23
William Schild ’58, 8/29/23
Michael Smith ’58, 4/11/23
William Smith ’58, 1/5/24
George Vallario, Jr. ’58, 6/5/23
George Johnston ’59, 6/22/23
Paul Kalben ’59, 12/18/23
Harold Ruvoldt, Jr. ’59, 9/17/23
Donald Sweeney ’59, 11/27/23
Michael Toner ’59, 6/30/23
Michael Giuseffi ’60, 2/21/23
John Rowan ’60, 5/10/23
Joseph Toth ’60, 6/25/23
Dr. Joseph Corless ’62, 9/27/23
Thomas Foley ’62, 5/30/23
William Harrington ’62, 4/11/23
Robert Anton ’63, 8/7/23
Dennis D’Angelo ’63, 7/1/23
Thomas Lydon ’63, 1/20/24
Peter Richiuso ’63, 1/30/23
John Quealy ’64, 12/16/23
Michael Tsuji ’64, 4/6/23
Edward Wheeler ’64, 3/25/23
Dr. Robert Posteraro ’65, 9/1/23
David Yuen ’65, 8/26/23
Kenneth Capolino ’66, 9/20/23
James Murphy, Jr. ’68, 7/23/23
Thomas DiMaria ’69, 11/5/23
Stephen Bergan ’70, 5/22/23
Dr. Victor Bruno ’70, 5/22/23
Greg Sosa ’77, 5/29/23
Anthony Riccobono ’78, 7/8/23
William Brennan III ’79, brother of Michael Brennan ’91, 9/26/23
Dr. Peter Rocca ’80, 5/3/23
Christopher Corsi ’85 P’16, son of Andrew Corsi ’58, father of William Corsi ’16, and brother of Joseph Corsi ’78, Andrew Corsi ’80, and Brian Corsi ’88, 10/2/23
Kyle Kavanaugh ’87, 11/25/23
Paul VandeWater ’88, 6/30/23
Andrew White ’88, brother of Thomas White ’79, James White ’82, Edward White ’84, and Stephen White ’87, 1/15/24
Kenneth Gregory ’94, 11/3/23
Frederick McRoberts ’02, 9/21/23
Brendan Moody ’05, 3/22/23
Stephane Jean-Jacques ’06, 12/14/23
Zygmunt Wartski P’72 ’77, father of Joseph Wartski ’72 and James Wartski ’77, 8/1/23
Betty Ann Doyle P’73 ’79, mother of Thomas Doyle ’73 and Christopher Doyle ’79 and widow of Dr. Thomas Doyle ’43 P’73 ’79† , 4/6/23
Patricia Perini P’79, mother of Christopher Perini ’79, 12/14/23
Celeste Cosenza P’81, mother of Gil Cosenza ’81, 8/24/23
Martha DePalma P’83, mother of Nicholas DePalma ’83, 4/9/23
Francis Walsh P’85, father of Timothy Walsh ’85, 4/22/23
Nora Golden P’86, mother of Hugh Golden ’86, 4/13/23
Eileen Lugano P’87 ’91 ’96, mother of John Lugano ’87, Sean Lugano ’91†, and Michael Lugano ’96 and sister of Richard Duffell P’93 ’99, 12/12/23
Pauline Migliorini P’90, mother of Peter Migliorini ’90, 10/31/23
George Davies P’96, father of Melvin Davies ’96, 9/21/23
Sandra Bruno P’10, mother of Andrew Bruno ’10, 1/14/24
Leah Stein P’21, mother of Maximilian Stein ’21, 5/27/23
Mario Xavier Garcia P’27, father of Mason Garcia ’27, 1/16/24
Mary Murgalo, wife of Dr. Joseph Murgalo ’47, 5/1/23
Frances Richiuso, widow of Peter Richiuso ’63† , 6/28/23
Leo Daly, S.J., Xavier faculty member from 1976-79, 1/14/24
James Keenan, S.J., 29th President and 46th Headmaster, 8/13/23
Edward Makuta, former Xavier scholastic, 3/25/23
Julio Mercado, former maintenance staff member, 1/24
John Moogan, brother of Thomas Moogan ’84† , 8/20/23
As a journalist, I often think back on how the only time I have ever been formally “taught” journalism was at Xavier. When I enrolled in Michael LiVigni’s elective course, I figured that it would be a fun class to further improve the skills and interest in writing that I had developed thanks largely to Xavier’s English classes.
I have always been a sports fanatic, so when we finally reached the unit on sports journalism in Mr. LiVigni’s class, I remember feeling invigorated and inspired. I wrote a story about LeBron James’ dominance in the 2018 postseason, to which Mr. LiVigni provided this feedback: “I can honestly see you in the Cavs locker room interviewing LeBron someday. Well done.” I still have the screenshot of the Google Docs comment saved on my phone.
From that moment forward, I found new meaning in Xavier’s insistence that its students “set the world on fire” and set out on a path where I could one day interview
someone as prominent as LeBron James. This was a pivotal moment in my decision to continue my Jesuit education, as I applied and was accepted to the College of the Holy Cross.
Arriving in Worcester, Massachusetts, I thought of how much more enriching my high school experience could have been if I had joined the Xavier Review to further develop as a student journalist; I did not want to have the same regret by the time I graduated college. I signed up for The Spire, Holy Cross’ student-run newspaper, within days of being on campus, and I wrote my first piece about Daniel Jones’ first start as a Giant.
Over the next four years at The Spire, I took on more responsibility as I honed my writing skills. I was promoted to chief sports editor my sophomore year, and my Spire career culminated in being named the editor in chief of the paper my senior year. Serving as editor in chief was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. I cherished the
opportunity to encourage my staff writers to keep up their good work and help them grow as student journalists. Many of them had a serious gift for journalism and storytelling; I wanted to be a mentor to them, just as Mr. LiVigni was to me at Xavier.
Along the road to graduation, I also accumulated invaluable experience in the world of professional journalism, interning remotely at The Staten Island Advance in the summer of 2021 and interning with NBC New York at their 30 Rock office in the summer of 2022. Having the opportunity to collaborate and learn from some of the best journalists in New York helped solidify my desire to pursue journalism as a vocation.
When it came time to decide where my path would take me following graduation from Holy Cross, I was faced with a choice: I could return to the world of corporate journalism, or I could give back to the Jesuit community that had given me so much by accepting a fellowship opportunity at America Magazine, the Jesuit Review of Faith and Culture.
After much contemplation, I realized that a place like 30 Rock would always be there and that the opportunity at America may only come in their postgraduate fellowship. My experience at America thus far has only affirmed my decision to stay involved with the Jesuits and empowered me to produce content that I am proud to call my own.
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview George Clooney at the premiere of his latest directorial effort, The Boys in the Boat. He may not be an athlete, but I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to call George Clooney the “LeBron James of Hollywood.” Mr. LiVigni’s belief in my potential is starting to come to fruition, and I could not be more grateful for his encouragement and to Xavier for being the place of genesis for an unforgettable journey.
Michael O’Brien ’19 is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross. He is one of America Media’s three 2023-24 Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J. Postgraduate Media Fellows.
On May 7, 1974, President William Wood, S.J. called an assembly to announce a historic leadership transition. Vincent Duminuco, S.J., Xavier’s 45th headmaster, had been missioned to serve the Jesuit Conference of the United States in Washington, D.C. After much reflection and prayer, Wood told students and faculty, he had selected 37-year-old Jim Keenan, S.J. as Duminuco’s successor.
Four weeks later, the announcement was front-page news in the Review, which featured letters penned by Duminuco and Keenan. Fifty years later, their words still have resonance.
“Xavier at its core is really a group of people who love, and in sharing their love provide an atmosphere of growth as human beings, as scholars, as parents, as people giving witness to the love of God that guides all our work,” wrote Duminuco, who died in 2008 at age 74. “It is never easy to leave the people you love. In a real sense, however, I shall not leave you, for you have been part of my life.”
In his letter, Keenan added: “As a school whose hallmarks must be Christ and academic excellence, we—the members of the faculty and administration—will work with you during these important years of your life. Along with your family, we hope to help make you aware of your mission to share what God has so generously given to you. Yes, you should be proud of the past. However, much remains to be done. And if we remember, we’ve only just begun, we must strive to assist one another—learning how to study, to share, to pray, to act maturely. In closing, I ask for a remembrance in your daily prayers, sacrifices, and good works.”
