The Friars of
Monsignor Bonner High School
By Father Francis J. Horn, O.S.A.
Bonner High, we’re loyal; Bonner High, we’re true. We will fight, fight, fight we Friars, ...
T
hese opening words to the famous “Bonner Fight Song” are well known to almost any student who has walked the hallowed halls of Monsignor Bonner High School. Since the opening in September 1953 of Archbishop Prendergast High School for Boys to the freshmen who would become the first graduating class from Bonner, until June 2009, when a personnel shortage forced the Province to withdraw its commitment to staffing this apostolate, the Augustinian Friars of the Province of St. Thomas of
Villanova provided both inspiration and the mascot for the diocesan high school located in Drexel Hill, PA. Over the span of those 56 years, more than 150 Augustinian Friars served as administrators, teachers, counselors, chaplains, moderators of activities and athletic teams, and friends and confidants to numerous students, faculty, and staff at the school. In one way or another, they touched the lives of the more than 20,000 graduates during that period.
F
rom the very beginning, the Augustinians provided a special “flavor” to the educational experience of Bonner students. Even firsttime visitors could detect something unique about the atmosphere at the school. Although not always named, a true sense of community was deeply ingrained in the fabric of Bonner by the Augustinians who shared their life in common while living and praying together in the monastery located on the campus. The friars translated the fraternal spirit of their religious life into their ministry at the school, resulting in a sense of family, brotherhood and a true concern for others.
Fr. Bill Atkinson, O.S.A. and Fr. Francis Horn, O.S.A. in the halls of Bonner
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Thus, for example, a Fr. Ed Dixey, O.S.A. who could single-handedly control a lunchroom of 600 hungry boys, could also be found with some of those same young men in a pick-up game of basketball after school; a Fr. John Melton, O.S.A. could regularly be available in his office late into the evening to help a senior decide on (or get into) college; a Fr. Al Smith, O.S.A. could make it enjoyable (as well as spiritually beneficial) for members of the Bonner Breakfast Club to serve Mass at 6:30 a.m. in the monastery; a Fr. Bill Atkinson, O.S.A. could turn a Saturday detention into a personal growth experience.
