Reflections from Fr. Tom Widner, SJ, Rector of the Brebeuf Jesuit Community Fr. Widner’s tenure at Brebeuf Jesuit will conclude at the end of this school year.
It is not easy to explain what it is like being rector of the Brebeuf Jesuit community. For starters, the assignment of a Jesuit priest in that role means primarily serving the Jesuits who are in residence on the campus. The role is somewhat antithetical to the work of the school itself for it has no built-in educational component. The question on receiving the assignment was: what will you do in the school? So much has changed in the structure of Jesuit schools over the past 40 plus years. When Jesuits owned their institutions of learning, the rector was both president of the institution and the head of the Jesuit community itself. Those roles were separated and a Jesuit was assigned to be president and another to be rector. The rector is in charge of the Jesuits living in the Jesuit residence. Today there are only five Jesuits in the Brebeuf Jesuit community and only four of them are employed in the school. The fifth is a chaplain at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove. The term for the person who replaces me this fall will no longer be “rector.” Whoever the next Jesuit serving in this role is, he will be called the “superior” of the community. The distinction is an internal one. My role in the school was first assisting the president as his confidante and advisor. There are responsibilities as a member of the board of trustees and as an administrator in the school. Gradually the work came to be that of developing programs in Ignatian spirituality in the school, something that all Jesuit schools assume. As time passed the greater interest in such programming came from individuals and groups beyond the faculty, staff, parents and alumni of the school. Today my work consists largely of individual spiritual direction and programs in prayer and Ignatian spirituality in Catholic parishes. Being the rector has been no easy task. Can you imagine trying to keep Brother Buchman out of the candy dishes? Or slowing down Father Peterson? Or getting Father Menke to refill the pop refrigerator in the kitchen? I have often felt like a parent whose teen-age children find every excuse to disrupt a household they can imagine.
GEARING UP FOR THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY In the fall of 2012, Brebeuf will celebrate 50 years of educating young people in service to others. Here’s a look back on the first half century of Brebeuf Jesuit: Sept. 4, 1962 Fr. Paul O’Brien, SJ, along with nine other Jesuits, two lay teachers and 167 freshman boys make history as members of the first class of the first Jesuit high school in Indiana. 1963-1964 Large mural in the cafeteria depicting the martyrdom of St. Jean de Brébeuf is unveiled. 1964-1965 Brother “Mac” (J. Kenneth McCauley, SJ) joins Brebeuf in September as Grounds Superintendent. 1965-1966 Fred McCashland joins the Social Studies Department. 1965-1966 129 seniors graduate in the first class. 1969-1970 The Class of 1970 presents the inlaid school seal on the main lobby floor as its farewell gift. 1970-1971 Br. John “Bucky” Buchman, SJ, starts his tenure at Brebeuf. 1974-1975 Student smoking was permitted outside. 1976-1977 BREBEUF WELCOMES 153 YOUNG WOMEN. 1978-1979 First President’s Medal is presented to Mr. Charles E. Stimming Sr. 1979-1980 The Black Student Union is founded. 1982-1983 A new Computer Club debuts. 1985-1986 The new Edward H. Block Memorial Library opens in the spring. 1986-1987 Brebeuf celebrates 25 years with a dinner dance at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. 1987-1988 A new modular student schedule is implemented, complete with PRTs (Personal Responsibility Time). 1988-1989 The first Kairos retreat is held. 1990-1991 Jesuits celebrate their 450th anniversary, and the 500th anniversary of St. Ignatius’ birthday. 1992-1993 Br. Pat Sheehy, SJ, passes away; Fred McCashland takes over as interim President. 1992-1993 The first-ever Brebeuf Carnival was held. Proceeds profited school clubs and the Student Financial Aid Program. 1993-1994 First-ever Brebeuf Bistro is held. 1996-1997 The Computer Club creates a website for the school.
Declining numbers of Jesuits mean there will be fewer Jesuits staffing Brebeuf in the future. But this is happening in all our institutions. Brebeuf Jesuit is lucky to have one Jesuit teaching in the school. There are Jesuit schools that have none. In 1962 when Brebeuf Jesuit opened its doors, there were perhaps 20 plus Jesuits in residence. We are much older and we are much smaller. The challenge is for our lay faculty and staff to carry on the ideals of St. Ignatius Loyola and to bring the message of Jesus Christ to all our families, the Jesus Christ who taught a way of life that includes a strong self-identity, an openness to the will of God, a striving for excellence that gives glory to God, and a sense of justice for the most oppressed members of our society. This will truly signify Brebeuf’s status as a Jesuit school. Ad majorem Dei gloriam!
1997-1998 Basement renovation is complete, which include new science rooms and a new Student Commons. The MPR is also finished on the main level. 2001-2002 Brebeuf celebrates the Feast of St. Jean de Brébeuf with a school-wide prayer service. 2004-2005 Fr. Paul O’Brien, SJ, passes away. 2004-2005 The Morning Prayer and Daily Examen are added to everyday life at Brebeuf. 2006-2007 Dr. Matt Hayes joins Brebeuf as its first non-interim layperson President. 2008-2009 The Mark G. Kite Wellness Center opens its doors.
BREBEUF JESUIT BYLINES / SPRING 2010
23