Kennedy Catholic ’ s Commitment to Nurturing Our Faith

STAFF INTERVIEW Father Breslin

Commitment Kennedy Catholic ’ s to Nurturing Our Faith

While providing a modern, rigorous Regents college-preparatory curriculum that meets the needs of today ’ s youth and tomorrow ’ s future leaders is paramount, Kennedy Catholic also educates young people in the sound doctrine of Catholic faith to prepare them for living out Christ’ s message of service to the world.

The mission statement of the Sisters of the Divine Compassion, who founded Kennedy Catholic, is “Empowered by God’ s love, we are called to be the compassionate presence of God in the world. ” This sentiment is strongly reflected in Kennedy ’ s own mission statement:

“We are strong and committed Christian leaders who are determined to make a difference for Christ in our world and the lives of others. Through the development of mind, body and spirit we will strive always for excellence and the highest standards in Catholic education. ”

To help instill faith, Kennedy Catholic provides all students with four years of theology to learn about God and His church, a strong sacramental life, a Christian Community Service program and contemplative retreat programs. Serving as our spiritual leader is President/Principal Father Mark Vaillancourt. Joining him are Deacon Alfred Impallomeni, Theology Department Chair and Director of Guidance; Theology faculty Mrs. Katie Glembotzky, Dr. Ilaria Tedesco, Mr. Charles

Junjulas, Sister Mary McCaffrey and Mrs. Karen Ramos; and now Father Matthew Breslin, Campus Minister, who joined KCPS in the 2021-22 school year.

Father Breslin is a newly ordained priest for the Archdiocese of New York, recently assigned as Chaplain to Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School. Father Breslin has a history of working with high school students as he was the director of Camp Veritas, an international Catholic summer camp for teenagers.

“I am excited to be assigned to Kennedy Catholic, as well as nearby St. Joseph’ s Church. I ask that everyone pray for me as I begin my priestly ministry, and I assure everyone of my prayers, ” said Father Breslin.

Among other responsibilities, Father Breslin will lead all the retreats that the students attend throughout the year, prepare students for reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation, offer Adoration and Confession every Friday during lunch hours, and be available to students at any time.

Father Breslin felt the call to the priesthood for most of his life, since he was at least eight years-old and asked the question,

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” and answered “I want to be an NBA player or a priest. ” As he grew older, he started to fear what others might think of him if he started to live his faith externally, but ultimately Father Breslin could no longer resist the Lord calling him to the priesthood and knew that this would lead him to true peace. He was ordained a priest on May 29, 2021 at St. Patrick’ s Cathedral in New York, New York by Timothy Cardinal Dolan.

Religious life runs in the Breslin family, as Father Breslin ’ s sister, Sr. Mary Strength of Martyrs, is a member of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara since May 2013, just months before Father Breslin entered the seminary after graduating high school. Now he is part of the robust religious life at Kennedy Catholic.

On campus, Community Mass is held once a month and is an opportunity for the school to gather as a community of faith. Prior to the pandemic, these masses were held in the auditorium and featured performances from the school chorus and readings by students. For the last two years everyone had the privilege of enjoying the fresh morning air on the front lawn as we celebrated the sacrifice of the mass together, and now thanks to the tech team we safely celebrate mass with half of the student body in the auditorium while the other half views a livestream from their classrooms. Every Friday, Kennedy Catholic offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in our school chapel. Taking four years of Theology is an essential feature of the Kennedy Catholic student’ s identity and development. In these courses, students receive a full education in Catholic doctrine, tradition, sacraments, scripture and morality. Theology classes are often the center of charitable efforts such as this year ’ s ProLife Club collection for Birthright of Peekskill and last year ’ s baby supply drive for the Sisters of Life. Each Theology class also participates in the Sacrament of Reconciliation during the Advent and Lenten seasons in preparation for Christmas and Easter. Our retreat program is an opportunity for students to travel with their Theology classes out of the classroom and engage in a day of reflection, prayer and peace. The seniors ’ retreat at Graymoor Spiritual Life Center allows them to hear lectures from guest speakers and participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. By the time they graduate, Kennedy Catholic students have received a complete and premier Catholic education, fulfilling the school mission.