COVER STORY
Jesuit “Mr.”: Scholastics Shape the Prep Experience As part of the process of formation, young Jesuits spend two to three years working in schools, colleges or other institutions while fully immersed in community life – a period known as “regency.” This fall, Ben Brenkert, S.J., who completed his Jesuit novitiate long experiment at Prep in 2007, returns to Jersey City as a Jesuit scholastic to begin his regency.
“Mistah”
by Jack Savage, ’57 September 1953 Grand & Warren! We came from parishes throughout Jersey City and beyond…325 strong! We knew all about priests and nuns. Clearly this was going to be different… Jesuits! Fathers Meagher, Redmond, McGrail, McCusker, Murray & Murray, Bauer, York, Butler, Purcell, Smith, Joe Novak, S.J. May, Carr, Miller, and Shalloe. But who were those other guys? “SCHOLASTICS!” What did they do? We soon learned they were teachers, coaches, moderators, enforcers, role models, and counselors. Browning, Robinson, Curran, McGowan, Scully, Heavey, Enright, Guth, and Novak. (We called them “Mistah”…most of us hadn’t yet learned to correctly pronounce “Mister!”) So “Mistah” they were. All adjusting to real life after six years cooped up somewhere on the Hudson and tasked by their superiors to mold 325 unruly adolescents into somewhat reasonable human beings. (Among Father “Jake” Scully’s fondest memories as a Jesuit was being called “Mistah” at Grand & Warren!)
Ben Brenkert, S.J. They taught us Latin, Greek, algebra, religion and physics; supervised “class nights;” coached basketball; moderated intramurals; ran the GRAMSIT tournament; and chaperoned dances. After four years at Grand & Warren they were our friends. They attended our reunions, christened our children, celebrated our victories, and mourned our losses.
“Regency is a time of formation,” Brenkert explains. “For me, it will become a time to animate Prep students and Prep colleagues towards apostolic charity, apostolic freedom and the pursuit of a deeply intimate and personal relationship with God.” Regency is both a time to help form young Men for Others, and to be formed by the experience of sharing in the mission of Jesuit education. Throughout the years, Jesuit scholastics have earned the respect and friendship of generations of Prep men. When recalling their favorite teachers, those who did the most to challenge them intellectually, guide them spiritually and help them mature socially, many alumni think first of the young Jesuits who served their regency at Grand & Warren. As Prep welcomes a new scholastic to the faculty for the first time since 2006, Prep Magazine celebrates this proud tradition by inviting alumni from five decades to share their memories of the young Jesuits who helped shape the men they became.
Jake Scully, S.J.