Xavier Magazine: Winter 2025

THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI, PARENTS, AND FRIENDS OF XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL WINTER 2025

THE PHOTO OF THE YEAR: A MYSTICAL MORNING COMMUTE

At the end of the 2023-24 academic year, the student body voted to select the Photo of the Year from among 15 submissions taken by Photography Club members. A wintry image submitted by John Torraca ’26 won top honors. “It was a snowy, rainy morning at the busy intersection of 34th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan,” said Torraca. “The fog covered the skyscrapers, giving the city a mystical atmosphere. Pedestrians were in a rush, using umbrellas or pulling their coat collars up to shield themselves from the cold. It was this blend of weather and city life that inspired me to capture the moment with my iPhone cell phone camera.”

2025

In This Issue

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

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

Ralph Dinielli

James Hederman, S.J.

Eric Krebs ’17

Members of the Xavier cross country team (in orange) at the Nike Cross Nationals starting line in December. WINTER 2025

Michael O’Brien ’19

David Orlando ’17

Jennifer Reeder

Astrea Slezak

Photography

Dan Bassini

Maksym Boldashev

Harisch Studio

Michael Marmora

Carlos Regnier

Anna Spiridonova

Mark Wyville

Design

Erbach Communications Group

How to Reach Us

Xavier Magazine

30 West 16th Street

New York, NY 10011

Email: news@xavierhs.org A

Sustainability

In keeping with Xavier’s commitment to sustainability, this publication is printed on FSC-certified paper.

2024 CHSAA championship medal won by the cross country team

God Revealing

God’s Self

Dear Parents, Friends and Sons of Xavier:

It is the Feast of the Epiphany as I sit down to write this letter. Yesterday afternoon I joined thousands of other New Yorkers at the Met to take in the Siena exhibit. Like all great art, the work in the exhibit has stood the test of time. The colors, the humanness and the centrality of religion and faith in the life and art of Siena all spoke loudly of God’s goodness.

Two works stood out for me: a finely crafted gold crozier with the Holy Family engraved in the hook of the crozier, and a painting of the baby Jesus nursing at Mary’s breast. The crozier is still in use by the Archbishop of Siena and was on loan from him. It is a beautiful symbol of the Church through the ages. The painting was one of several images of Jesus in all his humanness—nursing at Mary’s breast, playing with her hair and tugging at her ear. Many of the images we encounter of Jesus and Mary can appear to be perfect and seldom reflect our own human experience nursing, smiling, and playfully interacting with our mothers. One of my favorite stories is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. During the Christmas pageant, the rough-and-tumble Imojean, who plays Mary, slings the baby Jesus over her shoulder, patting him on the back. One of the church ladies is scandalized, saying, “It’s not like the baby Jesus had colic.” To which her husband replied, “Maybe he did.” These images from Siena invite us into the humanness of Jesus and Mary, a reminder that our humanness is a reflection of God. Maybe the baby Jesus was indeed colicky. I went from the Met to our brother school on 84th Street (who we recently swept in a basketball tripleheader) for the Ignatian Schola’s performance, Rejoice in Hope. The Ignatian Schola is a group of Jesuits and friends linked by Ignatian spirituality and focused largely on religious music. They have great connections to Xavier with current and former members of our faculty and Jesuit community part of the group, including Jim Coughlin, S.J., Ricardo da Silva, S.J., Chris Derby, S.J. and Dee Kittany.

Rejoice in Hope was the Schola’s contribution to this Jubilee year during which Pope Francis has invited us to be pilgrims of hope. He said: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given to us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and a far-sighted vision.” The Schola “fanned the flame of hope” by beautifully celebrating the birth of Jesus with music.

I left Regis that night reflecting on the images of Siena and the music of the Schola. The beauty, joy and wonder so real in the arts provides us with

a glimpse of God, the source of all beauty, joy and wonder. That Saturday was a powerful experience of God revealing God’s self to me. I’ve been especially aware of this since the start of school this year and am tremendously grateful for that awareness.

I have written before about the grace of my office. Being present at so many events where God reveals God’s self so readily and so abundantly is part of this grace. Reading this magazine is, I hope, an experience for you of God revealing God’s self in the work of Xavier.

The cover picture is the rain-soaked starting line at Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in Portland, Oregon, in early December. Every moment there for us was sheer joy. The runners, Pat Dormer P’17, his coaches, the parents and the alumni who traveled to cheer us on all felt it. Nike throws one heck of a party and we took our place among the nation’s best. Building on generations who’ve gone before running the hills of Van Cortlandt, our guys rolled to a state number one ranking after McQuaid and never looked back. A great team effort from start to finish. Joy abounded in Portland. God revealing God’s self.

This was true in October as Tom ’80 and Nancy Maher once again made possible our Holocaust Studies pilgrimage to Poland. Brian McCabe P’23, Andrew Gheraldi and I, along with 15 students, walked the holy ground of Auschwitz and visited the sacred spaces of Jewish life in Warsaw and Kraków. God revealing God’s self in both sacred memory and in our journey together.

This was true in November on a gray and rainy Thanksgiving morning at Aviator Sports Complex. A morning on which any sane person would have slept late, enjoyed their coffee and started basting the turkey. Yet Xavier was out in force, and our Knights, led by Jackson Lent ’25, Evan Tarozzi ’25, Jerry Kuharski ’25, and Hanoi Nelson ’25, brought home a Turkey Bowl victory in Dom DeFalco ’10’s first year as head coach. The spirit of the day was epitomized by Joe Fascianella ’28, who in the pouring rain donned the Knight’s costume to cheer us to victory. Joe may have been among the youngest of Xavier’s sons there, yet like generations of freshmen before him, Joe is “all-in” at Xavier. Joe brought spirit and good humor in abundance. God revealing God’s self.

I hope this magazine helps you encounter God through our shared work at Xavier. Just as I hope Xavier equips the young men in our care to do so each day through the cultivation of gratitude, a nurturing love, a prayerful attentiveness to experience, and the grace of the sacraments.

December was more of the same. Dinner and conversation with the Xavier Jesuit Community discussing the province apostolic plan and working together to envision a future for Jesuit education on 16th Street as bright as our past. Time with our bowlers and swimmers riding the bus from Fresh Meadows and Flushing, a great reminder of the dedication of our athletes and coaches; holiday lunches with our alumni in Greenwich, Manhasset and Spring Lake. Through it all, challenges and celebrations, God there, present, inviting and loving. God revealing God’s self.

I hope this magazine helps you encounter God through our shared work at Xavier. Just as I hope Xavier equips the young men in our care to do so each day through the cultivation of gratitude, a nurturing love, a prayerful attentiveness to experience, and the grace of the sacraments. All helping us to be aware of God revealing God’s self and inviting us into the fullness of God’s life and love.

In this magazine, in the spirit of our NXN team, the art of Billy Maloney ’01 and Nick Leeper, S.J., the wonders of New York City, the stories of our alumni, and our memories of those we have lost, we are encountering God, an encounter that continues to transform Xavier and each of us for the good.

Please remember Xavier in your prayers. Be assured of my prayers for you.

Jack Raslowsky

President

News from 16th Street

Students Advocate for Change in Washington

In October, a delegation of 10 Sons of Xavier traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the 27th Annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, the nation’s largest Catholic social justice gathering. The group gathered before the U.S. Capitol building for a public witness and rally on October 28 before meeting with a staffer for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Students were accompanied by Director of Campus Ministry Kaija DeWitt-Allen, Dean of Educational Systems Lindsay Willert, religion and art teacher Nick Leeper, S.J., and liturgical musician Dee Kittany. Xavier has taken delegations of students to the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice since 2010. “It was a great weekend learning in breakout sessions and listening to guest speakers,” said Max Lanzarone ’28. “We were also able to voice our concerns about social justice issues firsthand to the office of Sen. Gillibrand.”

News and Notes

Fourteen students flew to Poland in October as part of Xavier’s second overseas Holocaust Studies trip. The group spent three nights in Warsaw and three nights in Kraków exploring numerous historical and cultural sites. Notable stops included the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Warsaw Rising Museum, Nożyk Synagogue, All Saints Church, Ghetto Heroes Square, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Students were accompanied by Tom Maher ’80 (who funds the interdisciplinary

XAVIER BLESSES, DEDICATES THE BREE SHEAHAN AND SCOTT TWIBELL ’92 SUPERCLASSROOM

On November 14, students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and friends came together for the blessing and dedication of the Bree Sheahan and Scott Twibell ’92 Superclassroom on the fifth floor of the Lynch Building. The superclassroom is an enhanced learning space that incorporates cutting-edge technology and flexible learning arrangements that allow for diverse teaching methods.

“Naming this superclassroom in your honor is a fitting testament to your support of Xavier’s mission and education writ large,” Vice President for Advancement Shane Lavin ’03 told Sheahan and Twibell, who made a six-figure gift to fund the space, in his remarks that night. “Your example will remind our students of what it means to be men for others.”

program with his wife, Nancy), President Jack Raslowsky, Director of Annual and Planned Giving Brian McCabe P’23, and Dean of Academics Andrew Gheraldi.

Emilio Paturzo Gonzalez ’27 took home gold in both individual and team competitions at the Svechnikov Cup International Fencing Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, in November. “Winning the Fencing World Cup in Sofia was an amazing experience. It was my first World Cup individual and

team gold medal,” Paturzo Gonzalez said. “To be able to represent the United States, as well as Xavier, is an honor, and I am very grateful for the support of the school.”

Xavier marked the 35th anniversary of the deaths of the martyrs of El Salvador with a teach-in and liturgy on November 15. Sister Peggy O’Neill, S.C., founder of Centro Arte Para la Paz in El Salvador, and Dr. Michael Lee, professor of theology at Fordham University, spoke at the teach-in, which

1. The varsity football team celebrates victory at the 101st Turkey Bowl. 2. Members of the Holocaust Studies Program in Poland in October.

was attended by student delegations from Fordham Prep, Loyola School, Notre Dame School, and St. Saviour High School. Fr. Ken Boller, S.J., pastor of the Church of St. Francis Xavier and former president and headmaster of Xavier, served as principal celebrant. Fr. Mark Hallinan, S.J. ’77, delivered the homily.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, Xavier brought dual Turkey Bowl victories home to 16th Street. The varsity football team trounced Fordham Prep, 28-0, while graduates of the last 20 years won the Turkey Bowl Young Alumni Giving Challenge. Xavier netted 711 young alumni donors to Fordham Prep’s 518.

At the Regiment’s fall awards ceremony on December 10, the Manhattan Chapter of the Daughters of the American

Revolution (DAR) honored Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Kelly, USA (Ret.), Xavier’s Senior Army Instructor, for his service. In keeping with tradition, a representative of the DAR also presented copies of the U.S. Constitution to senior cadets.

This year’s fall awards ceremony was notable as the Regiment welcomed the largest number (101) and largest percentage (30%) of a freshman class in decades. “From Maroon and Blue Day to the Turkey Bowl, with a parade up Fifth Avenue in between, you have shown us through push-ups, tossed rifles, precision, drumlines, personal accountability, and brotherhood how to showcase all that is good in who we are,” Headmaster Kim Smith told cadets that night. “You are a cohesive whole. You are postured in service. You are actively working on reaching toward high ideals. Ideals like integrity, commitment to

justice, personal courage, consistency, and being loving. I am glad that you made this concrete commitment to becoming the best version of yourself. And I am glad you all get to do that together.”

The Xavier Dramatics Society (XDS) staged Ken Ludwig’s SHERWOOD: The Adventures of Robinhood in Keenan Commons from December 13-15. The classic tale of courage and conscience starred Matteo Remia ’27 in the title role. XDS will stage its spring musical, Alice By Heart, in April.

Peter Angelo ’25, Thelonious Bennett ’26, Tyler Wachtel ’26, and John Mahovlic ’27 attended the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show in Anaheim, California, alongside Director of Music Ron Robinson in January. “This marks the first

1. Xavier marked the 35th anniversary of the deaths of the martyrs of El Salvador at a liturgy on November 15. 2. Chad Theodore Herry ’25 and Matteo Remia ’27 face off in a scene from SHERWOOD: The Adventures of Robinhood 3 Emilio Paturzo Gonzalez ’27 celebrates his wins at the Svechnikov Cup International Fencing Tournament in Bulgaria. 4. Members of the Xavier Regiment present the colors at a New York Knicks game in January. 5. Director of Music Ron Robinson with students at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.

XAVIER IN THE NEWS

From service trips to Holocaust Studies, Xavier students and programs have garnered considerable media attention this academic year. Read and watch news stories about Xavier by scanning the QR code below.

America Magazine: How One Jesuit High School is Fighting Antisemitism Through Education

Associated Press: Full-Scale Replica of Anne Frank’s Hidden Annex Opens in NYC

Currents News: 29 Students from Xavier High School Go on Mission Trip

Fox 5 New York: Xavier High School Cross Country Team Makes History

Independent School Magazine: Learning About the Holocaust

New York Post: Finding the Way

New York Post: It’s a Family Affair

New York Post: Team Spirit

The Tablet: NYC Catholic HS Students to Make Mission Trip to Maryland

time Xavier students attended the renowned industry event, which has historically been geared toward college students and professionals,” Robinson said. “As an experienced NAMM attendee, I was thrilled to introduce our students to the broader music industry’s diverse opportunities beyond performance and education, showcasing a range of stable, lucrative careers that many don’t realize are within reach.”

Three pieces of art by religion and art teacher Nick Leeper, S.J. were accepted into juried exhibitions in recent months. They are “Jeez” in Representing the Holy Name (December 1, 2024-January 15, 2025) at Holy Name Church in Steamboat Springs, Colorado; “Madonna and Child (Tomatokos)” in Icon-ic (November 9-23, 2024) at Covet Art Gallery in Oceanside, California; and “Madonna of the Future” in Let There Be Light (October

2-November 3, 2024) at the Lexis Gallery at Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento, California.

Religion teacher Dr. James Nagle convened and edited a special edition of Religious Education, a journal for professors, practitioners, and researchers in practical theology and education that advances research, scholarship, and practical approaches to teaching theology. The edition, published in January, “explores new approaches to teaching theology and religion in schools as religious identities and practices change in those learning communities,” Nagle said.

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 11. The next day, members

of the Regiment presented the colors at Madison Square Garden as the New York Knicks hosted the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education awarded Xavier two Best of District II Awards for long-form writing in October. The winning articles—“The Bravest and Finest” (about Sons of Xavier serving in the NYPD and FDNY) and “The Guru” (about Michael Sheehan ’69, one of America’s leading communications strategists)—were both written by Shawna Gallagher Vega, Xavier’s Vice President for Communications and Marketing, and featured in the summer 2023 edition of Xavier Magazine. Xavier is one of just three high schools honored in the long-form writing category, which is predominated by universities.

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Athletics Office

It’s a frenzied, frenetic Tuesday in the Athletics Office—just two days before the 101st Turkey Bowl—but Dom DeFalco ’10 and Eamonn Matthews ’15, Xavier’s Director and Assistant Director of Athletics, make it look easy.

“It’s completely nonstop every single day,” Matthews says as he applies for practice permits at the Red Hook Recreation Area. Like generations before them, today’s student-athletes commute to practice, most becoming expert managers of their time in the process. Lacrosse, baseball, and rugby sharpen their skills at Red Hook, with rugby shuttling to Pier 40 and Chelsea Waterside as well; football practices at Pier 40; baseball heads to Randall’s Island. And the list goes on.

As Matthews submits applications, coaches and students stream into the office to chat. Hordes of students stop by to purchase Turkey Bowl tickets. “Nonstop” is an apt description. During a rare quiet moment, Christopher Lobo ’25, an Athletics Office regular, writes an inspirational quote on a white board: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

After checking in with coaches in the gym and weight room during his midmorning rounds, DeFalco—who also serves as head varsity football coach—hosts a lunchtime strategy session with his players. The team packs into the Athletics Office to watch video and run through gameday scenarios. After school, they head to Pier 40 for their penultimate practice before the game, which they would win in resounding fashion, 28-0.

Despite the constant action, laughter and good humor abound. DeFalco and Matthews squeeze in a brief respite to decorate their office Christmas tree with brand-new Batman and Robin ornaments. These are games, after all, and holding that in balance is part of what they aim to teach student-athletes.

“Our work changes on the fly daily, but our mission always remains the same: develop student-athletes to challenge themselves on and off the field while creating a fun, competitive environment,” DeFalco said. “When a student-athlete or team reaches their maximum potential and continues their playing career after Xavier, there is nothing more rewarding.”

Widening Worldviews

A Xavier education has never been confined to 16th Street. Through visits to museums and theaters, historic sites and hidden gems, students relish the chance to learn in the capital of the world.

By SHAWNA GALLAGHER VEGA

On a brisk early December morning, 14 seniors grab their bags, walk to Union Square, and hop on the 4 train to 86th Street.

Accompanied by their French 4 teacher, Dr. Sara Rychtarik, and science teacher Megan Correira, students head north to the Guggenheim to see “Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910-1930,” an exhibition of vibrant abstract art.

Once they arrive, the seniors direct their own visits, moving through the museum’s stark rotunda in groups of twos and threes as they admire and analyze 90 works of art. Nirvaan Pal ’25 and Julien Audebrand ’26 stop to inspect Danseuse au café (“Dancer in a Café”), an oil painting by Jean Metzinger that captures the gaiety of Paris before World War I.

Rychtarik quizzes Pal and Audebrand in French. Does Metzinger’s painting truly represent Orphic art, she asks, or is it more indicative of Cubism?

“It’s a mix. It’s very geometric,” Pal replies. “It’s inspired by Cubism.”

“What the Orphist painters were trying to do is get away from reality. They were going inside and trying to pull from themselves, from their own connaissance,” Rychtarik explained later. “They wanted to have a musicality to their pieces. For them, the primacy was the color—different colors— where Orphism was all about shapes. It’s this idea of an experience that you feel. Somewhere in your brain, you know what it is, but it’s not clearly defined. That was the point of Orphism. How do you react to it?

What does it say to your soul?”

Jasper Thomas ’25 said the Guggenheim exhibit heightened his understanding of French 4’s study of Surrealist art. “I was able to see the actual pieces of art that we were writing poems and making projects about,” he said, “allowing me to understand how to make my work higher quality.”

Like Thomas and his classmates, Megan Correira—who volunteered to serve as a chaperone on the trip—left the Guggenheim with a greater knowledge and appreciation of Orphism.

“Accompanying the French students to the Guggenheim was such a fascinating and fun experience. I am in no way an art aficionado, but I can certainly appreciate art,” she said of her interest in the crossdiscipline trip. “I just so happened to be free during the time Dr. Rychtarik needed a chaperone, and I basically felt like, ‘Why not?’ How often do opportunities to visit renowned museums for free—on what was essentially my lunch and prep period—come our way? The same way we want our students to take advantage of the opportunities surrounding them in this great city, it was a chance for me to take my own advice.”

“The ability to walk down the street, hop on whatever train we need, and visit some of the most famous and historical places in the world is a true gift that I hope no Xavier student ever takes for granted.”

–Tommy Dolan ’27

As a biology teacher, Correira spearheads field trips of a different kind. Last year, she and fellow biology teacher Scott VandeVoort took freshmen to the American Museum of Natural History and the Climate Clock in Union Square—trips they plan to reprise this spring.

“We do our best in the classroom to provide as many hands-on experiences as possible within the lab, but it pales in comparison to seeing things in person,” Correira said. “It truly brings these concepts that might seem somewhat abstract when presented in a classroom to life.”

Their visit to the American Museum of Natural History, the world’s largest natural history museum, helped illuminate climate change and human evolution. Students explored life-size tableaux of four different human ancestor species in the Hall of Human Origins and engaged with interactive climate change exhibits, deepening their knowledge of how the climate works, how and why it’s changing, and what the consequences are.

“By seeing and doing, students learn in ways we just can’t replicate in the classroom. It’s particularly important for a topic like climate change because students may hear conflicting messages about what it is, or if it exists at all, and what’s causing it,” VandeVoort said. “Students were able to examine evidence like ice cores, sediment, and coral to see the record of the Earth’s temperature change over time for themselves. They then simulated the impact of five potential causes of climate change— like changes in the Earth’s orbit, volcanoes, and greenhouse gas emissions—in order to come to their own conclusions about which

Students travel back to Xavier after visiting the Guggenheim.

Biology students at the Climate Clock in Union Square.

French 4 students discuss Orphic artwork at the Guggenheim.

Modernism students inspect a Mark Rothko painting at MoMA.

are the biggest contributors.”

When Correira and VandeVoort took students to the Climate Clock, it was similarly eye-opening. Like many students, Tommy Dolan ’27 said he had previously walked past the site on his commute, unaware of its significance.

“As a visual learner, the ability to see this information outside of the classroom environment was very impactful to me,” Dolan said. “The Climate Clock trip put things into perspective for myself and many of my peers. Learning that it symbolizes roughly the amount of time we as humans have until the effects of climate change are irreversible was interesting. It also made me realize as a young adult that I have to step up now to make a difference for future generations.”

For Kara Henn, a veteran English teacher, inspiration for her craft can be found across the city. This academic year, she has taken sophomore World Literature students to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, seniors in her Modernism elective to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and Jewish American Society members to Katz’s Deli.

Henn is a passionate proponent of using the city as an extension of her classroom. After spending the first six years of her career on Long Island, she was drawn to Xavier in 2004 in part because of its proximity and access to the world’s great museums and theaters. Over the past two decades, she has participated in teacher workshops at the Met and other museums, familiarizing herself with their holdings and the learning opportunities they can provide students.

Henn’s World Literature class reads Beowulf and studies heroes and monsters as part of their curriculum, and she supplements what they learn in the classroom with a trip to see the Met’s collection of arms and armor.

“Weapons are the highest technical capability of a culture, so whatever a culture is capable of is exhibited in their weapons,” Henn explained. “Students had to take a

photograph of one piece and talk about how it represents the culture that produced it. For example, Anglo-Saxon culture was brute strength and brawn, so all the weapons are huge and ugly. In France, everything is beautiful. Weapons become more of a status symbol than an actual utilitarian object.”

“Being educated in the heart of New York City has given me so many opportunities. This city is a living, breathing piece of history.”

—Sophocles Tsingis ’27

At MoMA, Henn’s Modernism students chose an artist from the fourth floor galleries to research and use as inspiration for an imaginary Mark Rothko dialogue. Drawing inspiration from John Logan’s play Red, which dramatizes Rothko’s disdain for pop art, Henn asked students to write a dialogue between Rothko and his assistant, Red, discussing the artist they chose.

“My trip to MoMA really helped me get into modernism by allowing me to see art firsthand instead of on the SMART Board. It helped me connect what I’ve learned in class to real-world masterpieces,” said Hanoi Nelson ’25. “Xavier’s location has impacted my high school experience by giving me access to amazing cultural museums and exhibitions like MoMA.”

“Obviously, they’re just exposed to more. I think it’s really important that they’re able to go to these places,” Henn added. “I don’t think you can calculate the value of that experience. It’s extraordinary. We can literally hop on the F train and be at MoMA in 15 minutes. The Whitney is a 10-minute walk.”

Margaret Gonzalez P’24, Henn’s longtime colleague in the English department, is an equally strong proponent of taking advantage of New York City’s myriad cultural opportunities.

Seniors explore Montien Boonma’s “House of Hope” at MoMA.

A member of the Jewish American Society enjoys a meal at Katz’s Deli.

Throughout her three decades on 16th Street, she’s taken students to countless productions of Shakespeare’s plays, from Macbeth to Hamlet to Much Ado About Nothing; to the Metropolitan Club for a reading by National Book Award winner Colum McCann; to the Tenement Museum, the Irish Famine Memorial, the Irish Rep, the New York Irish Center, and Gaelic Park with the Irish American Society.

Her favorite memories spill forth readily. There was the 2005 trip to see a Broadway revival of Julius Caesar, starring Denzel Washington as Brutus. “He was so gracious,” Gonzalez recalled of the Jesuit-educated, Oscar-winning actor. “He came out of the theater and formed a separate line just for the Xavier students.”

There was the initially harrowing—but, in the end, pleasantly surprising—trip to see Hamlet in Chinatown with her AP English Literature students. “They were $10 tickets. It was a rickety old tenement building. We walked up five flights. I was terrified we might die,” Gonzalez recalled with a laugh. “It was

this small theater space with 60 seats in it. It was the best production of Hamlet I’ve ever seen in my life. I always tell the students, go see theater in the city. You’re always going to see great actors and actresses.”

“We do our best in the classroom to provide as many hands-on experiences as possible within the lab, but it pales in comparison to seeing things in person. It truly brings these concepts that might seem somewhat abstract when presented in a classroom to life.”

—Megan Correira

When Gonzalez heard that Kenneth Branagh, the lauded Oscar and BAFTA winner, was slated to helm King Lear at The Shed last fall, she amended her AP English Lit curriculum to include the Shakespearean tragedy. With Lear’s run scheduled to begin in late October, she emailed The Shed staff in early September to secure discounted student or group tickets for the show. She was surprised to learn that such tickets did not exist.

Religion and art students sit on the Met steps before exploring the museum.

In frustration, she researched The Shed’s mission statement, which notes a commitment to “minimizing social and economic barriers to entry,” and argued her case in a thorough email. Then her husband suggested she use social media to further her point, so she shared her thoughts publicly on Instagram. Within 15 minutes, she had a reply email from The Shed offering her 45 student tickets for $25 each.

“Thanks to Ms. Gonzalez’s efforts, we were able to see the story and characters come to life and see the themes and emotions we discussed being acted out in person— something that I hope most English classes will be able to experience in Xavier’s future for the sake of learning,” said Jasper Thomas, who also attended the Guggenheim trip. “There are certain important scenes and lines that are simply difficult to understand the true meaning of when they are being read. The play adds emotion and action to the words and allowed all of us to get the most

out of reading the play in the classroom.”

More than anything, Gonzalez is happy that seeing Lear at The Shed inspired her students to be more adventurous New Yorkers.

“They start to see how many small theaters are out there—how accessible theater is, how affordable it is. They start to understand how lucky they are to have all of this accessibility,” she said. “The world goes beyond Chipotle. A lot of alumni, when they come back, they talk about going to shows.”

New York City is known for its world-class museums and theaters, but Xavier teachers have long sought to maximize hidden gems to enrich their teaching, too.

Dr. James Nagle takes his world religion students across the street to the Center for Jewish History and further afield to the Hindu Temple Society of North America and the Kadampa Buddhist Meditation Center. Dr. Aaron Shapiro leads all Latin students

on architecture walks, helping them develop an awareness of the neoclassical architecture prevalent in Xavier’s neighborhood.

The architecture walks are a crucial activity for all four years of the Latin curriculum, with ninth graders supplementing their classroom lessons about ancient Greek art and architecture and tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders expanding their understanding of Roman architecture. The students’ favorite stops include the old Tammany Hall building on Union Square East and Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace on East 20th Street.

“It’s fun to realize that we’re surrounded by ancient design and ornamentation on 16th Street. It can be even more interesting to see how New York architects use the visual language of ancient architecture to communicate,” Shapiro said. “I think that the arts and humanities, at their best, can give us new ways of looking at the world. I hope that students leave this unit a bit more aware of the beauty that surrounds us in NYC, more likely to look up at a green oxidized cornice or down at the engraved base of a column.”

Daniel Marshall ’26, a Chelsea native, said those activities are now part of his daily routine.

“The architecture walks in Mr. Shapiro’s Latin class have given me a new perspective and awareness of the city I call home. Every morning, I now walk with my head up, looking in awe, analyzing the beautiful Roman architecture of New York City,” Marshall said. “These walks have also allowed me to better understand the influence the Roman Empire has had on the world by experiencing it firsthand. It’s not only the architecture. Every day, we see Roman numerals being used and Latin on government buildings.”

Sophocles Tsingis ’27 said the walks made him realize that Latin may be a dead language, but it surrounds us constantly—if you know where to look.

“Being educated in the heart of New York City has given me so many opportunities,” Tsingis said. “This city is a living, breathing

Latin students explore the architecture of Xavier’s neighborhood.

piece of history, and I believe that due to this, I enrich myself.”

It’s no surprise that high school students are fond of field trips, but at Xavier, appreciation for those trips runs deeper.

Ian Holchak ’25, who attended King Lear at The Shed last fall, said he’s deeply grateful for the unique opportunities New York City—and Xavier—have offered him. One of his favorite field trips took place during his freshman year, and it still resonates.

“I vividly remember embarking on a cruise around the island of Manhattan with the Ignatian Scholars and members of several other clubs at Xavier,” Holchak said of that trip. “Throughout the cruise, we examined the infrastructure of bridges, docks, ports, dams, and power plants; we specifically had a guide who explained how these infrastructures have changed to be more ecofriendly over the past century. This was an eye-opening experience because I got to learn a lot about civil engineering projects that were occurring right in my own city.”

Tommy Dolan, who commutes from Pleasantville to 16th Street each day, also relishes the diverse experiences he’s had as a Xavier student. In addition to the trips he’s taken to the American Museum of Natural History and the Climate Clock, he’s had the chance to visit the Tenement Museum

and Irish Hunger Memorial with the Irish American Society and the Jackie Robinson Museum with the Higher Achievement Program, for which he serves as a tutor.

“I think it’s really important that they’re able to go to these places. I don’t think you can calculate the value of that experience. It’s extraordinary. We can literally hop on the F train and be at MoMA in 15 minutes. The Whitney is a 10-minute walk.”

–Kara Henn

“Attending high school in New York, a place that people spend their whole lives dreaming of coming to, really makes coming to school here feel that much more special,” Dolan said. “The endless amounts of museums and places to visit make you feel that even when you walk outside the doors of 16th Street, you are still learning. Attending Xavier has been an experience like no other. The ability to walk down the street, hop on whatever train we need, and visit some of the most famous and historical places in the world is a true gift that I hope no Xavier student ever takes for granted.”

Shawna Gallagher Vega, APR is Xavier’s Vice President for Communications and Marketing. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Boston College.

AP Literature students take in King Lear at The Shed.

“God Put Us on This Earth to Create”

Inside “Space in Time,” Billy Maloney ’01’s

Art Exhibition By DAVID ORLANDO ’17

In the summer of 2024, Guttenberg Arts, a nonprofit print shop and professional studio in northern New Jersey, awarded art teacher Billy Maloney ’01 a four-month residency. Maloney was asked to create a cohesive body of work in any medium he wished, culminating in a month-long exhibition in September where he had the opportunity to curate and showcase the pieces he was most proud of. He was even invited back to have a print from his residency featured in Guttenberg Arts’ First Annual Members Exhibition, which opened in February. Xavier Magazine sat down with Maloney to talk about his process, inspirations, and what lessons from Guttenberg traveled back to 16th Street with him.

Can you tell us a bit about how you got involved in this residency?

A friend of mine named Russ Spitkovsky is a master printer and serves as the director of Guttenberg Arts. He co-founded the studio with Matt Barteluce, a fellow Xavier graduate from the Class of 1999. He encouraged me to apply for the summer residency, which grants access to a remarkable space that includes a darkroom, screen printing equipment, lithography and etching presses, a full ceramics studio, and a bountiful community garden.

I submitted a portfolio showcasing my recent paintings, including watercolor, acrylic, and airbrush works. The board selected my art from about 70 applicants, and I was awarded this fantastic opportunity. In mid-May, I received a key to the studio and got to work.

Was this your first time creating work for an exhibition like this?

I have previously participated in group shows with just one or two pieces of my artwork. However, this was the first time I had the opportunity to display a complete body of work. It was both exhilarating and intimidating, but as the adage I have posted on my classroom wall reminds me, “Fortune favors the bold.”

What medium did you choose to work in and why?

I produced 33 monotype prints with sizes ranging from 14" x 17" to as large as 28" x 34". Monotype is a unique printing style where the artist renders an image in a thick, slow-drying ink onto plexiglass. When the drawing is complete, they place wet paper on top and run it through an etching press. I became obsessed with the mark-making

Maloney demonstrating the etching press he used to create his final prints.

aspect and enjoyed doing a messy ink drawing that was editable until I was ready to print. The ability to change and edit differs from drawing on paper, so this new freedom encouraged me and opened the creative floodgates.

What was the inspiration for the set of pieces you created?

Dreams. For years, I have struggled with sleep apnea and recently took steps to correct the issue. Starting in May, I began to sleep longer and more profoundly, flooding me with vivid dream after dream. Dreams are fleeting, so I kept a journal by my bed and each morning I would chronicle as much as I could recall. My journaling captured deep thoughts, philosophical dissection, and epic imagery. We sleep for about one-third of our lives, and I have always believed we should not dismiss dreams. They are our subconscious’ inner workings and hold the key to so much more.

One of your monotypes was inspired by a dream of Jesus’ crucifixion. Can you tell the story of how that piece came to be?

I was part of a delegation of Xavier teachers who traveled to Europe last summer to conduct research for the Holocaust Studies Program. In the mornings we would research, and by mid-afternoon we would head to the fine art museums. While in Berlin, we encountered a remarkable painting from 1512 by Hans Baldung called “The Crucifixion of Christ.” Baldung’s style is impressive, and I enjoy his choices of subject matter, which often delve into religious themes and witchcraft. I have always been fascinated with both. Baldung rendered the figures in his paintings in a realistic, but also dreamlike way. During our visit, we saw a significant amount of religious artwork, but this particular depiction of the

crucifixion resonated with me due to the visceral portrayal of the two thieves.

I was utterly captivated. The twisted limbs of the thieves flanking Jesus powerfully conveyed their agony, and their contorted poses deviated from the traditional representations often seen in fine art depictions of the crucifixion. The painting moved me. As I stood there, I recalled my freshman religion class in 1997. My teacher spoke about how the thieves are frequently overlooked or marginalized in the narrative, yet they embody profound humanity.

“This was the first time I had the opportunity to display a complete body of work. It was both exhilarating and intimidating, but as the adage I have posted on my classroom wall reminds me, ‘Fortune favors the bold.’”

The night we saw the Baldung painting, I dreamed I was present at the crucifixion. It was vivid, and I felt like I could smell the metallic air from the blood and taste the dust in my mouth. It was a haunting vision that stayed with me. I wrote as much as I could that morning, and when we returned from Europe I was in the studio the very next day working on “Woe to Golgotha.”

Does “Woe to Golgotha” have any related pieces that flowed from that same inspiration?

Two other pieces stemmed from the crucifixion scene, titled

Part of the main wall of Maloney’s exhibition, inspired by dreams. He recounted that three main visual categories emerged: birds of prey, medieval fantasy battles, and abstract forms and patterns.

After Maloney encountered Hans Baldung’s 1512 painting “The Crucifixion of Christ” in Berlin, he dreamed he was present at the cross. The next day, he began working on “Woe to Golgotha,” above.

“The Kind of Fire That Offers No Light” and “Exile from the Kingdom.” There are conflicting teachings regarding where exactly Jesus spent those days between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Some say purgatory, some say hell, some say heaven.

“I often remind my students that God is a creator, and if we are made in God’s image and likeness, God put us on this Earth to create.”

My father passed in October 2020, and it had a profound impact on me and my artwork. I often think about the afterlife, but also where we are before we are born—the before-life. How do we end up who we are? The promise Jesus made to the thieves on the cross that they would join him in paradise was a concept that made me think deeply about this unique experience of mortality. The finality of life and this body, combined with the soul’s immortality, are common ideas in my artwork.

How did you feel about the show once you saw everything come together?

The show was a success. There was a great turnout on opening night, and quite a few of my Xavier family showed up. I know how hard my fellow teachers and staff work and how valuable free time is, so I appreciated their presence on a Saturday night in New Jersey. The feedback was positive, and I sold quite a few of the 33 prints.

The end goal wasn’t to sell them, but it was validating to see that people loved the work and were willing to pay for it.

Is there anything you learned from your show that you’ve brought back into your classroom?

When we begin a piece of art, we often have an idea of a finished product. Things sometimes don’t go as planned, whether a drawing, painting, sculpture, or even a doodle.

The important thing to remember is to keep moving forward. Expect challenges and obstacles, be ready for them, and when they arrive…deal with them head-on.

Perseverance is the key to success.

How do you encourage your students to follow their inspiration and create a meaningful, fleshed-out body of work like this?

One thing we all do as members of the fine arts department is model expert behavior. All of the teachers in our department are active in the discipline they teach even outside of Xavier. Art is what we do, not just as a job. We act, we dance, we sing, we make music, we tell stories, we paint.

Artmaking is an activity that has existed since the dawn of man. Unfortunately, these things have become categorized as hobbies somewhere down the line when, truthfully, these are universal and fundamental human behaviors that are necessary for life. I often remind my students that God is a creator, and if we are made in God’s image and likeness, God put us on this Earth to create.

David Orlando ’17 is Xavier’s Associate Director of Communications and Marketing. He is a graduate of New York University.

Maloney with a 20" x 24" monotype print, “Long Way to Go,” the first of 20 prints he completed at Guttenberg Arts after the conclusion of his residency.

How does Xavier prepare its athletes for success in college sports? Hard work, personal attention, and genuine care are at the heart of the recipe.

By MICHAEL O’BRIEN ’19

Andrew D’Alessio ’21

Xavier’s athletic teams have long been models of excellence, weaving themselves into the very fabric of the school’s fabled history.

Being a student-athlete on 16th Street can be demanding, but Xavier consistently provides its athletes with opportunities to succeed at the collegiate level, helping scores of alumni get recruited to play college sports.

Few know this as intimately as Director of Athletics Dom DeFalco ’10, once a standout football and rugby player for the Knights who won a national championship in rugby as a senior.

DeFalco, who had been playing football since he was 5 years old, didn’t even know rugby existed before coming to Xavier.

“When I got here, I tried out for football and made the team. And then I learned that if you play football, you were probably going to go play rugby. That was just kind of the expectation. So I was like, ‘All right, let’s do it. Why not?’” he recalled.

That “why not?” from DeFalco grew into a lifelong love for the sport—and led to him becoming a collegiate All-American in rugby at Penn State University. Guidance from his Xavier

coach, Mike Tolkin ’85, helped get him there.

“I had signed my letter of intent to play football in college at St. Anselm’s, so I was actually moments away from not playing rugby my senior year. Mr. Tolkin did some sort of Jedi mind trick and convinced me to play,” DeFalco explained with a laugh.

“I played, and we won the national championship. By chance, the Penn State coach was at nationals in Utah. He came up to me, asked if I wanted to check out the school again after I had already gotten in for academics, and the rest is history.”

Today, DeFalco witnesses Xavier coaches inspiring a new generation of student-athletes— including those we spotlight on these pages—as they pursue athletic success at the college level.

RATU DELANO NAVOTI ’24

Football, Villanova University Villanova defensive lineman Ratu Delano Navoti remembered one particular interaction with DeFalco, then an assistant football coach, that helped jumpstart his path to playing at the collegiate level.

“I remember we had an exit meeting after my sophomore season and he told me that he believed that I could play college football. And honestly, that went

Ratu Delano Navoti ’24

a long way, because I didn’t,” said Delano Navoti, who was raised in Brooklyn. “I always thought I was pretty good, but just hearing it from a coach really meant a lot to me.”

The Nova freshman also took note of the strong inspiration he received from Chris Stevens ’83, who had the confidence to pull him up to varsity as a sophomore, sharing that Coach Stevens “would always tell these stories of Xavier guys who came through the program and made an impact. That really stuck with me as a young athlete because I wanted to be one of those guys that was remembered, too.”

Delano Navoti credits Xavier for being a place that holistically cared for his skills and interests away from the gridiron as well, sharing that Xavier “facilitated the type of environment in which I was able to expand upon what I’m capable of. I wasn’t just limited to being an athlete. They told me that, ‘No, you can do all different types of things.’ I was also a co-president of a club called the Equal Justice Society, in which we talked about social justice issues in America.”

EVAN TAROZZI ’25

Football, Brown University

Xavier linebacker Evan Tarozzi, who is gearing up for the beginning of his collegiate career in the fall, called Delano Navoti, his former teammate, a role model in his own process of recruitment.

“He’s always been someone I looked up to. He was always someone I could ask questions of, especially about the recruitment process,” Tarozzi said of the brotherhood that Xavier athletics inspires.

Tarozzi, who hails from Manhattan, also appreciates that Xavier has taught him to be adaptable in order to face any challenge thrown his way. “From a sports perspective, it’s definitely interesting, because we don’t have any fields to practice on,” he said. “It teaches you to grow and adapt and to manage your time. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Noting that Brown emphasizes academic success just as much as accomplishments on the field in the recruitment process, Tarozzi said he believes he may have “never been able to have the opportunity to go

Being a student-athlete on 16th Street can be demanding, but Xavier consistently provides its athletes with opportunities to succeed at the collegiate level, helping scores of alumni get recruited to play college sports.

there [without Xavier]. So in terms of keeping up my GPA and all that, Xavier has helped me tremendously to even have the opportunity to go to Brown.”

ANDREW D’ALESSIO ’21

Baseball, Princeton University

Staying in the Ivy League, Andrew D’Alessio ’21 is a pitcher for the Princeton University baseball team, preparing for his final collegiate season this spring.

It’s safe to say that Xavier’s Jesuit values made a strong impression on D’Alessio during his time on 16th Street.

“Here at Princeton during my freshman year, we got to customize our baseball gloves, and I had A.M.D.G. woven on my glove,” the Staten Islander said.

“Outside of baseball here, I’ve really prioritized community service,” he continued. “I’m on a few committees that help to serve local kids in the community and people with special needs. Doing everything for the greater glory of God is something Xavier really stressed.”

Evan Tarozzi ’25

D’Alessio saw Xavier’s service trips and retreats as opportunities to take a welldeserved break from practices and games while deepening his faith.

“I went on the CFX Maryland trip after my freshman year, CFX Tennessee after my sophomore year, and I was supposed to go to Mexico after junior year but then COVID happened, so I wasn’t able to—but those first two service trips were really great. I also went on Kairos, and then I was a senior leader. I loved the retreats at Xavier. They sort of allowed you to detach yourself from everyday life.”

When he made the trip back to New York City to pitch against Columbia University last season, D’Alessio was moved to see Xavier’s legendary basketball coach, Joe McGrane P’20, at the game to watch him play.

“I thought that was super cool. The whole athletic department is really supportive and they’re always checking in to make sure I’m doing all right and are always pushing me forward,” said D’Alessio, who also saluted his Xavier baseball coach, Rich Duffell P’93 ’99. “They really want to see me succeed on the field.”

MICHAEL HAWKES ’22 Cross Country and Track, Stony Brook University

Michael Hawkes is now a member of Stony Brook’s cross country and track teams, recently earning All-Coastal Athletic Association honors for his performance at the conference’s championship meet last fall. He credits his Xavier coach, Patrick Dormer P’17, with helping him unlock performances he didn’t think he was capable of.

“I’d always try to talk to him about training and races, and I really bought in completely to it. And the second I bought in completely to it, I got a lot better,” Hawkes said of his dedication to Dormer’s coaching philosophy and vision for him as an athlete. “I still try to keep him in the loop as much as possible. I think he’s definitely almost a father figure, in the best way.”

Hawkes is also thankful that Xavier’s cross country and track programs as a whole cared deeply about his long-term goals as a runner.

Coach Dormer once told him, “You’re 17 years old and still in high school. I still want you to grow and to get better,’” Hawkes recalled. “I think that helped to make a really smooth transition with running at the college level.”

Dormer likewise spoke about Hawkes’ fierce commitment to the team during his time at Xavier: “I always knew that he had something special because he worked so hard, and to be a great distance runner, that’s really

all you need. Of course you need talent, but you also need that drive and desire to put the miles in.”

Whether it be on the football field, baseball diamond, or on the cross country course, Xavier athletes have proven their ability to succeed in college sports—and they always remember Xavier’s role in that success.

Michael O’Brien ’19 is a freelance writer. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross.

Michael Hawkes ’22

The Art of Finding God in All Things

By ASTREA SLEZAK

Leeper spent three months praying and creating The Descent from the Cross, an oil painting memorializing his mother.

Jesuit scholastic Nick Leeper, S.J., a religion and art teacher, joined Xavier’s faculty last fall as part of his regency, the third step in his Jesuit formation. Earlier in 2024, he earned a master’s in philosophy from Saint Louis University, where his thesis, “An Attempt at an Ignatian Aesthetic: Philosophical Reflections from ‘What is Christ,’” explored the connection between art and religion, specifically art as a route to God.

“Art is not practical. Neither is philosophy. … Forget art and learn accounting. Quit finger painting and do something that matters,” Leeper wrote in his thesis, describing his thought process before beginning his journey to the priesthood.

It has been five years since Leeper felt this sentiment. Now, the young Jesuit teaches art and religion on 16th Street, where he shares his discovered appreciation for the arts with Xavier students.

“All of my art starts with prayer,” he said—a practice that began during his experience of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola in the novitiate period of his Jesuit formation. The Exercises are explored in a 30-day silent retreat and aim to deepen the participant’s relationship with God.

For the duration of the retreat, reading is not allowed; only the Bible is permitted. But Leeper found an art book, Sister Wendy’s 1000 Masterpieces, in the retreat center library and decided it was a loophole. He would sit in the library, the book propped up in front of him—and suddenly he began to pray using the images.

“Throughout those 30 days, I was changed through prayer and Ignatian imaginative contemplation, and art helped facilitate that process. There was something there for me between art and prayer. Art was this transformative thing that helped me have a more profound experience than ever during this time of intense prayer,” Leeper wrote in his thesis.

In September 2023, three years following his completion of the Spiritual Exercises, Leeper began praying with the

image of a wine bottle. The bottle, he said, depicted his late mother—someone who filled others’ cups and whose life was a celebration. She passed away in 2015.

Leeper recalled not knowing exactly how to express the complex emotions that the loss of his mother evoked. Eight years after her passing, he found those words through prayer, and eventually through art. Leeper compared it to learning a language—the language of art.

It led him to create The Descent from the Cross, an oil painting of a wine bottle between two full glasses. He spent three months praying about and creating the image before its completion.

“All of my art starts with prayer.”

“I found that symbol, the bottle of wine, showed that [my mother] was simple, in a good way, and always very joyful,” said Leeper. “But her life being that wine bottle, empty now in death, meant something more. What does that mean that there’s an empty wine bottle? It means that people enjoyed themselves. It means that the glasses next to it are full. And so I imagine myself and my brother as those two full wine glasses, that even though my mom is empty, now dead, she filled my life up. She filled my brother’s life up to the brim.”

At that moment, Leeper first transformed his emotions, love and grief, into art.

From then on, Leeper has, in some way or another, been sharing the power of art as a route to God. This

“Jeez,” an acrylic painting embellished with gold leaf, was showcased at a group exhibition in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, at the end of 2024. It now hangs in the Xavier Jesuit community.

learned experience is something that he brings with him into the classroom, sharing with students how art can help transform complex or indescribable emotions.

“At a deeper level, art is this vocabulary we can learn to truly express ourselves,” said Leeper. “It’s a way of extending our language. So I could say, ‘I am sad my mom died,’ but that’s not enough as making the painting that I did.”

During his First Studies in St. Louis, Leeper was placed in a Nativity School—a faith-based middle school offering free tuition to students from low-income families—and instructed to tutor a student named William, who struggled with a learning disability that was hindering his progress in school. Leeper was tasked with helping him graduate.

But their sessions were uninspiring—full of lulls, lacking in conversation, and stagnant in terms of progress until one day, Leeper decided he was going to teach William how to draw.

“ There’s such a clear synthesis between the Jesuit worldview and art. The idea of finding God in all things is the foundation, and then from there, it is about using imagination for prayer.”

“I remember we were sitting together learning how to draw shapes and patterns when the bell rang. Both of us looked up in shock because usually both of us were just looking at the clock waiting for the bell to ring. And it was such a moving moment because time flew by, and he came alive. He was like a different person,” said Leeper. “That moment was my spark that no, this is not just a hobby,

there’s something deeper here.”

Leeper draws on that experience when instructing Xavier students today. The cyclical nature of art and religion is woven throughout his curriculum—the idea of finding God through art and using art to find God, through both creation and consumption.

The Jesuits have long used art as a method to communicate their faith. Creativity is a large part of Jesuit education because it allows for a deeper understanding of spiritual truths and engages a variety of Jesuit principles, especially imaginative prayer.

Now, as part of Xavier’s robust fine arts department, Leeper is able to share the importance of creativity and art with students while he embarks on his Jesuit formation—a full-circle experience.

“There’s such a clear synthesis between the Jesuit worldview and art. The idea of finding God in all things is the foundation, and then from there, it is about using imagination for prayer,” he said. “Through the imagination, we see the sacred. God re-presents in the imagination.”

Art and religion, Leeper explained, share the same blueprint. They spark conversation—and through that conversation, explore truths and inspire thought. Through the imagination, art becomes personal to the beholder. It is far more than brush strokes on canvas; it transcends physical form. And so does religion.

Art helps religious stories, complex ideologies, and spirituality as a whole come alive in a digestible medium. For example, how significant is “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci, or “The Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo in our religious history? They were inspired by the story of Christ and now preserve and communicate that story to modern viewers. In its most basic form, art is a means of storytelling and preservation of ideas.

In December 2024, Leeper brought his religion and art classes to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There, he was able to explain the connection of God and art to his students with physical examples—from stained glass windows depicting the life of St. Vincent, to various depictions of crosses and crucifixes—all to show how art has helped carry the story of Christ through history.

Art history is so vital because of its ability to make the complex seem more concrete, which is why Leeper includes it in his teaching. He explained in his thesis that “a rational idea is a placeholder for something that we do not sense or can only sense in part.”

We cannot physically touch religious concepts, but we can see them in glimmers by using our imagination— or by viewing art. Through art, we make the unknowable

tangible. Leeper uses the concept of infinity to exemplify this.

“Infinity is a rational idea in which there is no sensible evidence of infinity in a phenomenological sense,” he said. “You cannot taste, touch, or see infinity. You can see trillions of grains of sand on the seashore, but that itself is not infinity. So, the mind creates the rational idea of ‘infinity’ to fill the gap of an awe-inspiring quantity, like the number of grains of sand on the shore. We know infinity exists, but we can’t empirically verify it. And that’s where rational ideas operate.”

Heaven, hell, eternity, creation, love, and God all follow the same pattern, according to Leeper. The Bible provides us with an understanding that society then turns into great works of art lining the walls of famous museums. And as each onlooker observes them, their concept of religion deepens.

All of these concepts can be difficult to grasp, but Leeper finds that art, and the imaginative nature of it, is a path toward understanding for his students.

“If you don’t have a picture in your mind of what the Annunciation looks like or the Nativity looks like, for example, you’re not going to be able to imagine it,” said Leeper. “And so the whole idea of the arts from a Jesuit perspective is to form the imagination so that you can pray and know God.”

For an assignment last fall, Leeper brought his religion classes to the Student Chapel. Their task was to write psalms. They were prompted to begin the assignment with an image, an object, or a feeling, and attach it to a metaphor. That metaphor would be their psalm. “It was a moving experience for me, seeing the things that these students can come up with,” shared Leeper.

In his Art I class, one of the first assignments this year was this: “Tell me about yourself. And pick one object that is you.” Some students selected rugby balls or Xbox controllers. One student picked a rock.

The student explained that the rock was a boulder at one point, but then it eroded to a pebble. And over time, it will build back up into another big boulder. “He was able to tell me more about himself and his story through that image, through that simple paragraph about a pebble, than anything else,” said Leeper. “It’s about teaching them how to be human and how to express that humanity.”

And art, he says, is the perfect language to do that.

Astrea Slezak is Xavier’s Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing. She is a graduate of Marist University.

Leeper with students at the Met.

CROSS COUNTRY EARNS TRIP TO NATIONALS

From coast to coast, it was a golden season for Xavier cross country. Beginning in September, when the team earned a resounding victory at the McQuaid Invitational in Rochester (defeating more than 200 teams from across New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Canada), the Knights dominated their competition. The team went on to win sectional, city, and state titles before placing second at the New York State Federation Championship. The Knights then earned a trip to Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon, becoming the first New York City high school ever to achieve that feat.

From beginning to end, joy marked the season as Xavier’s harriers relished not just their success, but their brotherhood. “We’re such a tight group. We’re hanging out on the track, off the track, in school, out of class, in the halls,” Reid Baynes ’25 told Fox 5 New York, which profiled the team as they prepared for nationals. “We’re family.”

WATCH

“XAVIER CROSS COUNTRY: THE ROAD TO NATIONALS”

Sons of Xavier

Matthew Zaharenios ’04, Chris Jung ’05, Eric Saa ’05, Michael Mallett ’05, Patrick Sezen ’04, Allison Colucci, and Peter Puglisi ’04.

XAVIER MAGAZINE

1956

In his semi-retirement, Dr. Frank Perroni keeps busy promoting ophthalmic companies that “contribute to good vision and even restoration of vision.” In particular, he has been in touch with Dr. Matthias Steger, CEO of Endogena Therapeutics, about his work to restore sight to retinitis pigmentosa patients, and he is excited by the work of Nature’s Tears Eye Mist to remedy dry eye disease. Perroni can be reached at fperroni@aol.com.

1957

Leonard Dwarica is the distinguished practitioner in residence-health law at Quinnipiac University School of Law and professor of medical sciences at Quinnipiac’s Netter School of Medicine. He retired in 2002 from Bayer Corporation, where he served as senior counsel.

1958

Bob Vecchiotti shared that he is “enjoying Adult II, a very productive stage of life.” He is a member of SCORE, an organization that helps new businesses grow without any charge. He offers his services as a business psychologist.

1959

Drew Bauman’s daughter, Moriah, recently graduated from Boston University with high honors. She earned an MBA and a master’s in public health.

1960

For the past several years, Anthony Dente has hosted Xavier reunions at his home in Dataw Island, South Carolina, with most attendees hailing from the Classes of 1959 and 1960. Attendees at the November 2024 reunion included Bob Albracht, Joe Dooley ’59, and Andrew Pylyp ’79.

Prior to his passing in August 2024, environmental and peace activist Joe Keating published The Convivitas Chronicles, a collection of seven writings that laid out his hopes for society’s evolution, on Medium. “Convivitas is a new word that we created to reflect what is missing from the current evolution dialogue,” he wrote. “Convivitas comes from the Latin ‘con’ (with) and ‘vivo’ (life or with life). The meaning of convivitas is ‘coexistence and harmony and community.’ …

The Convivitas Chronicles deals with the effort to ensure that our current stage of evolution is being built on a strong foundation of ethical convivitas. It is our hope also that the word ‘convivitas’ will grow into common usage to reflect a greeting and/or a salutation reflecting enlightened gatherings of like-minded folks.”

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland made Dr. Richard O’Reilly a fellow in October 2024. O’Reilly traveled to Dublin to deliver a lecture to the Irish medical community.

1961

Paul Gawkowski shared that Jack Galbraith hosted a Class of 1961 gathering at his home in East Quogue last summer. The group continued the festivities with dinner at the Westhampton Country Club.

1962

Richard Pisano is still practicing internal medicine as a faculty physician at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital. He happily joins his friends from the Class of 1962 a few times a year for a meal or at the Beefsteak Dinner. He notes that he “never can or will forget the life basis he received from Xavier.”

1963

In September 2024, the Class of 1963 reunited at Rudy’s Restaurant in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. Twenty members of the class attended the event, which was organized by John Piazza and Richie Dicidue. According to Joe Kiely, the group “had a ball together for about three and a half hours.”

1964

After 35 years, Frank Dorritie retired from his role as chair of the recording arts department at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, California, though he continues to produce audio projects. Nine of his recordings have received Grammy nominations. Two of them, La Onda Va Bien and New York Scene, won Grammys in the Latin and jazz categories, respectively. Among

5.

1. Dr. Frank Perroni ’56, left. 2. Joe Dooley ’59, Anthony Dente ’60, Andrew Pylyp ’79, and Bob Albracht ’60.

3. Bob Scavullo ’60 with the late Joe Keating ’60.

4. Members of the Class of 1961.

Members of the Class of 1963.

his latest projects is advising and promoting the newly reconstituted Xavier Regimental Drum Corps.

Accompanied by his son John Walter Lustig ’00, Colonel Ray Lustig, USAF (Ret.) P’90 ’92 ’00 recently took an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. as part of a group of Long Island veterans. In Washington, they “received a grand welcome and toured the many very moving memorials around the National Mall,” his son, Ray Lustig ’90, reports. “All in a single whirlwind day, they left home at 2 a.m. and didn’t get home until 10 p.m., welcomed back by a spirited crowd, including bagpipers.”

Bill Murray shared that several members of the Class of 1964 meet via Zoom on alternating Thursdays at 5 p.m. To join the meetings, contact Tim Dwyer at timd727@comcast.net

1965

1967

Joe Maher reports that he and his Class of 1967 classmates reunited in August 2024 at the Black Bear Golf Club in Franklin, New Jersey. “A grand time with great friends,” he writes.

The Class of 1967 gathered to celebrate their collective 75th birthday on September 28, 2024, under the watchful eye of the late Fr. Jim Keenan, S.J. in Keenan Commons. “Great time with many memories!” writes Joe Garvey.

On November 1, 2024, George Dwyer, Jim Tierney ’68, and Mike Tierney ’69 met at a Stuyvesant Town reunion at Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse.

1970

John Molino has published his sixth suspense-filled novel, Someday…But Not Yet. His books are available on Amazon.

he found a slot car customizer in California who could paint a car in any design he wanted, he decided to create a Xavier car. “The results are impressive,” Frank writes. “The customizer found the right paint colors to use and decals were purchased from the Xavier online store and trimmed to fit.” In December 2024, Frank returned to New York to stage his play It’s My Brooklyn, Too! during a six-show run. The play, which was performed in a Brooklyn brownstone, looks at the Italian-American immigrant experience through the eyes of a fictionalized version of Frank’s own family in 1960 and 1961.

Charles Clausing now has five grandchildren: Charles William IV, a graduate of Ohio State University, Celeste Lynn, Michael Xavier, Adrielle Mary, and Timothy James.

1973

3.

4.

John Fitzpatrick recently dedicated the four-acre Mary Peatman Preserve in Norwalk, Connecticut, to honor his late wife “with a landscape of meadow, old forest, and emerging forest on the site of her former equestrian facility.”

Peter Hansen was recently elected president of the ParaguayanAmerican Chamber of Commerce in Asunción, Paraguay.

John Spatuzzi’s latest book, RedCoolers, is available on Amazon. It relates true Coast Guard stories throughout more than 300 pages. “The stories are sometimes sad, and some are funny, but they are all true,” he writes.

1971

David Brockway recently retired from his career as a math teacher. He lives in San Diego, California.

John Frank is again racing and collecting slot cars, a hobby he last pursued in his Xavier days. When

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Xavier beating Fordham Prep 54-6 on Thanksgiving Day 1974, Bruce Caulfield P’26 hosted a football reunion at his restaurant, Tracks Bar and Grill, on November 16, 2024.

Michael Montelongo was recently recognized as one of Latino Leaders Magazine’s 2024 Maestros in the Leadership category. The Maestro Award is the most prestigious award presented by Latino Leaders Magazine to spotlight lifetime achievement in leadership,

1. John Walter Lustig ’00 with his father, Colonel Ray Lustig, USAF (Ret.) ’64 P’90 ’92 ’00.

2. Members of the Class of 1967 at Xavier.

Members of the Class of 1967 in New Jersey.

Jim Tierney ’68, Mike Tierney ’69, and George Dwyer ’67.

5. A branded Xavier slot car belonging to John Frank ’71.

6. Members of the 1974 Xavier football team.

7. Michael Montelongo ’73, second from right.

YOUNG ALUMNI FALL KICKOFF

October 22, 2024 • Torch & Crown Brewing Company

1. Peter Salvatore ’13, Brendan Keever ’13, and J.T. Smith ’13. 2. Greg Cerchione ’10 and Chris Merone ’10. 3. Chris Stevens ’83, Brian Boyle ’20, and Anthony Bruno ’20. 4. Rocco Sciangula ’17, Joe Campbell ’16, Jake Nicholson ’14, and John Piccard ’17. 5. Austin Nasta ’14 and Alex Sneh ’17. 6. Ricky Comis ’13 and Joe Corrado ’11. 7. Tom Reilly ’08, Bill Bowerman ’07, and David Sokolowski ’07. 8. Marty Steffens ’16, Greg Steffens ’20, and Billy Maloney ’01. 9. Ben Coco ’19, Mykola Tkachenko ’19, and Emmanuel Aquino ’19.

DICK RYAN ’47

BY SHAWNA GALLAGHER VEGA

For more than six decades, Dick Ryan ’47 has been a fixture at the world’s great sporting events— and at 95, he shows few signs of slowing down.

Last April, the Californiabased attorney attended his 57th Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, where he pondered his long career shaping modern sports as he watched Scottie Scheffler win his second green jacket.

“I started representing the Masters in 1961, and I’m still on retainer,” Ryan said. “It’s been very interesting to see how the city of Augusta has changed, how much the tournament has grown, how much the sports business has grown. The amount of money that has come into sports through television is mind-boggling.”

Ryan discovered his life’s work

serendipitously. After his 1951 graduation from Georgetown University, where he was a member of the ROTC program, he returned to New York as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves. He earned a law degree at Fordham as he waited to be called for service in Korea.

“Had the Korean War not existed, I probably would have stayed in Washington, gone to Georgetown Law School, and ended up as a lobbyist or some horrible thing,” Ryan said with a laugh. “But once you come back to New York City, you just can’t get away from it. It’s so alive.”

Ryan finally was called up in 1954, spending most of his Army years in Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Fort Lee, Louisiana, before returning to New York in 1956 and embarking on a career in litigation.

As television began to transform

Masters the number one golf event televised in the world. Then when Augusta decided in the ’90s to deal directly with television networks around the world, since I had done all of the deals with CBS and the advertisers in the U.S., in Canada, and eventually the BBC, I asked if they would let my office do the whole world. That’s when we did all of the television rights worldwide.”

As he reflects upon his groundbreaking career, Ryan—a son of Flushing—remains in awe. “I’m still a Depression baby,” he said. “I still want to save everything.”

His formative years were a heady time. He was just 12 years old, watching a Sunday afternoon hockey game at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 1941, when an announcement was made that Japanese planes had attacked Pearl Harbor. By the time he arrived on 16th Street as a freshman in 1943, World War II was raging.

American culture, his career goals shifted. Frustrated with the slow pace of litigation, he transitioned to negotiating deals for sports and show business clients.

By the 1960s, Ryan’s client list included the Masters, the Miss America pageant, advertising agencies, news anchors, network heads, and daytime soap operas. Eventually, the list expanded to include the International Olympic Committee, the United States Tennis Association, and the U.S. Figure Skating Association. Negotiating television deals became a significant part of his work, and much of that started at the Masters.

“Almost all of the income [at the Masters] that didn’t come from selling tickets and pro shops came through my office at that time,” he said. “We set up a lot of things that have gone on to make the

“That was a big part of our high school years. We were following the progress daily, and our older friends were going off,” Ryan said. Celebrating V-E Day in Times Square with his neighborhood friend Ken Childs ’47 is an enduring memory.

“My four years at Xavier were the most formative in my life in many ways.”

As a member of the centennial Class of 1947, Ryan graduated in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria. Mayor William O’Dwyer—the 100th mayor of New York City—handed out diplomas to mark Xavier’s 100th anniversary.

Seventy-eight years later, 16th Street’s influence remains strong.

“I still remember so many people from that Class of ’47,” Ryan said. “My four years at Xavier were the most formative in my life in many ways.”

Ryan, right, with Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club.

professional achievement, entrepreneurship, and community service. This award highlights the outstanding accomplishments and contributions of individuals within the Latino community residing in six cities (Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Miami, and Phoenix).

Bob Maguire, Neal Miranda, and Charlie Butera recently met for a meal at Bice Restaurant in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Scott Cameron works on conservation policy in his adopted state of Virginia. As vice president of the state Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, he works to protect Virginia’s forests and farms from rampant solar development, trying to steer solar toward rooftop residential and commercial buildings instead of taking open land.

Jeffrey Devlin and his family have relocated to Brevard, North Carolina. “If you find yourself in the area, please let me know,” he writes. He can be reached at nilvedgj@gmail.com.

John Dennehy, Jr. is in his 25th year of performing with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA), including singing in the ensemble. Dennehy has appeared as a soloist and performed in the group’s dance ensembles. GMCLA has performed for two sitting presidents (Clinton and Obama) and performed locally and in Russia, Eastern Europe, and South America, as well as in fabled locations such as Carnegie Hall and Disney Concert Hall. GMCLA’s Alive Music Project performs for at-risk, inner-city schools promoting messages of diversity, inclusion, and tolerance to high school students.

Dr. Victor Vallo is an adjunct professor of music at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, and the American College of Music in Phoenix, Arizona. He also serves as music director and conductor of the Syracuse Chamber Orchestra, the Auburn Chamber Orchestra, and the OASIS Chamber Orchestra.

1974

As the executive director of the Interstate Commission

on the Potomac River Basin, Mike Nardolilli helped to secure $500,000 for a study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on ways to make the drinking water of the D.C. area more resilient to contamination events and severe droughts.

Timothy Trott is retired and living in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he spends many hours playing his fiddle and mandolin.

1975

Jim Hillman ’75 shared that he and George Hillman ’69 attended the wedding of George’s daughter, Maggie, to Matt Gilkind.

Jim Lawlor is happily retired and enjoying the beach life in Virginia.

In June 2024, John Telesca and his family had a wonderful time visiting the United Kingdom, with stops in Edinburgh, York, and London. They finished their trip seeing the Mets beat the Phillies at London Stadium.

Chip Stokes continues to serve as an assisting bishop in the Episcopal

5.

6.

7.

1. Charlie Butera ’73, Bob Maguire ’73, and Neal Miranda ’73.

2. Dr. Victor Vallo ’73.

3. Mike Nardolilli ’74.

4. John Dennehy, Jr. ’73 and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.

George Hillman ’69 with his brother, Jim Hillman ’75, at the wedding of George’s daughter.

Jim Lawlor ’75.

John Telesca ’75, right, with his son.

Diocese of Florida. He recently reviewed Peter Nguyen, S.J.’s book Against the Titans: Theology and the Martyrdom of Alfred Delp in the fall 2024 edition of The Anglican Theological Review. Fr. Delp was martyred by the Nazis on Candlemas in 1945.

1977

In September 2024, several members of the Class of 1977 traveled to Nashville together. “We had a fun time running around Nashville and mostly stayed out of trouble,” Luis Morales writes.

Frank DeSantis and Mike Mistretta organized a reunion of 25 classmates at a Chelsea restaurant in July 2024. In attendance were Jose Aquino P’07 ’19, Bill Callahan, Randy Caruso, Bob Celestin, Ed Crocoll, DeSantis, Jerry Edwards, John Esposito, Larry Frasca, Kevin Hanrahan, Rene Mack, Glen Minko, Mistretta, Don Mooney, Luis Morales, Tom Quinn, Andrew Pfeifer, Tom Piderit, Anthony Sarro, Joe Sexton, Jerry Vasquez, Jim Wartski, Ray Whiteman, Brian Wixted, Jack Young, and Fr. Vincent Biagi, S.J. ’67.

1978

Skip Tamke has been named chief technology officer of Virtual Tech Gurus, a boutique technology consultancy. He would love to connect with other alumni in similar roles. He can be reached at stamke@gmail.com

1979

While on a competitive, careerbroadening assignment to the Air Staff’s premier Checkmate strategy organization in the Pentagon, Westley Kasper was selected for

the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Defense Senior Leader Development Program (DSLDP). DSLDP is a two-and-a-half-year program that prepares highpotential senior civil servants for executive leadership positions as part of the Department of Defense’s executive succession strategy. In addition to being elected cohort president by his peers and attending recurring leadership seminars, Kasper just completed a year of joint professional military education at Naval War College in August 2024 as the first of two centerpieces of the DSLDP. He is currently serving on a one-year experiential assignment at the Department of State headquarters in Washington, D.C., as the second centerpiece element. He will graduate from the program this year.

1980

After almost 35 years with Prudential Financial, Ernie Molinari retired from his role as vice president, corporate counsel on November 29, 2024. He plans on spending more time with his wife and daughter and traveling. He lives in Manasquan, New Jersey.

Albert Durrell shared that nearly 20 of his former classmates met for a meal at Chadrick’s in Bay Ridge, which is owned by Steve Oliver. Dr. Franklin Caesar ’72 P’00 was a special guest.

1983

In early June, Efrain Melendez, Gary Keating, and Greg Brecht completed a Spartan Race in Bethel, New York. They

hope to have other classmates join them at a future race.

1984

Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz went on a self-produced concert and master classes tour, “Influences & Inspirations,” which began in California on September 4 and wrapped up in Nova Scotia on October 5. The tour took him to Iowa, Kansas, and New York along the way. Cruz sends his deepest gratitude to all the hosts, co-producers, and audiences for this “most memorable and monumental milestone” in his artistic life. He also thanks his classmates Christopher Giancola, John Visconti, Jeffrey Marshall, Davy Diongson, and Steven Ting, who shared their valuable time during the New York leg of the tour.

1985

Teig Keenan-Hunt is a licensed life insurance agent and personal trainer in California.

1987

James B. McHugh P’24 is group director and senior vice president of Flagstar Private Banking.

Stephan Silich continues to publish his poetry collections. His first book of collected poems, The Silence Between What I Think and What I Say, published by the Brooklyn Writers Press, was released in December 2018. His second book of collected poems, Tonight Will Be The Longest Night of Them All, was released in October 2020 and named a finalist in the 2021 Next Generation Independent Book Awards. His third book of poetry,

1. Members of the Class of 1977 in Nashville.

2. Members of the Class of 1977 in Chelsea.

3. Westley Kasper ’79.

4. Gary Keating ’83, Greg Brecht ’83, and Efrain Melendez ’83.

5. Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz ’83.

6. James B. McHugh ’87 P’24 with his son, James ’24.

Putting the Trembling Kiss at Ease, was released in December 2023, and his fourth book of poetry, Remember Me as a Time of Day, was released in November 2024. Future collections will be forthcoming. Kirkus Review has said of his poetry: “Silich slips effortlessly into a long tradition of New York poets from Walt Whitman to Frank O’Hara and his poems are a delight.” For his day job, Silich returned to Northwell Health in August 2022 and works as the regional vice president for physician and community engagement.

1990

Composer Ray Lustig leads and lead guitarist Rob Salmon performs in the new alternative rock band project MANICBURG. The band just released its debut album, which is available on all

platforms as well as vinyl. Several of the band’s videos feature stopmotion and drawn animation by John Walter Lustig ’00. The band performed around the city and beyond this winter.

1991

Brian O’Neill was recently promoted to the rank of battalion chief in the FDNY.

1993

Ian S. Maloney published his first book of fiction, South Brooklyn Exterminating, last April. A former New York State pest control technician, Maloney now serves as professor of literature, writing, and publishing at St. Francis College, director of the Jack Hazard Fellowship for New Literary Project, and contributor at Vol. 1 Brooklyn.

1994

Dr. John-Breshaire Georges currently works as the director of academic services and diversity officer at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he specializes in academic services and affairs, campus climate, diversity, and inclusion (including student support, success, retention, and graduation). He earned his Doctor of Education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and his Master of Science in Education degree from Baruch College. Both degrees specialize in higher education administration. He previously earned his Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees from New York University.

1996

Salvatore Vitale P’27 ’28 is now head coach of Xavier’s JV football

1. Stephan Silich ’87 with his children.

2. Rob Salmon ’90 and Ray Lustig ’90.

3. Salvatore Vitale ’96 P’27 ’28 with his sons, Salvatore ’27 and Marcello ’28.

team. He has two sons enrolled in Xavier—Salvatore ’27 and Marcello ’28—with a ’29 hopeful in Brady on the way. Vitale is entering his 20th year as a lieutenant in the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau.

Marvin Thomas started a new position as corporate work study relationship manager at Cristo Rey New York High School.

2001

Hans Augustave’s third short film, Nwa (Black), which premiered at the Lower East Side Film Festival in May, had another New York screening at Urbanworld Film Festival in November. Nwa (which means black in Haitian Creole) is a candid, emotional, comingof-age film about Frantz, a firstgeneration Haitian-American boy, torn by the decision to get the haircut he knows his strict immigrant father would approve of, or a trendy cut connecting him to the Black American culture he’s warned him not to embrace. The film will be available publicly in 2025 after it has completed its festival circuit.

2002

Fr. Sean Hagerty, S.J. was selected as this year’s recipient of the Saint David’s School Alumnus of the Year award. Hagerty, a Xavier trustee, served as Saint David’s chaplain from 2022-2024. He holds the distinction as the firstever Saint David’s alumnus to fill that role in the school’s history. A graduate of Xavier and Fordham University, Hagerty enrolled in the ROTC battalion upon graduation, and subsequently

was commissioned as an Army officer during the Iraq War.

2003

Rich Greco recently launched a pop-up pizzeria, Gemma Pizza, serving the local community of Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Chief Mate Ryan Zwick and Harbor Pilot Captain Salvador Rivas safely navigated the Maersk Atlanta container ship into the Port of New York/New Jersey.

2004

Dr. Jonathan DePierro, associate professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine, recently received the 2024 Vibrant Emotional Health Disaster Recovery Impact Award, the Anthem/Crain’s New York Business Whole Health Heroes Award, and the Sharp Index Innovator Award for his work on healthcare worker mental health and resilience. DePierro’s article, “How to Deal With Stress and Anxiety During Challenging Times,” was also published on Mount Sinai’s website in November.

2005

After two years of traveling the world, Eric Saa and his wife, Sarah, moved to Vilnius, Lithuania, in August 2024. He is working in an international school as a history and geography teacher.

Carl Muraco is a partner at Azoulay Weiss LLP, a real estate law firm focusing on landlord-tenant litigation.

2010

Matthew Hickey and his family reside in Battery Park, where Hickey works as an associate director at FSI Architecture and his wife, Chloe, works as a project manager at OCV Architecture. The Hickeys celebrated their daughter Madeline’s first birthday last summer. She was baptized on August 31, 2024, at St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church in Albany. “The family looks forward to growing together wherever life and God takes us,” Hickey writes.

2011

Gabriel Delaney is a graduate of Yale Law School. He is now clerking for a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Delaney is also actively serving in the United States Navy Reserve as a lieutenant junior grade. “I think back on my time at Xavier with appreciation for the formative impact it had on shaping my character and sense of public service,” he writes.

2012

Thomas Roemer earned his MBA at the New York University Stern School of Business in May 2024.

Devon Sheehy is living in Cleveland, Ohio, “which is a long way from home (16th Street). But guess what? My Xavier values haven’t changed a bit!” Sheehy serves as a FAA Part 107 holder (commercial drone pilot) and works for a nonprofit organization called Argonaut. Argonaut started a high school focused on maritime work and aviation, and Sheehy is a career-based learning coordinator and drone pilot educator there.

1. Ryan Zwick ’03 and Salvador Rivas ’03.

2. Dr. Jonathan DePierro ’04.

3. Matthew Hickey ’10 with his wife, Chloe, and daughter, Madeline.

4. Maurice Sheehy ’10 and Devon Sheehy ’12.

LUKE MEAGHER ’15

BY DAVID ORLANDO ’17

The long walk from 16th Street to the Staten Island Ferry spans some of the most vibrant neighborhoods New York has to offer. For Luke Meagher ’15, traversing Lower Manhattan spotting outfits on his commute was a daily pastime that would eventually evolve into a thriving career in fashion journalism. What started as his small blog by the name of “HauteLeMode” now draws an audience of over 1 million people across digital platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

That knowledge became the basis for Meagher’s video critiques of runway shows that began to draw an engaged and loyal following. “As I was talking about brands, I would try to build in a history for the audience of what was coming down the runway. And also, I was not neutral,“ he added. “I gave my opinion and said, ‘Listen, I don’t like this, and I don’t think it looks good.’ Within the fashion industry, that wasn’t super common at the time for influencers. For me to have done that, I think, really changed the game a little bit.”

“My love of fashion started at Xavier. In the computer lab, I did a lot of reading about designers probably when I shouldn’t have been. I wanted to build my knowledge of the fashion industry. It was a slow build of understanding that learning can be fun; doing research can be interesting.”

“‘HauteLeMode’ started off as a blog as the blog era was dying, so I slowly transitioned from living on websites to Instagram. And then in my senior year of high school, I decided I should start a YouTube channel because that was the big thing at the time for people on the internet,” Meagher recalled. “I did it as a new year’s resolution, and it’s the only one I’ve ever kept.”

On the blog, Meagher documented streetwear in the city during the height of the trend. “Having Xavier as the landmark point always puts you in the middle of everything. I would leave Xavier with my camera in my hand and either go through the Meatpacking District or SoHo and take pictures of people on the street,” Meagher said of his beginnings. “Sometimes I would ask them. Sometimes it was just paparazzi-style shots.”

“My love of fashion started at Xavier,” he added. “In the computer lab, I did a lot of reading about designers probably when I shouldn’t have been. I wanted to build my knowledge of the fashion industry. It was a slow build of understanding that learning can be fun; doing research can be interesting.”

Meagher’s channel has since garnered much attention in the fashion industry, landing him profiles in both Teen Vogue and Vogue as well as mentions for his red carpet critiques in film industry trades like The Hollywood Reporter. Meagher was even tapped to analyze looks at the 2024 Oscars alongside Jenna Lyons, former creative director and president of J. Crew. And more recently, he returned to 16th Street this past October to speak about growing up gay at Xavier as part of Ally Week programming. Meagher has become a new kind of fashion influencer, whose unvarnished opinions combined with his deep knowledge of the space have proven to be a refreshing departure from the tepid criticism he sought to supplant. Remaining an independent creator has allowed him a freedom he might not have found at a major publication. “I didn’t really think that it would get as big as it has. At one time, I probably wanted Vogue to be like, ‘Wow, you’re so great. You should come work for us,’” he noted. “But as time went on, I realized working for yourself is much more fun.”

BEEFSTEAK DINNER

January 10, 2025 • Xavier High School

1. Maureen Reinhart P’94 ’99. 2. Members of the Classes of 1986 and 1987. 3. Shane Lavin ’03, Claude Vella ’03, Sal Rivas ’03, Tony Rogone ’03, and Sean McDonough ’03. 4. Greg Steffens ’20, Robert Donaldson ’20, James Donaldson ’20, Dom DeFalco ’10, Mike Barbieri ’80 P’10, and Matthew DeFalco ’19. 5. Ike Okeke ’82, Kevin Charles ’82, and Eric Redding ’83. 6. Tom Harvey ’62 and Fred Theemling ’62. 7. Mandy Conduah ’89, Joseph Corbisiero ’08, Sang Ho Kim ’89, Mike Lee ’89, and John Villani ’89. 8. George Shabouk ’01, Jerry Alcoser ’01, Richard Castillo-Cano ’06, and Philip Engel ’01 sample the prized beefsteak. 9. Jamel Robinson ’97, Andres Agard ’97, Jason Otaño ’97, Tony Distini ’97, and John Murillo ’97. 10. (Top row) Mark Montalbano ’76, John Anticev ’76, Ken Fuchs ’76, Jose Saa ’76 P’05 ’11, and Mark Bealin ’76. (Bottom row) Leo Gorynski ’76 and Francis Apicella ’76.

“I mainly work with underserved students, showing them different career paths and teaching them essential job skills,” he writes. “But that’s not all—I’m also helping them get FAA-certified in the rapidly evolving drone field. We’re truly men for others, and I’m so proud to be a part of this amazing organization.”

2013

John Castillo recently celebrated five years in Washington, D.C., where he serves as an employee on Capitol Hill working in the U.S. Congress.

Michael Autovino is celebrating one year working as an on-air

meteorologist at Spectrum News - New York 1. “I am thankful to do what I love each day in my hometown,” he writes.

2015

In July, Matthew Rienzi was named the head baseball coach/ assistant athletic director at the University of Mount Saint Vincent.

2017

Kraig Puccia accepted an active duty commission with the U.S. Army JAG Corps after he graduates from Hofstra University. He spent the summer with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) at Fort Drum. “I thoroughly enjoyed the work,

the experience, the lifestyle, and the camaraderie that this job has to offer,” he writes. “Serving in the United States Army has long been a dream of mine and having accepted my commission today that dream has finally come true.”

2018

First Lieutenant Peter Orlowski, USA, an infantry platoon leader with C Co. 2-87 Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, returned from Syria in April. During that deployment, he earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Upon his return to the United States, he attended The Army Ranger School and earned his Ranger Tab in November.

“Xavier, thank you for shaping me and helping me become the man I am today,” writes Airman Joshua Gourgue. “My experience at Xavier is invaluable, from JROTC to basketball and everything in between.”

2020

Xavier alumni from the Classes of 2020 and 2021 enjoyed a Saturday afternoon

1. Michael Autovino ’13.

2. First Lieutenant Peter Orlowski, USA ’18.

3. Xavier alumni from the Classes of 2020 and 2021 at Boston College.

4. Andy Knowles ’20, holding the director’s slate, with classmates at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

together at the Boston College football game against Syracuse in November 2024. They offer their congratulations to the Boston College Class of 2024 and the current seniors set to graduate in May 2025.

Andy Knowles was recently promoted to student director of sports commentary at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Since then, his team shot a proof of concept for a full-scale sports desk for SCAD. “I’m happy to say that we’ve been fully green-lit and I’m heading the project as creative director with my wonderful crew,” he writes. “Beyond that, I’ve successfully cast 53 student films as a casting director these last few years and am excited to be directing a production of 12 Angry Men come next March.”

2022

Daniel Macchiarola ’22 competed in the Cape Cod Baseball Championship this past summer. His team, the Harwich Warriners, won gold. Macchiarola plays baseball at Holy Cross.

CELEBRATE XAVIER SCHOLARSHIP GALA

April 11, 2025

GOLDEN KNIGHTS

MASS AND LUNCHEON

May 2, 2025

Upcoming Events

50TH REUNION WEEKEND

May 2-3, 2025

5TH-25TH REUNIONS

May 30, 2025

30TH-45TH, 55TH AND 60TH REUNIONS

May 31, 2025

GRADUATION AT ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL

June 12, 2025

HALL OF FAME DINNER

October 24, 2025

BOB CELESTIN ’77

BY ERIC KREBS ’17

Bob Celestin ’77 remembers his time at Xavier—and commuting from Brooklyn to the Manhattan of the 1970s—as an “adventure.”

The son of Haitian immigrants, Celestin grew up in Park Slope, where he and his parents were the “first Black family on Carlton Avenue.” His father operated a dry-cleaning business and his mother worked as a seamstress. After elementary school, Celestin attended the Robert F. Kennedy Incentive Program for Gifted Boys, a magnet program run by the Franciscan Order. It was through that program that he learned of Xavier.

was a genre of music that was popular—disco,” said Celestin. “It was popularized by the movie Saturday Night Fever.”

The world of music enraptured Celestin, a passion that would follow him to college. With his academic standing and background, Celestin was recruited heavily by institutions of higher learning. He ultimately chose Yale University, recruited by the community of Black students who greeted him on his campus visit.

corporate lawyer upon graduation. As soon as possible thereafter, he made the jump to the music industry, working as an attorney for Arista Records, owned by legendary executive Clive Davis. From Arista, Celestin moved to Uptown Entertainment, the home of legendary artists Mary J. Blige, Heavy D, and Jodeci. In 1996, Celestin again moved to work with a solo practitioner, Louise West, who would become one of his most important mentors.

Celestin excelled academically on 16th Street. Beyond the classroom, he participated in JROTC, graduating as a lieutenant colonel, and played intramural basketball. During the summers, he worked as a tutor in the Higher Achievement Program (then under the direction of Fr. Michael Flynn, S.J.), where he first met an influential mentor, Dr. Franklin Caesar ’72 P’00.

But a significant part of Celestin’s education that would shape his life and career thereafter took place beyond 16th Street. When Celestin was a senior at Xavier, his parents finally allowed him to visit Manhattan’s many music clubs. “In the 1970s, there

An important step in Celestin’s college journey occurred as soon as he moved in. Celestin recalled unpacking his small box of records and “dilapidated” stereo system when two students pulled up behind him in a U-Haul from which they unloaded an astounding seven crates of vinyl records. Celestin was intrigued and approached the students. They were DJs from Hartford, Connecticut, also there to start their Ivy League education. Celestin befriended them and soon thereafter joined their DJ company, “Brothers Unlimited.” He also joined Yale’s student radio station, WYBC, becoming the station manager. Celestin received visits from New York record label representatives, eager to have him play their records. It was his first taste of the music business, and he was hooked.

“I got to my junior year, and one of the label representatives asked me, ‘Bob, what are you going to do with your career?’ And I said, ‘Well, I want to be a DJ in New York,’” Celestin recalled. “She said, ‘Why would you want to do that? You should want to own the radio station, and the guy who owns the station you want to work at is a lawyer. We need more Black lawyers in the music business.’”

Celestin saw his path forward. After Yale, he enrolled at Columbia Law School, working briefly as a

“Service to others, I learned that from Xavier. That’s the number-one thing.”

In 2000, Celestin struck out on his own. Twenty-five years later, his law practice is as strong as ever, with an ever-growing list of influential clients—Funkmaster Flex, Ginuwine, Shaboozey, and countless others among them.

For Celestin, becoming a music lawyer offered a practical and fulfilling route into the world of music. “I couldn’t rap, sing, or dance,” he said, “but I wanted to be in the industry.” But more importantly, practicing law allowed him to serve the culture creators and artists he loves.

“I worked with some oldschool artists, and they signed horrendous recording contracts. Unfortunately, back then, they didn’t have proper representation,” said Celestin. For him, it is paramount to help artists own and control the music—and culture—they create.

“Service to others, I learned that from Xavier,” said Celestin. “That’s the number-one thing.”

Eric Krebs ’17 is a graduate of Yale University and a student at Harvard Law School.

Tradition Meets Tomorrow:

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2025

583 PARK AVENUE

The Celebrate Xavier Scholarship Gala is Xavier’s premier annual fundraising event, with proceeds directly supporting the Scholarship Fund. Xavier provides more than $5.2 million in scholarships to 40% of our student body. The Xavier Scholarship Fund allows Xavier to provide a Jesuit education to young men of diverse backgrounds and means. This year will mark the 14th annual Celebrate Xavier Scholarship Gala and we are thrilled to offer a new venue and exciting event additions.

Come celebrate Xavier like never before!

xavierhsalumni.org/Gala2025

Thomas Lamberti ’48 Richard Battaglino ’67 P’96

Rudy Cecchi ’69

Kevin McLaughlin ’74

John Anticev ’76

Michael Tolkin ’85

Milestones

Engagements

John Castillo ’13 recently got engaged to “the love of my life,” Mary Frances Ryan. They will marry this summer.

Weddings

Andrew Mazzara ’67 married Dr. JanMarie Fisher-Griffis, a mental health provider at the VA Medical Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on April 13, 2024. They live in Fayetteville and share 10 adult children, 25 grandchildren, and two great-grandsons.

Teig Keenan-Hunt ’85 married Thom Hunt on August 27, 2023.

On May 18, Michael Mallett ’05 married Allison Colucci in a small ceremony joined by close family and friends at the Church of St. Francis Xavier. On June 2, Mallett and Colucci celebrated again with their extended family in a ceremony led by Patrick Sezen ’04. Groomsmen included Peter Puglisi ’04, Chris Jung ’05, and Eric Saa ’05.

Carl Muraco ’05 married Ella Neverauskas in March 2024. “Twenty years after graduation,

I had eight Xavier classmates at my destination wedding in the Bahamas,” Muraco writes. “Xavier friendships last forever.”

In May 2024, Greg Watch ’12 married Dominique Martin in Servian, France.

On June 1, 2024, Matthew Rienzi ’15 married Caitlyn Staab.

Births

George Wenz ’57 welcomed Esme Marie Wenz, his fifth greatgrandchild, on August 15, 2024. “I reveal only one prediction for

Esme: she will not be attending Xavier, but she may be allowed to see some fortunate fellow who does,” he writes. “Stay tuned!”

John Moccia ’72 welcomed a granddaughter, Elizabeth Ann, on August 10, 2024.

Stephen Oliver ’80 welcomed a grandson, Edward Sullivan, on June 26, 2023. Edward is the son of Oliver’s daughter, Jillian Oliver, and her husband Ed Sullivan ’11.

Vincent Balardi ’80 welcomed his first grandchild (and prospective

Dominique Martin and Greg Watch ’12

John Castillo ’13 and Mary Frances Ryan

Michael Mallett ’05 and Allison Colucci

Matthew Rienzi ’15 and Caitlyn Staab

member of the Class of 2042), Thomas Sheehan Balardi, on October 3, 2024.

Gil Cosenza ’81 and his wife, Francine, welcomed their first grandchild, Luca Anthony Cosenza, on November 16.

Gary Keating ’83 and his wife, Karen, welcomed their first grandchild, Owen Meloro, on October 20, 2024. Owen and his parents, Megan (Keating) and Tommy Meloro, are all doing great.

Brian O’Neill ’76 and his wife, Kim, welcomed their 10th grandchild in July.

Joseph Clavin ’03 and his wife, Chrissy, welcomed their first child, Owen River Clavin, on November 15, 2024.

Jonathan Dianora ’03 and his wife, Kirby, welcomed their second child, Liam John, on April 16, 2024. Liam joins his older sister, Madison.

Charles Slicklen ’05 and his wife, Vivien, welcomed a son, Oliver Theodore, on April 23, 2024, in London. Oliver joins his big brothers, Charlie, 5, and Austin, 3.

Leon Hampton ’06 and his wife, Kirsten, welcomed a baby girl, Kinsley, in April 2024. Kinsley joins her older brother, Leon II.

Stephen Patrick Oliver ’09 and his wife, Adrianna, welcomed a daughter, Charlotte René, on July 5, 2023.

Joseph La Porta ’09 welcomed a daughter, Evelyn Rose, on November 9, 2024.

Xavier religion teacher Greg Stelzer ’11 and his wife, Shannon, welcomed their first child, Fiona May, on September 12, 2024.

John Maiocco ’12 and his wife, Morgan, recently welcomed their first child, John Robert.

Gil Cosenza ’81 and his wife, Francine, with their first grandchild, Luca Anthony Cosenza

Austin, Oliver, and Charlie Slicklen, sons of Charles Slicklen ’05

Joseph Clavin ’03 and Owen River Clavin

Gary Keating ’83 with his first grandchild, Owen Meloro

Fiona May Stelzer, daughter of Shannon and Greg Stelzer ’11

Remembrances

DR. ROBERT BARATTA ’58

Dr. Bob Baratta, noted ophthalmologist and co-founder of Stuart Therapeutics, Inc. and Sustain Holdings, passed away on September 15, 2024, after a brief illness. He was 83.

Baratta was born in Jersey City in 1940. At Xavier, he was a member of the Sodality, the Guard of Honor, and the football and track teams; he also played the piano with the Glee Club, for which he served as president his senior year. He went on to study at Saint Peter’s College and Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.

After moving to Stuart, Florida, Baratta became one of just two ophthalmologists serving Martin County. His practice eventually expanded to become the Stuart Eye Institute. During his medical career, he was elected president of the Martin Memorial Hospital medical staff and the Martin County Medical Society. He served as a Martin Memorial Hospital board member and in leadership roles with the Florida Society of Ophthalmology and the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He also served on the State of Florida Medical Advisory Committee and as an adjunct professor at Columbia University.

In his later years, Baratta co-founded Stuart Therapeutics, Inc., and Sustain Holdings, which enabled him to perform translational research in developing novel therapeutics for previously untreatable eye diseases, as well as diseases elsewhere in the body. Baratta served in an advisory role or as a board member for many community organizations in Florida, and he was a proud, longtime donor to Xavier. Baratta is survived by Carol, his wife of 59 years; his children, Missy, Scott, and Gregg; and eight grandchildren.

ARTHUR D. CASHIN, JR. ’59

Art Cashin ’59, a titan of the New York Stock Exchange, died on December 1, 2024. He was 83.

Born in Jersey City in 1940, Cashin earned a full scholarship to Xavier, where he served as a class officer all four years. When his father died unexpectedly in 1958, he had to turn down a college scholarship and join the workforce to help support his family.

Thus Cashin’s business career began in 1959, when he was just 17, at Thomson McKinnon, a brokerage firm. In 1964, at age 23, he became a partner of P.R. Herzig & Co.—and one of the youngest-ever members of the New York Stock Exchange.

Over the next six decades, Cashin would become a legend of Wall Street, stepping aside from his business career only briefly to run for mayor of Jersey City. He was unsuccessful. As he noted, “Once they discovered I was honest, there wasn’t much chance I was going to get elected.” In 1980, he joined PaineWebber and managed its floor operation, continuing to do so after PaineWebber was bought by UBS in 2000. He continued in this role until his passing.

Cashin was well-known for publishing his daily Wall Street newsletter, Cashin’s Comments, for 40 years. He was also a regular presence on CNBC, where he delivered stock market commentary and analysis, for 25 years. Known as “the dean of the New York Stock Exchange,” the Washington Post once dubbed him “Wall Street’s version of Walter Cronkite.”

Cashin was a noted philanthropist who was heavily involved in a variety of charity activities at the New York Stock Exchange. In 2010, he was inducted into the Xavier Hall of Fame. He was a generous, longtime donor to his alma mater, where the new Arthur D. Cashin, Jr. Memorial Scholarship— established by his sons—will continue his legacy.

Cashin is survived by his sons, Arthur and Peter; his daughter-in-law, Kerry; his siblings, John and Elizabeth; and three grandsons. He was predeceased by his wife, Joan; his daughter, Jennifer; and his daughter-in-law, Marisa.

FRANKLIN GREGORY P’80 ’86 ’87

Frank Gregory P’80 ’86 ’87, Xavier’s longest-serving dean of students, passed away on December 2, 2024. He was 89.

Gregory was born in Jersey City in 1935. He attended Saint Peter’s Prep and Saint Peter’s College and earned a graduate degree from Fordham University.

Gregory began his career at Brooklyn Prep, where he served as registrar and assistant headmaster, in 1962. Following the closing of Brooklyn Prep in 1972, he moved to Xavier, where he would spend 27 years shaping young men’s lives as registrar and then as dean of students.

“Prefects and deans of students hold a special place in the lore of Jesuit high schools,” Jack Raslowsky recalled in an email to the Xavier community after Gregory’s death. “Mr. Gregory served in that role at Xavier longer than any other man, and he did so with distinction. More than one alumnus has told me, ‘Mr. Gregory saved me.’”

One of those alumni, sportscaster Brandon Tierney ’91, shared a moving tribute to Gregory on social media after his passing. “Xavier operates under the mantra ‘men for others’ and it was never more apparent than in this powerhouse of a human being,” he wrote. “I’m not ashamed to admit that without Xavier and specifically Mr. Gregory’s influence, not only am I

not a sportscaster, but candidly, I’m not even sure where I am in life. He was that vital in my development. ... Rest in peace, Mr. G. I will always love you and never forget you and the lessons you hammered home. No matter how much I resisted them in real time. Eventually and thankfully, they all sunk in.” Gregory is survived by Roberta, his wife of 63 years; his children, Margaret, Francis ’80, Teresa, Mary Catherine, Virginia, Robert ’86, John ’87, and Eileen; his siblings, Frances and Daniel; 27 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter, Catherine Marie, and nine of his siblings.

TERRENCE BAUM, S.J.

After a brave battle with cancer, Fr. Terry Baum, S.J., Xavier’s 51st headmaster, died on July 29, 2024. He was 72. Baum was born in Lorain, Ohio, in 1951. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Xavier University before entering the Society of Jesus in 1973. He was ordained a priest in 1981 at Madonna della Strada Chapel on the campus of Loyola University Chicago, and he pronounced final vows in 1992 at the Church of St. Francis Xavier. He earned master’s degrees in theology at the Weston School of Theology and education at Fordham University.

From 1975-78, Baum taught chemistry at Saint Ignatius College Prep in Chicago. He later served on the formation staff at Loyola House Novitiate in Michigan. Baum then began a long tenure as a secondary school administrator, serving as academic assistant principal at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati in the 1980s. In 1991, he was missioned to serve as Xavier’s headmaster. Baum brought stability, care for others, and a deep knowledge of Jesuit education to Xavier, where he remained until 1997.

That year, Baum became headmaster at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois. Six years later, he was named president of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri. During his 13 years at Rockhurst’s helm, he oversaw fundraising efforts that generated $41.3 million in contributions. These funds allowed for major capital improvements, including the Loyola Center athletic complex, a dining commons, and interactive classrooms. Baum also launched the school’s Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program.

In 2017, Baum returned to St. Xavier High School, serving as a chaplain, campus minister, advancement staff member, and director of Ignatian programs. In July 2024, he was missioned to St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wisconsin to care for his health and pray for the Church and the Society of Jesus. Through it all, Baum kept his sense of humor and deep trust in God.

“When I speak of the Church’s sacraments on retreats, I tell the students that I think sacraments are an occasion to trust—to trust in God’s grace for what is to come,” Baum wrote in 2023 to mark his 50th anniversary as a Jesuit. “I had no clue what priesthood was going to mean when I was ordained in 1981, but I was given the grace to trust that God’s desires for me would unfold in his time, not mine. I think I can say the same for every new venture that came my way during my 50 years as a Jesuit, from entrance through to the present day.”

Baum is survived by his brothers, Laurence and Mark.

JOSEPH W. LUX, S.J.

Fr. Joe Lux, S.J., who served Xavier as an English and Latin teacher, athletic chaplain, and its last prefect of discipline, died on October 21, 2024, after a long illness. He was 83.

Lux was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, in 1940. After graduating from Fordham Prep in 1958, he entered the Society of Jesus. Upon completing his novitiate and juniorate, he moved to Loyola Seminary in Shrub Oak, New York, to study philosophy.

In 1965, Lux began a two-year stint teaching English and Latin at Xavier, after which he earned a master’s degree in English at Fordham University and studied theology at Woodstock College. In 1971 he was ordained a priest by Terence Cardinal Cooke, then the Archbishop of New York, at Fordham University Church. He took his final vows in 1979.

In the fall of 1971, Lux returned to Xavier, where he served as the school’s last prefect of discipline and taught English until 1981. From 1981-1982, Lux spent a year in Ireland as assistant prefect of the house and English teacher at Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare. He then returned to Xavier to teach English for six more years. In 1988, Lux was missioned to McQuaid Jesuit in Rochester, where he served as student chaplain and taught English for five years.

In 1993, Lux began a master’s program in library science in Canisius College. Two years later, he embarked on a new journey as a librarian at Saint Peter’s College and later at Canisius College, Canisius High School, and Regis High School. In 2009, Lux returned to Xavier for the final time as a tutor and athletic chaplain. He remained on 16th Street for two years. His last high school assignment was at Canisius, where for seven years he served in campus ministry, as assistant vice president for mission and identity, and athletic chaplain.

In July 2018, Lux took up residence at Murray-Weigel Hall in the Bronx as he battled a long-term illness. When he was able to travel, he greatly enjoyed visits with his Jesuit friends in Seabright, New Jersey, and at Jogues Retreat in Cornwall, New York.

Lux is survived by his niece, Kathleen.

In Memoriam

Alumni

Francis Spollen ’46, 7/19/24

Dr. Joseph Murgalo ’47, 7/15/24

James Quinn, Sr. ’48, 6/16/24

Adrian Cockerill, Jr. ’49, 10/25/24

John E. Newell ’49, 3/28/24

Edward Ryan ’50, 8/11/24

James Hyland ’51, 9/30/24

Robert Kramer ’51, brother of Kenneth S. Kramer ’54, 7/1/24

Dr. Aniell Mastellone ’51, 10/17/24

Dr. Chester Schmidt, Jr. ’52, 5/15/24

Dr. George Seuffert ’52, brother of Edward Seuffert ’66, Peter Seuffert ’70, and Frank Seuffert ’72, 12/13/23

Anthony Borrello ’56, 11/20/24

Peter Brunone ’56, 4/28/24

Thomas Gallagher ’56, 8/12/23

Henry Worley ’56, 10/2/24

Vito Picone ’57, 7/2023

Joseph Provissiero ’57, 6/18/21

Albert Yuknus ’57, 11/26/24

Richard Appert ’58, brother of Gerard Appert ’61, Edward Appert ’62, and William Appert ’70, 11/30/24

Dr. Robert Baratta ’58, 9/15/24

Edwin Kennedy ’58, 5/2/24

Michael Walsh ’58, brother of Charles Walsh ’49†, 7/22/24

Arthur Cashin, Jr. ’59, 12/1/24

Thomas Harrison ’59, 7/13/24

Stephen DeAngelis ’60, 10/9/24

Dr. Joseph L. Dineen ’60, 7/30/24

Joseph Keating ’60, 8/4/24

Ihor Kotlarchuk ’61, 6/15/24

Dr. Denis M. Murphy ’62, 10/14/24

Manfred Edenhofer ’64, 8/30/21

Anthony Quaglieri ’64, 6/23/21

Vincent Chell ’66, 9/13/24

Richard Brennan ’67, 1/23/24

Stephen Euk ’67, brother of Fr. Vincent Euk ’70, 12/28/23

John Quinn ’67, 5/8/24

Peter Gyves, S.J. ’69, brother of John Gyves ’66†, Timothy Gyves ’67, William Gyves ’78, Thomas Gyves ’79, and Andrew Gyves ’83, 8/7/24

Walter Cullen ’70, 6/12/24

Kevin Kehoe ’70, 8/4/24

Nicholas Linkowitz, Jr. ’71, 1/12/23

Miguel Garcia, Jr. ’71, 5/31/24

William Russell ’72, 8/31/24

Daniel Hawley ’75, 7/26/24

John H. Nash ’76, 11/18/24

Andrew Corrigan ’84, 5/21/22

James Rombone ’88, 10/8/24

David M. Piasio ’96, son of Franklin Piasio ’54 P’96†, 8/19/24

John Paul Skretkowicz ’09, 9/3/24

Timothy Mulvey, II ’21, 8/4/24

Parents

Anthony Colao P’74 ’75, father of Peter Colao ’74 and Paul Colao ’75, 4/25/22

Mary Jane Handal P’74 ’80, mother of Michael Handal ’74 and Vincent Handal ’80, 5/20/24

Leona Culpepper P’75, mother of Terence Culpepper ’75, 8/5/24

Louis Entrup P’75, father of Michael Entrup ’75, 5/24/24

Margaret Entrup P’75, mother of Michael Entrup ’75, 5/24/24

Robert Harrison P’76, father of David Harrison ’76, 4/11/24

Marcel Antaki P’78 ’80 ’87, father of Elie Antaki ’78, Patrick Antaki ’80, and Alan Antaki ’87, 6/15/24

Armando Núñez, Sr. P’78, father of Armando Núñez, Jr. ’78, 7/10/24

Franklin Gregory P’80 ’86 ’87, former Dean of Students and father of Francis X. Gregory ’80, Robert Gregory ’86, and John J. Gregory ’87, 12/2/24

Sing-Hon Chiu P’81, father of Paul Chiu ’81, 7/2024

Mary E. Murphy P’82, mother of Austin Murphy, Jr. ’82 and wife of Austin Murphy, Sr. ’51 P’82†, 10/1/24

Margaret Conniff P’83 ’84, wife of Thomas Conniff ’52 P’83 ’84 and mother of Peter Conniff ’83 and Christopher Conniff ’84, 9/8/24

Mary Karpowich P’83, mother of James Karpowich ’83 and wife of former faculty member Anthony Karpowich†, 11/7/24

William Battista P’88 ’90, father of William Battista ’88 and Brian Battista ’90, 5/9/24

John Lictro P’88, father of John D. Lictro ’88, 9/3/24

John Ferretti P’89 ’95, father of John Ferretti ’89 and Michael Ferretti ’95, 9/28/24

Marcia Reidy P’94 ’01, mother of Bill Reidy ’94 P’27 and Michael Reidy ’01 and grandmother of William Reidy ’27, 9/27/24

Paul Enright P’91, father of Paul Enright ’91 and grandfather of Michael Minogue ’18, Jack Minogue ’24, and Nolan Enright ’28, 8/13/24

Nanchine McManus P’20, mother of Michael McManus ’20, 5/30/24

James Howard P’26, father of Jack Howard ’26, 7/23/24

Maura O’Regan P’26, mother of Michael O’Regan ’26, 11/21/24

Grandparents

Maria Chmura, grandmother of James Gebka ’09, 6/21/24

Lily Handal, mother-in-law of Craig Eaton ’78 P’06 ’12 and grandmother of Christopher Eaton ’06 and Dr. Vincent Eaton ’12, 8/16/24

Spouses

Linda Galeota, wife of Nicholas Galeota ’69, 7/23/24

Roberta J. Murphy, wife of William Murphy ’55, 10/23/24

Siblings

Ishe E. Costa, sister of history teacher

James Costa ’02, 11/30/24

Faculty/Family

Terrence Baum, S.J., 51st Headmaster of Xavier, 7/29/24

Dominic Lovallo, father of Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Luciano Lovallo, 6/27/24

Joseph Lux, S.J., former English and Latin teacher, athletic chaplain, and Prefect of Discipline, 10/21/24

Patrick J. Sullivan, S.J., 30th President of Xavier, 5/27/24

Sarah Anne Vega, mother of Vice President for Communications and Marketing

Shawna Gallagher Vega, 9/24/24

Gratitude for My Vocation

By JAMES HEDERMAN, S.J.

Fr. Hederman, a religion teacher and campus minister at Xavier, reflects on his 25 years as a Jesuit priest. After a successful medical career, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1990.

How fitting it felt to celebrate the 25th anniversary of my ordination at this year’s Thanksgiving liturgy. Eucharist means thanksgiving! I often share with my students the stark difference between the secular world’s offer of thanks to God once a year and the Church’s offers of thanks to God each day. When we use it, the Ignatian Examen helps us evoke those same sentiments of gratitude. It is one of St. Ignatius’ great gifts that I have loved sharing with students for over 30 years—13 of them at Xavier.

Xavier has been influential in my Jesuit life. In 1990, as I discerned becoming a Jesuit, I attended a cookout on the old Jesuit community terrace, where I first met several of my future novitiate classmates. Eleven years later, I agreed to lead a fall faculty retreat at Xavier; then 9/11 happened. On our October retreat day, I saw God hard at work with his healing graces as the focus of our work shifted dramatically to heal deep wounds of loss and dismay. The Holy Spirit’s presence was palpable. I learned how much God can do in a single day when we give him our full attention and an open heart.

A few years earlier, when I attended my first Jesuit Secondary Education Association (now Jesuit Schools Network) meeting as a Fairfield Prep faculty member, I heard about a new retreat called Kairos. I thought to myself, “That sounds just like my ‘conversion/ AHA’ moment at Medjugorje,” which had sent me on a new path from my medical practice to becoming a Jesuit. I got approval to bring Kairos to Prep, and Xavier readily offered to train our original team of five students and five faculty. Their mentoring (led by Fr. Marc Roselli ’77 and John McGoldrick) was so well done that I recommended Xavier to BC High when they, too, were looking to start Kairos. Xavier can be proud of its role in the formation of these brother programs and all the alumni who flow from them.

Following my time at Fordham doing vocation work, I sought a ministry in New York City as my dad was declining in health. Jack Raslowsky stepped forward and generously offered me a spot teaching religion at Xavier. I was able to assist my dad in his final days with easy visits to Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace from 16th Street. I’ll never forget Jack’s and Xavier’s kindness to my family and me at that time.

Now, as a teacher on 16th Street, I enjoy introducing my students to Jim Martin, S.J.’s book Becoming Who You Are and its helpful explanation of the battle that each of us faces of allegiance to God and discovering our truest, best self versus listening to lies that pull us toward evil and selfishness, to compromise and settle for a false self that can never bring joy or fulfillment. We learn about discernment, the process of sorting out the two pulls. Consolation— that deep feeling of joy and peace—lights the way toward God, and my classes grow in recognizing it each year. When I share Ignatian guided meditations, my students encounter God in a new way that is personal and loving. The student-requested True Self Club, where students get a chance to meditate and reflect with their buddies, Christ among them, followed from these classes. The newly offered Kairos Tune-Ups for alumni help reclaim and deepen the blessings that fill our Knights’ Kairos days and help them flourish later on, amidst busy lives, supported by a strong trust first built among them as Xavier brothers. If you’re an alumnus interested in these events, please reach out to me at hedermanj@xavierhs.org

I cherish being part of my former students’ and their families’ lives, at weddings and christenings, moments of joy and moments of trial, by text and by phone, as well as adding new graduating classes of students to my spiritual progeny. We end each year agreeing to pray for one another, so that we will all make it to Heaven for a terrific reunion there in the Xavier Corner some wonderful day. St. Francis Xavier, pray for us!

Excellence in cross country has long been a hallmark of Xavier athletics.

During a 1950 meet at the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park— a spot well-known to Xavier harriers to this day—team captain Candido DeLeon ’51 led the way.

Learning in the Capital of the World

Students explore the Met’s landmark exhibition, “Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350.”

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