Dear Cristo Rey Jesuit Faculty and Staff,
As we enter Catholic Schools Week, I want to pause and express my gratitude for each of you and for the way you live our mission day in and day out at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Baltimore.
This year’s theme, United in Faith and Community, is especially fitting for who we are and where we serve. As a Jesuit Catholic high school in Baltimore, our work is grounded in faith, strengthened by community, and expressed through a deep commitment to forming young people who will serve the common good. Catholic Schools Week invites us to celebrate not only what we do, but why we do it.
The attached Catholic Schools Week message from the Archdiocese of Baltimore reminds us of several important truths that resonate deeply with our mission :
- Catholic schools are communities of care, where students are known, supported, and challenged to grow academically, spiritually, and morally.
- We are entrusted with the sacred responsibility of educating young people and helping them discover their God-given gifts.
- Our schools thrive because of dedicated educators, staff, families, and partners who work together in service of students.
- Catholic education calls students not only to excellence, but to lives of service, justice, and love.
At Cristo Rey Jesuit, these words take on concrete meaning. We serve students from across Baltimore who bring tremendous promise, resilience, and hope. Through our rigorous academics, Corporate Work Study Program, and Ignatian formation, we are helping students grow in competence, conscience, compassion, and commitment. This is what it looks like to be united in faith and community in a Jesuit context.
Catholic Schools Week is a time of celebration, but it is also a moment of reflection. It invites us to recommit ourselves to our shared mission and to the students and families who place their trust in us each day. Thank you for the professionalism, care, and faith you bring to this work, often in ways that go unseen but never unnoticed.
I am grateful to serve alongside you. May this week renew our sense of purpose and remind us of the profound impact of Catholic education lived with integrity and love.
With gratitude and prayers,
Walter D. Reap, Sr., President
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School-Baltimore
