Our Leadership

Dear Friends of Georgetown Prep,

This academic year, we celebrate the 235th year since Archbishop John Carroll opened the doors of his Academy. It is always heartening to see our young men fill the walks of the quad and hallways. I am reminded once again how blessed and honored I am to be entrusted with the care of this, our nation’s oldest Catholic boys school and only Jesuit boarding school. I am also reminded what a wonderful work we endeavor here: forming young men to be men of competence, conscience, courage, and compassion; men of faith and men for-and-with others. Our shared mission is renewed with the start of each school year, and that is always exciting.

The commitment of our faculty and staff to be present to all our students, not only in the classroom but also across the broad spectrum of our activities and athletics programs, coupled with the uniquely rich diversity of our student body from our day and boarding programs, shapes an unparalleled educational experience both within the Jesuit educational network and among our peer schools. 

It is always a joy to witness our freshmen, this year the Class of 2027, encounter the culture of Georgetown Prep and begin to experience the camaraderie, brotherhood, and mutual support that are the hallmarks of this community. I often recall that Ignatius and his six early companions came from all over Southwestern Europe and, in a world marked by war and strife, formed a brotherhood of friendship that became the Society of Jesus. We fulfill that mission again, with our current students coming from every background, and 14 states and 18 countries, as well as many neighborhoods of the DC metro area.

I want to emphasize that the call to the magis is one that we as the Prep community ought especially heed: we have been blessed with so much – the great legacy of Ignatius and John Carroll, the commitment of a community since 1789, the imagination that built our present campus and our amazing facilities, the support of our families and friends, the dedication of our teachers and coaches and staff, and especially the vast diversity and talent of our students. So many gifts, so many blessings! Gratitude, true gratitude, is not just a feeling or a nice note; in truth it is a commitment to use those gifts, those blessings, well, in such a way that honors the giver, the one who has loved us. 

St. Ignatius reminds us that “Love is shown in deeds more than words” (Spiritual Exercises, 230). The same is true of gratitude which, after all, is the response of love to love. I invite us all, then, to consider as we look at our world and its many needs, how we in our time and our place might respond out of the great gifts we have been given ad majorem Dei gloriam.

God bless, sincerely in Christ,