It was the belief of the late Rev. Robert J. Welsh, S.J. ’54 that the mission of our school is only as strong as the men and women who are formed in it, and that the teachers, counselors, and coaches who educate and shape our students must be well-formed themselves in that mission and the Catholic faith in which it is rooted. Consequently, educating new staff in the mission is a vital component of the onboarding process at Saint Ignatius High School. President and Chief Mission Officer Rev. Raymond P. Guiao, S.J. ’82 credits Fr. Welsh for planting the seeds for the
employee formation program that exists today.
Ask anyone who works at Saint Ignatius and they will tell you that the school is a special place to work. More than half of the employees have served the school for over a decade. The school serves as a model for other Jesuit schools across the country. This year, Saint Ignatius High School was recognized as a 2024 Northcoast 99 award winner for the top places to work in Northeast Ohio by ERC, the Employers Resource Council.
According to Fr. Guiao, “I recently heard that for faith-based schools, all it takes is one generation of distancing from its religious identity for that school to become a secular institution. Saint Ignatius High School remains unapologetically Catholic and Jesuit in our identity, and that is largely because we take great care to form everyone—students, teachers, staff, and even Board members—in the Ignatian mission of Saint Ignatius High School,” he proclaims.
Fr. Guiao inspires the faculty and staff at the school with his steadfast commitment to the shared mission and values. This is expressed to potential candidates during the interview process. Like many other places of employment, there are multiple steps in the hiring process. At Saint Ignatius, the final step is an interview with Fr. Guiao at which time he converses with each candidate about the importance of the school’s mission and our commitment to Ignatian Spirituality.
According to Fr. Guiao, “In the late 1980s, then-president Fr. Welsh clarified and magnified the mission of Saint Ignatius High School. He insisted that hiring for mission was critical in developing a strong faculty and staff. He was famous for the ‘Welsh Question’ as it became known among those who sat for a final round of interviews for a faculty or staff position: ‘Who is Jesus Christ to you, and how will you bring your relationship with Jesus Christ into your work with our students?’ It's a question that I myself do not shy away from asking when prospective employees sit down with me for a final round interview, because I believe, as Fr. Welsh believed, that our school's mission is only as strong as the faculty and staff who form and educate the students. But once we hire men and women who believe in the mission and are committed to serving the mission, it behooves us to
form them in the mission. Hence, the need for our five-year comprehensive faith formation program,” Fr. Guiao explains.
Pat Gallagher ’04 Assistant Principal for Faculty Formation agrees, “The school’s faith formation program is necessary because it ensures that the most important component of our vocation, the only reason we truly exist as a school—to help our students come to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ—remains at the forefront of our mission and identity. Without an intentional and continued commitment to who we are as an apostolate of the Church, Saint Ignatius High School and
The Welsh Academy are not the schools they are missioned to be.”
New employees begin their employment by attending a retreat during their first year. Employees spend two days at the Jesuit Retreat House in Parma, where they are welcomed into the warm embrace of the Saint Ignatius community. One of the goals is to educate them on the mission, Ignatian Spirituality, and the
Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. Saint Ignatius Director of Adult Faith Formation Amy McKenna leads the faith formation program and echos the remarks of Fr. Guiao and Gallagher: “The mission is at the heart of everything we do at Saint Ignatius. In the faith formation program employees are introduced to opportunities to encounter God and Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, which helps us to live out the mission,” explains McKenna.
At the retreat, faculty and staff have the opportunity to get to know other new employees, who will be a part of their formation cohort for the next five years. The school’s faith leaders and administrative team talk with the employees, Q&A sessions are hosted by current students and faculty, and there are also opportunities for prayer and team-building. McKenna and her faith formation team of Paul Barbins, Joan Carney, Gallagher and Denise Proboski help facilitate the program.
McKenna shares, “This is our unifying theme at Saint Ignatius. If all of us are aware of what the mission is, we are able to talk about it. We want everyone to be on board with what the mission is. For those that the mission doesn’t resonate with, they may find this isn’t where they see themselves staying.”
The faith formation program is designed very intentionally with an overall theme for each year. The first year is “informational and foundational” says McKenna. We talk about the mission of the school; What does it mean to be a Jesuit institution? What is the Grad at Grad? (Grad at Grad is short for “Graduate at Graduation” and is a hallmark of Jesuit education—successful students will emerge as open to growth, intellectually competent, and loving and committed to work for peace and justice). “Not only is this essential for our students, but also our faculty and staff,” says McKenna. “We also need to be aware of these Jesuit principles and living and working on them.”
At the end of their first year, all employees attend the Ignatian Retreat for New Employees. According to Campus Chaplain Father Dan Reim, S.J. “This is a great opportunity for employees to reflect on their first-year experience in terms of mission.” Fr. Reim shares that our lay faculty have done an excellent job over the years of owning the mission, and in doing so are able to lead our students.
Year-two formation groups are introduced to the basic tenets of Catholicism. This may be a refresher for some, and for others of different faith traditions, it is an introduction. What does it mean to be Catholic? What does it mean to be in a Catholic institution? Other areas discussed are grace, the sacraments, Church, and Jesus. There is ample opportunity for questions and conversation. Those of different faith traditions are welcomed and encouraged to share their faith experiences. According to McKenna “It’s just a cool place where we can talk about the mystery of all of this!”
Ignatian Spirituality and prayer are explored in depth in year three of formation. Discussions are held on the specific prayers that St. Ignatius Loyola used in his Exercises; McKenna stresses “These aren’t prayers that he made up; these are ones that he took and made part of his
Spiritual Exercises.” A good way to look at it is that in the first half of the year, we talk about prayer form, the second half we pray, which is at the heart of discernment, which is an important tool to use throughout your entire life. McKenna describes it as a way “to check in with God.” Discernment plays such a vital role in everything we do here at Saint Ignatius, especially in decision-making, so this is very important.
Catholic social teaching is the foundation for year four of faith formation. “This is a huge part of what we do here at Saint Ignatius,” McKenna says. “We need to be steeped in Catholic social justice and why we do it. This is an important part of the history of our faith. We are responding to a call from our Church to respond to these specific areas of need.”
Year five is the Ignatian retreat. Together, the group engages in prayer and explores deeper Ignatian themes. Faith sharing is an important part of this final year of formation.
Gallagher shares, “Something that impresses me about new faculty and staff participants in the faith formation program is how they immediately open themselves to growth—a core characteristic of the Grad at Grad—almost without exception.” He continues, “I can recall a conversation with a new staff member a few years ago who was admittedly having a hard time with the commitment required of participating in the program. After one of our meetings, this person asked if he could speak with me one-on-one. We went to my office, and he proceeded to share with me that after this particular session, he had an epiphany about the way their work connects to the faith life and mission of the school. This was a transformational moment for this person and is exactly what the faith formation program intends to do: transform our new faculty and staff members to see themselves as essential to the mission of Saint Ignatius High School and The Welsh Academy,” he says with a smile.
Fr. Guiao sums it up: “One thing I've noticed about our faculty and staff going through the faith formation program is the deep level of camaraderie that develops within the formation cohorts. I suppose it's a natural outgrowth of a five-year formation program, especially when that formation program involves group prayer, faith sharing, and meaningful discussions on issues and questions of faith and spirituality. It's heartening to see the members of the formation cohorts grow tight as they go through the five years of formation. I've also noticed a deep appreciation by faculty and staff for the formation they receive. Our faith formation program leaves our faculty and staff members with a deeper appreciation of and commitment to our school's mission and the Ignatian spirituality that animates our mission.”
This story was originally printed in the Saint Ignatius 2024 Fall magazine.