It’s been six months since I arrived in Winnipeg and assumed the position of President at St. Paul’s High School.  To say the least it’s been an eventful six months, full of ‘firsts’ and lots of learning.  That will only accelerate in the second term.

Given that it’s the middle of my first year back in school ministry, it seems an appropriate time, in true Ignatian fashion, to reflect upon and evaluate the experience, to do an apostolic examen, as it were.  What have been the graces of this period?  What have been the challenges and the failures of this period?  What needs to be done to ensure a more effective ministry in the future?

This in fact was the focus of a recent voluntary staff retreat in which about a dozen members of our faculty and administration got together for a day of prayer and reflection.  And it was that very experience that triggered the recognition of the most positive aspect, the greatest grace of this past term: to be part of an apostolic team, a cohort of people sharing a common apostolate, working together to enflesh the apostolic mission of the Society.

Although I was privileged for the past many years to work in our Curia (headquarters) in Toronto with a wonderful group of people, the truth is I spent a lot of my time working alone.  We had a corporate apostolate in the Curia of caring for the Jesuit Province of English Canada.  Each of us had our assigned duties which often meant ad hoc collaboration with different people in the Curia, and frequently with other groups outside the Curia.  But essentially we worked in our own office and attended to our own duties.  For me that also meant a great deal of travel and, therefore, time away from the Curia. It was often a challenge to maintain a sense of collective mission and purpose.

Coming to St. Paul’s has meant for me a return to an institutional apostolate where all of the energies of the group are focussed on a common mission and purpose: the formation of men and women for others.  The collaboration is constant and deliberate.  And while we still all have our assigned duties, there is a conscious sense of collective responsibility for the mission.  As rock singer Sam Roberts (Loyola grad) says in one of his latest releases, “We’re all in this together!”

My responsibility here is to provide apostolic leadership for a highly motivated and dedicated group of teachers and support workers, and to engage the broader community of parents and alumni, to encourage their participation in the mission. It is both a challenge and a privilege to be in this position.  The challenge is to provide authentic leadership by modelling the values of Ignatian pedagogy and apostolic service; the privilege is to be working with people who get it, who understand that this is not just a school but an apostolate, and who are fully dedicated to a faith-based formation for our students.

So, how have I done?  Well, given all of the feedback and reflection over these past months, I think I’ve done pretty well.  So far there have been no major crises or serious conflicts. The spirit in the school is positive and energetic.  Both students and teachers, with only a few exceptions, seem happy and hopeful for the future.

But that’s only my perception.  In a desire to get a more objective assessment of the situation, to do a “communal examen”, I’ve distributed a President’s Performance Review to all faculty, staff and board members to seek their evaluation and comments.  It will help me correct whatever difficulties may have crept in over the first term, and to keep myself focussed on the proper priorities.  It will also set a precedent for future Presidents, who are unlikely to be Jesuits, and an example for the other leaders in the school.  No one is immune from evaluation, not even the President.

This type of apostolic examen is an essential element of remaining faithful to the mission of the Society and of the Church.  It is easy to develop a narrow vision which can quickly degenerate into a form of self-justification and self-preservation.  Opening up the discernment to the input from others helps to assure integrity and honesty in the process and to promote a fuller appropriation of collective responsibility for the mission.

We are all in this together and knowing that those I work with understand and accept that fills me with consolation and joy. 

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All photos courtesy of St. Paul's High School.