Jesuit HS President Prepares to Leave School

Late spring is a time when high schools see graduating seniors preparing to leave the school they have attended for the past four years with mixed emotions- happy to be moving on to the next chapter in their lives but also sad that they'll no longer be around friends and teachers.

At , the Rev. Greg Bonfiglio, S.J. is preparing to leave the Carmichael all-boys college preparatory Catholic school where he has been for 13 years, nine of which he served as president.

On Tuesday, the school announced Bonfiglio's appointment as pastor of the Saint Ignatius Parish located on the University of San Francisco campus, effective July 1, 2012. 

Bonfiglio has been a busy man for Jesuit, especially in the past school year, when he has attended trips outside of Sacramento on the school's behalf, as well as local activities including the annual and .

"I'm so busy, I haven't had time to reflect," he said Thursday during an ice cream social for students on campus.

Bonfiglio's colleagues have had great things to say about him.

"We have been blessed to have Fr. Bonfiglio, S.J., as our President for the last nine years," said Jesuit principal Brianna Latko. "He is very pastoral, and I am certain that the parishioners at Saint Ignatius will benefit from his many gifts. We will miss him dearly at Jesuit and wish him great success in his new assignment."

A former Jesuit High principal also shared well wishes for Bonfiglio.

"Fr. Bonfiglio has brought Jesuit High School to new heights through his leadership and has deepened the spirituality of the school community and its friends and benefactors," The Rev. John McGarry, S.J., provincial of the California Province of the Society of Jesus, said in a released statement. "Fr. Bonfiglio will bring experience and prayerful leadership and many other gifts to his new mission at St. Ignatius Parish."

Jesuit student body president Matty Vincent said Bonfiglio helped make his time at the school memorable.

"Jesuit has been blessed with the leadership of Fr. Bonfiglio, and the senior class especially has been so lucky to have Fr. Bonfiglio for all four years," Vincent said.  "We can't express our gratitude for everything he has done, and everything he is."

After Bonfiglio completes his service to Jesuit on June 30 and assists with the transition to his successor, The Rev. David Suwalsky, S.J., in early July, he will  spend time with friends and family before participating in a renewal program for priests, Jesuit officials said. He will arrive at Saint Ignatius Parish on May 1, 2012 to begin his transition time.

Bonfiglio answered questions from Carmichael Patch via e-mail recently. Here is the interview:

CARMICHAEL PATCH: What can you tell me about plans for the proposed chapel at this time? In your opinion, how will the project benefit the Jesuit High School community?

THE REV. GREG BONFIGLIO: The Jesuit High School Chapel of the North American Martyrs has long been a dream of our community. Ever since the closure of the original one in the mid-1980’s, we have dreamt of a school chapel that would be the symbolic heart of our campus and of our mission.

Planning for the current chapel began in 2005, as a result of our 2002 WASC
Accreditation. We went through an extensive selection process to find the right architect for this important project. Clearly, we needed a firm whose work demonstrated the quality and creativity required. We also were looking for people who would listen to our 21st-century aspirations and could meld them to 2,000 years of tradition.

We found a firm that met all of these criteria in Hodgetts+Fung Design and Architecture. We have worked hard at the design of the chapel these years. I am very proud of the fact that there are many fingerprints on this design, including those of students, the Jesuit Community, faculty and staff, and friends of Jesuit High School.

Consequently, it appeals to adolescents and octogenarians alike. Also, I believe that it will not only meet the needs of our broader Jesuit communities, but it also make a contribution to the conversation going on in the Church about what a contemporary church should be. The building succeeds in striking a balance between being a space that fosters good communal worship and one that offers intimate, sacred spaces conducive to private prayer.

Currently we are nearing the end of the permitting process. We hope to go before the County Planning Commission on May 23 and that the commissioners will approve this important project, seeing it for the contribution to the larger Sacramento community that I believe it is.

Of course, we have more money to raise. There is a $19 million price tag on
the project, which includes five acres of land, a new entrance for the school off Fair Oaks Boulevard, and a $2 million operations endowment for the Chapel.

In recent years, I have come to understand what St. Augustine meant when he said, “You made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” God had the wisdom to create us with a natural longing in our heart which can only be filled when we are in relationship with God.

Unfortunately, we live in a world that offers too many false substitutes to fill that longing. Combine that with a world that is fast and loud, and you end up with people who are tempted to lose their way. We work hard here at Jesuit High School to create space for quiet reflection and prayer. Our Chapel will be a dedicated, sacred space on campus where our students can go to encounter God, whether
just arriving at school to pray for themselves or a test they have that day, or some other quiet time during the day to pray for people they are carrying in their hearts.

CP: Is there anything else you would like to add about the Jesuit High community and the year ahead and beyond?

GB: My successor, Fr. David Suwalsky, S.J., is arriving at an exciting time. We have just completed a new strategic plan to take us out through 2015. By projecting Jesuit’s mission and values into the future, the Strategic Plan provides a road map to follow.

It defines priorities, sets limits, and positions the charitable case for support. Implicitly it asserts: “This organization knows what it is about and where it is headed. It is a good steward. It is worthy of your continued involvement and increasing support.”