Mission & Identity

Mission & Identity

2023-2024 School Year Theme

Men and Women for Others

Our Identity

For over 50 years, as a Catholic, Jesuit High School, Walsh Jesuit has been committed to academic excellence, spiritual growth, and cura personalis (care for the whole person) as our students grow within our community each day. We hope you share in the experience of our over 10,000 ignited graduates who set the world on fire and make a difference in the world.

Our Mission

Walsh Jesuit, a Catholic, college preparatory high school in the spirit of St. Ignatius Loyola, reaches beyond academic excellence to develop competence, conscience, and compassion within its graduates.  As a Christ-centered community we value inclusion and strive to be men and women for and with others.

A Formative Experience

Walsh Jesuit students answer the call to put our faith into action through participation in the Campus Ministry service programs. Students are encouraged to participate in a variety of service opportunities and connect their service experience with their faith in ever-deeper ways. Through these service ministries, students directly experience the profound truth that in giving we receive.

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  • THE ROLE OF ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA

    Born in 1491, Ignatius was the youngest of 13 children in the noble Basque family of Loyola, Spain. At the age of 26, he was serving as a soldier and defending the town of Pamplona against the French when a cannonball shattered his leg. He experienced a dramatic religious conversion when, during his long and difficult period of recovery, he read books on the life of Christ and found himself drawn away from thoughts of chivalry and warfare and toward the idea of serving Christ.

    After his wounds healed, Ignatius attempted a pilgrimage to the Holy Land but stopped in Manresa, Spain, where he spent nearly a year reflecting on his life. Ultimately, Ignatius experienced a great enlightenment and devoted himself to serving God and others.

    Realizing that an excellent education was necessary in order to fulfill his goal of working for Christ and the Catholic Church, Ignatius returned to school, studying Latin and theology. During this time he wrote a manual of spiritual direction called the Spiritual Exercises. Through sharing the Exercises, he gathered about him a group of companions who shared his love for God and zeal for service. These “friends of Jesus” became the first Jesuits and quickly responded to the needs of the Church through mission work, pastoral ministry, and education.
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  • THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

    The new religious order was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540 and was called the Society of Jesus. Today, the Society of Jesus is the Catholic Church’s largest religious order, with more than 20,000 members (Jesuits) worldwide.

    Although not originally founded to operate schools, the Jesuits responded to numerous requests for places of learning and observed that educating young men enabled them to make a more generous response in the service of God and fellow man. Thus, the Jesuits came to value education as an effective way to advance the Kingdom of God and became the first religious order in the Catholic Church to engage in education as a major ministry.

    The early years of Jesuit education led in 1599 to the establishment of a plan of studies, the Ratio Studiorum, which shaped a network of Jesuit schools, colleges, and universities that today serves more than 1.5 million students worldwide.

    St. Ignatius knew that education involved more than a simple memorization of what is familiar. Under the guidance of his or her teachers, a student must be broadened by new ideas. And the end of Jesuit education is to produce graduates committed to fostering a society in balance with God’s intentions for humanity.

    The Jesuit motto of Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam means “For the Greater Glory of God” and reflects Walsh Jesuit’s heritage. Often abbreviated as AMDG, the phrase reflects a Jesuit school’s desire to better serve God and God’s purposes by leading students to see not only their own dignity but the dignity of all humans.

    Come join us at Walsh Jesuit High School, where we strive to do all things AMDG!
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Resources

   

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Meet Mission & Identity

List of 4 members.

  • Photo of Tim Dunn

    Mr. Tim Dunn 

    Vice-President of Mission & Identity
    John Carroll University - Master of Arts
    2014
  • Photo of Donald Petkash

    Fr. Donald Petkash S.J. 

    Office of Mission Associate
    2001
  • Photo of Ken Styles

    Fr. Ken Styles S.J. 

    Chaplain
    2014
  • Photo of Jaclyn Yoder

    Mrs. Jaclyn Yoder 

    Adult Campus Minister
    John Carroll University - B.S.B.A.
    2021
As a Christ-centered community, we strive to be Men and Women for and with Others.

Walsh Jesuit High School

4550 Wyoga Lake Road,
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44224-1059
330.929.4205 (local)
800.686.4694