Manresa Award Recipients Honored

Last night Walsh Jesuit recognized two outstanding alumni parents - Jane Rafferty and Frank Somodi, who were presented with the Manresa Award, the most prestigious Jesuit award given at Walsh Jesuit.
November 1, 2018

Walsh Jesuit honors two outstanding alumni parents who have lived the Jesuit Magis not only in their service to this special school and many other worthy causes, but also in the way that they have raised loving Catholic families who fanned out from Northeast Ohio to light the world on fire.

Jane Rafferty has been a beloved teacher and administrator at Walsh Jesuit since the day she walked in the door almost 40 years ago. She has always found a way to help the struggling student in math and has embodied the Jesuit ideal of cura personalis---special care for each student, meeting every student where they are in their world---like few others. It is the way that Jane has met the thousands of students she has taught that is so inspirational: with her joyful and loving way, she sees the goodness in each and finds a way to draw them closer to the Lord. Whether as dean or moderator, mother or teacher, she is that woman for and with others!

Frank Somodi had no previous connection to Walsh Jesuit when his oldest son, Paul, heard a talk by Fr. Dickson, SJ that won the whole Somodi family over to the Warrior way! The impact of those words by our second president brought Carol’s and Frank’s three sons to Wyoga Lake Road and began a legacy of service that has been a model for all families. Giving without counting the cost, Frank has been an active Booster, field manager, man in the field, and friend to all since the fall of 1980. He has dug trenches, run electrical lines, repaired and painted bleachers, installed seat numbers, supervised projects and smiled with pride at the newest version of “his” Conway Stadium.

About the Manresa Award
The highest honor Walsh Jesuit bestows, the Manresa Award, is named for the town in northern Spain where St. Ignatius Loyola experienced a spiritual conversion. That experience led to his founding of the Society of Jesus in 1540 and ultimately resulted in the worldwide network of Jesuit-sponsored schools. It was also in Manresa that Ignatius wrote the "Spiritual Exercises,” which form the foundation of Jesuit spirituality.

Walsh Jesuit's Manresa Award is presented to members of the school community who are outstanding exemplars of the Jesuit motto, Men and Women for and with Others, and who have served selflessly to further the school's mission.
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As a Christ-centered community, we strive to be Men and Women for Others.