As a Catholic institutional leader, Pius XI High School is called to a mission of service that is grounded in the love of Christ and the faith of the Catholic Church. Our students develop the faith and virtues that lead them to greater personal responsibility and service to others.
As such, Pius XI Campus Ministry seeks to inundate the community with a creative, engaging, and systematic “call to the Spirit.” No student, staff member, or visitor should be able to get far in the building without being invited, by some clearly evident medium, to be attentive to the presence and call of God. It is the constant endeavor of those charged with this ministry to evoke the collective imagination of the school toward how God is present among us, and how we ought to respond to that Presence. This occurs in many ways
- An extensive retreat program including: a freshman day of reflection, sophomore retreats related to the courses “Relationships,” “Rituals,” and “Discipleship”, an optional senior class overnight, and an overnight leadership retreat for those students most active in the Campus Ministry efforts.
- The facilitation of many and varied service opportunities generated through the Campus Ministry Club, which has a membership of more than 100 students from all grade levels; and via the Christian Service course offered during senior year.
- The guidance of student-prepared liturgies, 14 in the last calendar year, with students trained for, and filling liturgical ministries.
- An active pastoral presence: students and staff regularly seek out spiritual direction from the Campus Ministry staff and theology teachers. Their presence is evidenced through: retreats, the Christian Service course, daily prayer, all-school liturgies, hospital visitation, pastoral presence at funerals and during times of tragedy, and extraordinary outreach – as an example, the annual Mission Trip, which presents a week-long extended travel to participate in the YouthWorks National service mission program.
- Seasonal, devotional practices are facilitated in conjunction with the schedule of the Theology Department. Entire classes encounter the Stations of the Cross, the Rosary, practices of Meditation, and Prayer Path (Labyrinth) activities are a regular facet of a Pius student’s experience.
The efforts of Campus Ministry are seen as the “laboratory” of the Theology curriculum:
- The service element is continuously promulgated by virtue of the Christian Service course and Big Buddy program.
- Several theology courses implement the inclusion of a service experience through which many contacts are made via Campus Ministry. Such initiatives make the practice of pastoral theology virtually unavoidable.
The entire Pius XI staff should feel as pervasively affected. Staff members experience continuous invitation to quality opportunities for spiritual growth, healing, and renewal.
Prayer liturgies for staff members mark the passage of significant touchstones throughout each year (end-of-semesters, Christmas, Lent, memorials, anniversaries, etc.).