FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Parents, Alumni, and Friends of Jesuit,
The Society of Jesus and Jesuit education
JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT
Rev. Richard C. Hermes, S.J.
PRINCIPAL
Barry Neuburger
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL FOR ACADEMICS
Debra Pacheco
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL FOR DISCIPLINE
Dr. Angelo Pastore
ASSISTANT DISCIPLINARIAN
Ryan Henry
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Nicholas Suszynski '98
2 JESUIT PERSPECTIVES • WINTER 2018-19
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Pete Young
Contributing Photographers:
Pete Young, Amy Martin, Ray Rodriguez ’91, Scott
Murray, Riley Martin ’20, Scott Purks, Gigante
Productions, Inc.
Perspectives is a magazine for and about the students,
alumni, parents, faculty, staff, friends, and
supporters of Jesuit High School in Tampa, Fla. It
is published three times a year by Jesuit's Development
Office, in addition to an Annual Report.
Please mail editorial correspondence or photos to
Pete Young, Perspectives, Jesuit High School,
4701 N. Himes Avenue, Tampa, FL 33614
E-mail or phone: Pete Young, Communications
Director, communications@jesuittampa.org
have been immersed in the arts
since the 16th century. Michelangelo was,
for a brief time, commissioned as the
architect of the Gesu, the Jesuit mother
church in Rome. Peter Paul Rubens, a
close friend of the Society, helped design
the Jesuit church in Antwerp, and produced
full-scale paintings of our founder,
Saint Ignatius. Moliere and Corneille, the
great playwrights of the classic French
period, received their first training in
theatre as students in Jesuit schools. The
Order itself produced Domenico Zipoli,
the leading Italian organist and composer
of the Baroque period. Even in the 19th
and early 20th centuries, the Dutch Jesuit
brother, Cornelius Otten, oversaw the
design and construction of landmark
Catholic churches throughout the southern
United States. Jesuit involvement
with the world of artistic achievement is
rich and varied.
With an awareness of this history, we
began the construction of the Chapel of
the Holy Cross nearly three years ago. All
of us involved in the project have had the
sense of wanting to capture in Tampa,
at Jesuit High School, the spirit of what
was produced on such a grand scale in
the past. For me, an important moment
in this process was traveling to Europe
and meeting two talented young Catholic
artists, an American sculptor named
Cody Swanson, based in Florence, and
Raul Berzosa, a canvas and fresco artist
from Malaga, located near the Rock of
Gibraltar in the southern part of Spain.
It was uplifting to hear them express
their vision of sacred art and then
observe their vision and religious
sensitivity come to life in works of art
designed for our students. Raul took
me to a chapel in Malaga where he had
painted an extraordinary ceiling fresco.
It was an intimate, awe-inspiring place
of worship. In his studio, I examined
the decorative painting he was working
on for the ceiling of our new chapel’s
lantern cupola. He introduced me to the
paintings of the four martyrs that would
adorn the side shrines in our new chapel
and, of course, the dramatic canvas now
located above the high altar, St. Ignatius’
Vision at La Storta.
Near Florence, Cody accompanied us
to shops and family factories near the
marble quarries where we selected
various pieces to be used throughout the
chapel. At his studio, I saw first-hand
the diligence and craftsmanship in every
sculpting detail. It was truly exciting
to realize that these sacred pieces,
fashioned by the skilled hands of these
two young Catholic artists from across
the ocean, would soon become part of
our religious life at Jesuit, inspiring our
community in its faith life. This past year
we have all been blessed to see it come
to fruition.
I have similar feelings of excitement
and optimism when I consider Jesuit
High School’s arts program, which
in a few years will occupy their new
Center for Fine and Performing Arts.
Our program is blessed with talented
and dedicated staff and students. Jesuit’s
music, theatre, and fine arts programs
are robust and productive, yielding
spectacular work. Instructors such as
Art Department Head Kevin Ball ’03,
music director Nina Wegmann, choral
and band director Dominick DiCarlo,
and theatre director Richard Miller are
imparting an appreciation and understanding
of their crafts in our students,
helping them develop their God-given
talents in the manner of Jesuit schools
going back many centuries. The administration
has assisted the advancement
of the arts in recent years by prioritizing
the expansion of curricular opportunities
across the program.
Just a few weeks ago, Cody visited
Jesuit for the second time. While here,
he helped install three new statues,
including the Immaculate Conception of
Mary and St. Joseph, the Guardian of the
Redeemer, in the chapel sanctuary. He
also continued his restoration of other
statues on campus. Our AP Art class
observed him one morning as he worked
on one of our most beloved images,
the statue of St. Anthony. In that AP Art
group are future architects, designers,
engineers, and perhaps the next Cody
Swanson or Raul Berzosa. Or perhaps
even a Rubens or Moliere in the making!
As we prepare for this next phase of our
campus development, I want to thank
you for all you do to support our mission
and our students at Jesuit.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Richard C. Hermes, S.J.
Rev. Richard C. Hermes, S.J.
President
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