Dear Prospective
Jesuit High School Families,
The first Jesuit school was founded over 470 years ago, in Sicily in 1548, just eight
years after Pope Paul III established the Society of Jesus as a religious order. In
fact, the Jesuits were the first religious order in the Catholic Church to make formal
education a central part of its ordinary work.
By the time of the American Revolution, more than 200 years later, the Jesuits ran about 800 schools
around the world, most of them schools of secondary education. From the beginning, Jesuit schools were
cultural forces, instilling in their students a love of learning and an intellectual confidence borne of
academic rigor and an engaged, personal style of instruction. Jesuit graduates through the ages have gone
on to become important leaders in cities and societies around the world.
Today in the United States there are more than 50 Jesuit high schools continuing this great tradition, with
all of the classic ingredients: outstanding academic preparation; community service, social engagement, and
promotion of the common good; and the integral development of the human qualities that form strong
leaders. Jesuit High School of Tampa has fulfilled this same mission for the young men of the Tampa Bay
area for 121 years.
Since 1899, Jesuit High School has aimed to foster the development of our students to their full potential,
to bring them closer to God, and to help them become leaders in the world they will inhabit as adults.
In short, Jesuit offers a total formation of mind and heart. Our mission as a Catholic, Jesuit, college
preparatory school is to labor to form men engaged in the world who are dedicated to serving God by
being open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving, and just.
The current era of secondary education is an exciting one, with the infusion of technology and the
increasing emphasis on student engagement in the learning process. At Jesuit, we are responding in a
dynamic way to the changing needs of education in the 21st century, while at the same time remaining true
to our heritage of forming men of faith and “Men for Others.”
Throughout this informational overview, you will read about the programs, students, and staff who are part
of the exciting developments in the many areas that comprise Jesuit High School. You will see plenty of
evidence to show that the all-around excellence which Jesuit schools have embodied for centuries continues
to be embraced on Himes Avenue – ad majorem Dei gloriam!
Yours in Christ,
Rev Rev. Richard Richard C C. Hermes Hermes, S.S J
J.
President
Jesuit High School
www.jesuittampa.org
/www.jesuittampa.org
/www.jesuittampa.org
