Xavier High School

Xavier High School is an all-boys Jesuit Catholic high school located in the diverse Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Submission of TACHS (Test for Admission into Catholic High Schools) results is the only requirement for admission. The school was first founded in 1847 as the College of St. Francis Xavier.

Related Topics:
Xavier High School - Jesuit - Catholic - High school - Chelsea - Manhattan - New York City - TACHS - 1847 - St. Francis Xavier

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Although today in many ways a modern academic institution, it continues to be noted for its academic and intellectual rigor. In addition to a pan-departmental teaching of the Catechism of Christian Doctrine, included: "logic, metaphysics, natural theology, general ethics and the principles of social science; English, Latin, Greek, French, and German; rhetoric, poetry, and elocution; history, mathematics, and the natural sciences."¹

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Graduates include United States Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, and NBC weatherman, Albert Roker. Graduation is held annually at the renowned St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan.

Related Topics:
Antonin Scalia - Albert Roker - St. Patrick's Cathedral

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Xavier has a campus ministry department, which sponsors retreats and community service programs. One such program, the Companions of St. Francis Xavier, raises thousands of dollars each year to send a handful of students for a few weeks in the summer to help people in need in a particular location.

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It also has a junior ROTC unit (in which approximately one third of the student population is enrolled). On May 12, 2005, the ROTC unit revalidated its title as an "Honor Unit with Distinction." Colonel Anderson of the Region Command called the Xavier Unit one of "the top five in the Northeast." The Regiment achieved an overall score of 99%, a Xavier record.

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Although enjoying an impeccable reputation for maintaining its Jesuit and academic traditions, it has been undergoing significant changes in recent decades. In the 1970s, service in the JROTC unit became optional, which was mandatory from the unit's inception in the late 19th Century. In 2004, Xavier announced the appointment of Dr. Joseph Gerics as the first lay headmaster in the school's history. The number of Jesuit teachers has dwindled startlingly in recent years and many predict that Jesuit priests in the classroom will soon be a thing of the past. It recently abolished its four-year language requirement for Latin, Italian, Spanish and French, as well as reinforcing its commitment to social justice by refocusing its fourth-year religion curriculum towards philosophy instead of traditional theological subjects.

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The Xavier Class of 2005 has 215 graduates, 99.5% of whom are going on to institutions of higher learning. Only seven graduates will be attending Ivy League universities, while nearly 60 will be going to Jesuit institutions.

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