Event Details - Benedictine Institute Lecture

Father Edwin Leahy, O.S.B., a Benedictine monk and headmaster of St. Benedict’s Preparatory School, a college prep school in Newark, New Jersey, is the distinguished speaker for the Fall 2015 Benedictine Institute Lecture. Leahy is credited with saving St. Benedict’s Prep from extinction following the school’s suspension of operations in 1972 in the wake of the civil unrest that devastated Newark and other American cities. Under Leahy’s leadership and through the efforts of monks, parents, alumni and friends, St. Benedict’s re-opened in 1973 with 89 students and 14 faculty members. St. Benedict’s Prep has grown to include more than 500 students, most from African heritage and Hispanic backgrounds, and 67 faculty members. Today, 95 percent of the school’s graduates go on to college. Father Ed will share with us how the profound insights of Benedictine spirituality have helped to forge a successful and meaningful academic community at St. Benedict’s Prep.