Xaverian Brothers High School
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, motto_translation = To bear witness to the truth in brotherhood , accreditation = New England Association of Schools and Colleges , rival = St. John's Prep , mascot = Hawk , mascot image = , sports = , patron =
Saint Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December ...
, team_name = , nickname = Xaverian
X , colors =
Navy Blue Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color ...
and
Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

, yearbook = ''The Talon'' , publication = ''Concordian'' (literary magazine) , newspaper = , established = 1963 , status = , closed = , alumni = 10,000 , nobel_laureates = , enrollment = 1,004 , enrollment_as_of = 2018-2019 , grade9 = , grade10 = , grade11 = , grade12 = , other_grade_label = , sister_school = Ursuline Academy , communities = , feeders = , free_label = , free_text = , free_label2 = , free_text2 = , free_label3 = , free_text3 = , free_label4 = , free_text4 = , footnotes = , picture = , homepage = http://www.xbhs.com Xaverian Brothers High School (XBHS) was founded in 1963 by the Xaverian Brothers. It is a private,
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
secondary school for boys at grades 7 to 12. Located within a campus in
Westwood, Massachusetts Westwood is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,266 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of Dedham, originally called 'West De ...
. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Xaverian is sponsored by the
Xaverian Brothers The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier. The institute is dedicated to education. Hist ...
religious order and offers a college preparatory program. The school attracts students from more than 60 communities in eastern
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
and
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
.


History and tradition

The
Xaverian Brothers The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier. The institute is dedicated to education. Hist ...
established XBHS in its current location in
Westwood, Massachusetts Westwood is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,266 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of Dedham, originally called 'West De ...
in 1963 with the support of Cardinal Richard Cushing, the
Archbishop of Boston The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...
. Cardinal Cushing officiated the school's dedication ceremony on August 31, 1963, with Xaverian Brothers' provincial Brother Gilroy Bishop, and the first headmaster, Brother Marcellus Feeley. The land that the school stands on today was originally part of the Forbes family estate. The late philanthropist Rocco Zoppo was instrumental in arranging for the Brothers to receive the land. The school's Rocco Zoppo Chapter of the National Honor Society is now named in his honor. The first day of school at XBHS was September 5, 1963 with 251 students, all ninth graders.


Academics

XBHS is a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
college preparatory school for boys in grades 7-12. The school is a Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School that enrolls 880 students from more than 60 different communities. There are Academic Department Centers for Mathematics, English, Social Studies, World Languages, Theology, and three science labs (Biology, Chemistry and Physics). In 2014, the Francis Xavier Division (grades 7 and 8) was established, bringing in the first-ever 7th grade class.


Athletics

XBHS is a member of the Catholic Conference and is classified as Division 1 in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) for a majority of its athletic programs. It sponsors 16 varsity sports - cross country (non-cut), golf, football (non-cut) and soccer during the fall season; alpine skiing (non-cut), basketball, hockey, indoor track (non-cut), swimming (non-cut), and wrestling (non-cut) during the winter season; and baseball, lacrosse, rugby (non-cut), tennis, track & field (non-cut) and volleyball during the spring season. The MIAA has honored Xaverian athletics five times for outstanding sportsmanship. Many Xaverian graduates go on to participate in college athletics and a few alumni are playing among the professional ranks in basketball, football and hockey including James Bailey '75 and
Dana Barros Dana Bruce Barros (born April 13, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player from the National Basketball Association (NBA). In college, he played at Boston College, finishing as one of the school's all-time leading scorers. He wa ...
'85 in the NBA; Greg Comella '93, Matt Hasselbeck '93, Tim Hasselbeck '96, Drew Strojny '99, Maurice Hurst Jr. '13, and Joe Gaziano '15 in the NFL; and Mark Young '77 in the AHL, and Chris Wagner '09 in the NHL. Ted Currle is the current Athletic Director.


Athletic success

The Hawks' most notable success in athletics has been in alpine skiing, baseball, cross country, golf, football, lacrosse and track & field. In particular, the football team has brought great notoriety to the school, having won ten MIAA Division 1 State Championships in 1966, 1967, 1986, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2009, 2014 and 2015. The 2015 team was ranked the 22nd best team in nation by
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
. Further, four Hawks' football players have been selected the Massachusetts Player of the Year by numerous organizations: Greg Comella in 1992, Matt Hasselbeck in 1993, Chris Fox in 2005, Alex Phalen in 2009, Joe Gaziano in 2014, and Coby Tippett in 2015. In addition, the alpine ski team won the State Championship in 2013 and 2016. The golf team won state titles in 2014 and 2016. The baseball team won the State Championship in 2004, 2012, and 2021 with the 2004 team ranked the 24th best team in the country by USA Today. The cross country team won the State Championship in 1984. The swimming and diving team won the State Championship in 1996. The lacrosse team won the State Championship in 2013. And in track & field, Derek Anderson '00 won the 1999 and 2000 All-State Discus and set the state record of 186-03; Chris Bonner '02 won the 2002 All-State 600m and set the state record of 1:20.11; and the 2006 outdoor track team won the MIAA All State Meet.


Campus ministry

As a
Xaverian Brothers The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier. The institute is dedicated to education. Hist ...
Sponsored School firmly rooted in the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
tradition, XBHS places a strong emphasis on Christian faith formation and Christian service, volunteer community service inspired by the teachings of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. Such faith formation and service takes place in two required and several other voluntary forms. All students are required to participate in the Freshman Day of Awareness, which introduces students to the Xaverian Christian Community, and the Sophomore Faith Experience, which is an off-campus retreat that builds upon the development of faith during the Freshman year. XBHS offers students many other voluntary opportunities to take part in various Christian faith formation and service programs. The Xaverian Leadership Institute (XLI) is a five-day Servant Leadership retreat for Seniors which takes place during August. The Xaverian Global Encounter program is an optional retreat/service experience that takes place during the April and Summer Vacations. During the experience, students travel to marginalized areas to live, work and pray with established communities. Past global encounter sites have included:
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ( lkt, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located entirely within the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Gr ...
in South Dakota, Rostro de Cristo Program in Duran, Ecuador, Los Ninos International in
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, Bethlehem Farm in Pence Springs, West Virginia and Camden, New Jersey. In addition, the Christian Senior Service Program is conducted during the last term of the Senior year. This five to six week program places seniors in approved social service agencies to complete full-time volunteer work for a minimum of 25 – 30 hours per week.


Clubs and activities


Theater Arts

XBHS's theatrical performances have been in existence since Xaverian first opened in the late 1960s. Since its first production, "Take Time Out" Xaverian has performed over 80 shows. XBHS presents a fall drama, a spring musical, and two sketch comedy shows and live music performances dubbed "Live @ the X". The artistic director for productions is Julianne O'Connor and the production manager is Paula Duddy. Performance History: ----


Notable alumni

XBHS has approximately 10,000 alumni living all around the globe. Notable alumni distinguishing themselves include: *
Gerard Alessandrini Gerard Alessandrini (born November 27, 1953) is an American playwright, parodist, actor and theatre director best known for creating the award-winning off-Broadway musical theatre parody revue '' Forbidden Broadway''. He is the recipient of ...
(1972) - Tony Award-winning playwright and creator of ''
Forbidden Broadway ''Forbidden Broadway'' is an Off-Broadway revue parodying musical theatre, particularly Broadway musicals. It was conceived, written and directed by Gerard Alessandrini. The original version of the revue opened on January 15, 1982, at Palsson's ...
'' and '' Spamilton'' * Brendan Burke (2006) - LGBT activist *
Dennis Crowley Dennis Crowley (born June 19, 1976) is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded the social networking sites Dodgeball and Foursquare. Education Crowley was born in Medway, Massachusetts to Mary Moraski Crowley and Dennis P Crowley. He ...
(1994) - co-founder and Executive Chairman of Foursquare * Jimmy Cummings (1986) - actor and screenwriter of '' Southie'' * Christopher F. Egan (1982) - United States Ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development * Ted English (1971) - Executive Chairman of Bob's Discount Furniture and former CEO of
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* John Ennis (1982) - actor and comedian best known for role on HBO's ''Mr. Show with Bob and David'' *
Rob Mariano Robert Carlo Mariano (born December 25, 1975), known by the nickname Boston Rob, is an American television personality, known for appearing in the CBS reality show '' Survivor''. He placed 10th in the show's 4th season '' Survivor: Marquesas'' ...
(1994) - TV personality known as "Boston Rob" * Steven McLaughlin - County Executive of Rensselaer County * John J. Sullivan (1977) - United States Ambassador to Russia * William F. Sullivan (1975) - Associate Justice of Massachusetts Superior Courts * Ed Thomas (1971) - President and CEO of
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* Pat Walsh (1998) - co-founder & Chief Impact Officer of Classy * Joe Mulherin (1994) - musician Notable alumni distinguishing themselves in athletics include: * James Bailey (1975) - former National Basketball Association player *
Dana Barros Dana Bruce Barros (born April 13, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player from the National Basketball Association (NBA). In college, he played at Boston College, finishing as one of the school's all-time leading scorers. He wa ...
(1985) - former National Basketball Association All-Star player * Greg Comella (1993) - former National Football League player * John Delaney (2004) - head baseball coach, Quinnipiac University * Joe Fleming (1992) - former Canadian Football League All-Star player * Joe Gaziano (2015) - National Football League player, Northwestern University football all-time sacks leader * Matt Hasselbeck (1993) - former National Football League All-Pro player and ESPN analyst * Tim Hasselbeck (1996) - former National Football League player and ESPN analyst * Maurice Hurst Jr. (2013) - National Football League player * Mark Jackson (1991) - athletic director, Villanova University * Matt Klentak (1998) - general manager, Philadelphia Phillies *
Brian Mann Brian Mann (born May 7, 1980) is the head athletic director at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Mann was formerly the senior associate athletic director and chief development officer at the University of California. He ...
(1998) - athletic director, William & Mary; Dartmouth College football single season passing yards leader * Tim Scannell (1986) - head baseball coach, Trinity University (TX); 2016 DIII National Champion and Coach of the Year * Drew Strojny (1999) - former National Football League player * Chris Wagner (2009) - current National Hockey League player


References


External links


Xaverian Brothers High School website
{{Authority control Boys' schools in Massachusetts Catholic secondary schools in Massachusetts Schools in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Schools sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers Educational institutions established in 1963 1963 establishments in Massachusetts Catholic Conference (MIAA) Westwood, Massachusetts