A Personal Reflection on the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

Oct 14

Mr. Jim Greene teaching at Northeast Catholic High School in the early 1980s.

This year marks the centennial of the Oblates' presence in Philadelphia. When they arrived in 1926 to found Northeast Catholic High School, they could not have known the reach their mission would have over the next century. What began as a single school grew into a legacy of education, parish ministry, and service that has touched every corner of the city and beyond.

There are few forces in a person’s life as quiet, steady, and transformative as the grace of a consistent calling. Looking back across the events of my life and teaching career, I see a continuous thread woven not by chance, but by the gentle wisdom of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. From my early days as a high school student to my years as a young man at DeSales University, and throughout my decades in the classroom at both North Catholic and Father Judge High School, these men did not just educate me—they shaped the soul of who I am.

St. Francis de Sales taught us to "Be who you are, and be that well." The Oblates do not just preach this philosophy; they embody it. As a student under their care, I learned that education was never just about academic rigor. It was about character, humility, and learning how to hold oneself with quiet strength. When I transitioned from student to teacher, those same priests who had once guided my youth became my colleagues and my mentors.

Teaching at North Catholic allowed me to pass on the Salesian spirit to the next generation. When circumstances shifted in 1990, and I was transferred from the school system, it felt like a door closing. Yet, in what I can only describe as divine providence, I landed at Father Judge High School. Though the building changed, the heartbeat remained the same. Surrounded once more by the Oblates, I was reminded that Salesian Spirituality is not bound by brick and mortar; it lives wherever gentle strength, patience, and devotion are cultivated.

For over a century, the Oblates have walked into classrooms across Philadelphia and beyond, dedicated to the formidable task of molding young boys into good, faithful men. They meet young men precisely where they are, offering direction without harshness and discipline rooted in love. It's impossible to estimate the thousands of lives touched by their quiet devotion over the last hundred years. I only know the profound impact they had on mine.

I owe my career, my personal growth, and the orientation of my heart to these men. They taught me how to teach, how to serve, and how to live with intention. To the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales, I offer my deepest and enduring gratitude. Thank you for your patience, your mentorship, your spirituality, and your unwavering commitment to making us not just better scholars, but better human beings.

For a hundred years in Philadelphia, you have lived the motto you placed on every school seal: Live Jesus. I am one of the thousands of lives that motto has shaped, and I pray that the next century brings forth thousands more.