Delegates from St. Louis U. High travelled to Washington, D.C. last week alongside students from the nation’s 62 other Jesuit high schools and 28 Jesuit colleges for the annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, the first time the event has taken place in-person in two years. 

Twenty students made the trip to the nation’s capital, accompanied by campus minister Simonie Anzalone, math teacher Craig Hannick, English teacher Jamie Cordia, and school counselor Mary Michalski. The group left St. Louis on Saturday, Nov. 6, and returned on Monday, Nov. 8, which meant that, due to the long weekend, students did not miss any school. 

As in previous years, the teach-in served as an opportunity for students to learn more about areas of social justice and to meet with students from other parts of the country with similar interests. This year’s conference focused largely on migration and ecological justice, two areas which have grown more pertinent as the migrant crisis at the border worsens and global warming issues have been brought to the forefront of global politics. 

The first keynote speaker was Fr. Bryan Massingale SJ, a professor of theology and social ethics at Fordham University, a Jesuit school in New York City. Massingale focused much of his talk on the extent of being pro-life, a message that resonated with many in the audience

“(Fr. Massingale) was incredibly inspirational, just because of the way he sees everyone as a unique individual. He also explained how life goes from conception all the way through to natural death,” said Anzalone.

Massingale was followed by fellow Jesuit Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, whose work centers around rehabilitating gang members suffering from addiction and other hardships. Boyle’s talk on justice was universally well-received by the SLUH delegation, who were inspired by Boyle’s life of compassion and service to the poor.

“I would say that Fr. Boyle is the most prophetic voice I’ve ever heard,” said Anzalone. “If you aren’t familiar with his work, he founded a group called Homeboy Industries, which takes gang members, and, if they are willing to get help, he will take them in and get them help and get them jobs. I think Andrew Moffett, a sophomore who was on the trip, said it best: ‘I feel like we were witnessing a saint, someone who will be canonized at some point.’”

“Fr. Boyle really made an impact on me,” added Moffett in an email to the Prep News. “He spoke about his selfless 40 years of rehabilitating gang members, and about how he had changed thousands of men. He showed them how to love, and what it feels like to be loved. Fr. Boyle was the only person that I had ever felt a holiness come from.”

After the presentations, students were broken up into small groups along with students from other schools, an opportunity which was greatly missed during last year’s virtual teach-in. While in these small groups, students from around the country were able to bond over their shared interest in social justice issues.

In addition to the keynote speeches and breakout sessions of the conference, students were also able to spend free time visiting the various attractions the city has to offer. Highlights included a candlelight vigil in front of the White House and a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture—the newest and most-recently renovated Smithsonian museum, having been moved to its current location in 2016.

Alongside sightseeing, members of the SLUH delegation were also able to take advantage of their time in Washington by visiting the U.S. Capitol and writing letters of advocacy to elected officials from Missouri.

“The most important thing we learned was that our voices both individually and collectively need to be heard,” said Hannick. “We do a lot of good work, visiting Capitol Hill and advocating with our legislators. I was very impressed with (our students’) diligence, and their ability to articulate their passion in letters that they wrote to their elected officials.”