At the Frontiers of Faith and Education
Behind the altar were many colleagues from my time in Jesuit education—co-workers at Strake Jesuit and Cristo Rey Jesuit, friends from the Texas-Mexico border, other priests whom I have known through the years, including the one who baptized my daughter, and many familiar, smiling faces. On January 30, 2026, Jesuits from across Texas came together in Houston for the Final Vows Mass of Fr. Randy Gibbens, S.J., the president of Cristo Rey Jesuit. The occasion was significant in its own right, but what made it especially meaningful was the presence of Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
To my knowledge, this was the first time a Superior General of the Jesuits had visited Houston since Fr. Sosa’s predecessor, Fr. Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., landed in a helicopter in the field where Loyola Hall now stands to the delight of an awe-struck Strake Jesuit student body during the 1988-89 school year. Like Fr. Kolvenbach’s visit, Fr. Sosa’s visit was more than ceremonial; it was a reminder to each of us of the global mission that animates Jesuit life and education.
In his homily at Fr. Gibbens’ Final Vows Mass, Fr. Sosa referenced Pope Leo XIV’s recent letter to the Jesuits in which he called them to work on the “frontiers,” where “familiar maps are no longer sufficient.” The Holy Father wrote that these “frontiers” are spaces where faith meets today’s biggest realities: cultural shifts, technology, polarization, poverty, ecological challenges, and humanity’s search for meaning. These are places where the Gospel is lived creatively and courageously, and as he said, “The Society of Jesus has long been present where humanity’s needs meet God’s saving love.”
In his homily that day, Fr. Sosa made it clear this call to the frontiers is not merely an idea. It unfolds every day in schools, parishes, and ministries around the world. This includes right here in Houston.
At Strake Jesuit, we stand on our own frontiers daily. In the classroom, students and faculty are currently wrestling with the exploding advances in artificial intelligence. In our efforts to form young men of faith who seek truth with integrity, our teachers are pushing students to explore this new technology while maintaining their own creativity, building their own intellectual capabilities, and recognizing what makes us truly human. Pope Leo wrote, “[AI] holds potential for human flourishing but also carries risks of isolation, loss of work, and new forms of manipulation.” As a student recently shared, “I love AI, but I’m scared of it, too, and am grateful when my teachers show me how and when to use it.” Our teachers are on this technological frontier, remaining true to our Jesuit roots and letting the care of each student, or cura personalis, as it is known in Jesuit education, guide us.
Outside of our classrooms, our retreats and our service program provide students and teachers a chance to experience the frontiers of faith and encounter those on the margins of society. Whether it be finding quiet faith in a world of unceasing noise or serving others in a culture focused on individualism, as a school, we are trying to live out Pope Leo’s charge to form spaces where our students “can encounter Christ, discover their vocation, and work for the Kingdom.”
Stepping forward from these formative experiences, Fr. Sosa’s visit reminded us that Jesuit education is never inward-looking but rather exists for mission. We understand the young men graduating from Strake Jesuit will step into a world marked by complex moral questions, emerging technologies, and urgent human needs. They will encounter frontiers we cannot yet fully imagine. Our responsibility is to form them as men who can meet those challenges with faith and love.
That mission became tangible later in the day when we gathered in the chapel for a student panel with Fr. Sosa, moderated by Fr. Gibbens and Fr. Johnson. In attendance were representatives from both schools, the larger Jesuit network and, most importantly, ten students—five from Cristo Rey Jesuit and five from Strake Jesuit. Listening to those young men and women speak about their faith, retrace their formative experiences in our classrooms and on our retreats, and outline their hopes for the future, it was clear to Fr. Sosa and each of us in the chapel that Jesuit education is bearing fruit. Their confident reflections, sincere desire to serve, and heartfelt yearning to find God’s love in their own lives demonstrated that the work happening in our schools is making a difference. In that sacred space, the “frontier” was not a distant horizon; it was alive in our students’ hearts.
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To my knowledge, this was the first time a Superior General of the Jesuits had visited Houston since Fr. Sosa’s predecessor, Fr. Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., landed in a helicopter in the field where Loyola Hall now stands to the delight of an awe-struck Strake Jesuit student body during the 1988-89 school year. Like Fr. Kolvenbach’s visit, Fr. Sosa’s visit was more than ceremonial; it was a reminder to each of us of the global mission that animates Jesuit life and education.
In his homily at Fr. Gibbens’ Final Vows Mass, Fr. Sosa referenced Pope Leo XIV’s recent letter to the Jesuits in which he called them to work on the “frontiers,” where “familiar maps are no longer sufficient.” The Holy Father wrote that these “frontiers” are spaces where faith meets today’s biggest realities: cultural shifts, technology, polarization, poverty, ecological challenges, and humanity’s search for meaning. These are places where the Gospel is lived creatively and courageously, and as he said, “The Society of Jesus has long been present where humanity’s needs meet God’s saving love.”
In his homily that day, Fr. Sosa made it clear this call to the frontiers is not merely an idea. It unfolds every day in schools, parishes, and ministries around the world. This includes right here in Houston.
At Strake Jesuit, we stand on our own frontiers daily. In the classroom, students and faculty are currently wrestling with the exploding advances in artificial intelligence. In our efforts to form young men of faith who seek truth with integrity, our teachers are pushing students to explore this new technology while maintaining their own creativity, building their own intellectual capabilities, and recognizing what makes us truly human. Pope Leo wrote, “[AI] holds potential for human flourishing but also carries risks of isolation, loss of work, and new forms of manipulation.” As a student recently shared, “I love AI, but I’m scared of it, too, and am grateful when my teachers show me how and when to use it.” Our teachers are on this technological frontier, remaining true to our Jesuit roots and letting the care of each student, or cura personalis, as it is known in Jesuit education, guide us.
Outside of our classrooms, our retreats and our service program provide students and teachers a chance to experience the frontiers of faith and encounter those on the margins of society. Whether it be finding quiet faith in a world of unceasing noise or serving others in a culture focused on individualism, as a school, we are trying to live out Pope Leo’s charge to form spaces where our students “can encounter Christ, discover their vocation, and work for the Kingdom.”
Stepping forward from these formative experiences, Fr. Sosa’s visit reminded us that Jesuit education is never inward-looking but rather exists for mission. We understand the young men graduating from Strake Jesuit will step into a world marked by complex moral questions, emerging technologies, and urgent human needs. They will encounter frontiers we cannot yet fully imagine. Our responsibility is to form them as men who can meet those challenges with faith and love.
That mission became tangible later in the day when we gathered in the chapel for a student panel with Fr. Sosa, moderated by Fr. Gibbens and Fr. Johnson. In attendance were representatives from both schools, the larger Jesuit network and, most importantly, ten students—five from Cristo Rey Jesuit and five from Strake Jesuit. Listening to those young men and women speak about their faith, retrace their formative experiences in our classrooms and on our retreats, and outline their hopes for the future, it was clear to Fr. Sosa and each of us in the chapel that Jesuit education is bearing fruit. Their confident reflections, sincere desire to serve, and heartfelt yearning to find God’s love in their own lives demonstrated that the work happening in our schools is making a difference. In that sacred space, the “frontier” was not a distant horizon; it was alive in our students’ hearts.
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