St. Dominic has always prided itself on its dedication to the Catholic faith. To help us keep a Christ-centered community, we have Fr. Patrick Russell to help and serve as a priestly and spiritual guide for all of our students, staff and faculty.

This year, Fr. Russell was promoted from part-time chaplain to our full-time Vice President for Mission and Identity. He works on the administrative team with president Mr. Jim Welby and Principal Mrs. Stacey Stewart to help bring Jesus to the center of St. Dominic. He works as sort of the “chief Catholic officer” of the school.

“At its core, I serve this school and all of its constituents in helping to bring them closer to Jesus,” Fr. Russell said.  

Thanks to his new full-time position, Fr. Russell is able to provide sacraments more frequently. This includes a daily mass in the chapel instead of a couple of times per week. Masses are both in the morning and during Empower Hour, providing a safe and spiritual place for students to rest in Jesus every day.

“I love daily mass because it allows me to take a break from my day and just be with Christ for a little bit,” senior Kate Fogarty said.

Fr. Russell is working every day to bring more positive impacts to the student body by improving the retreat program and working on new faith initiatives to bring to St. Dominic.

Fr. Russell’s promotion is not just in-house; he was given this position by Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski. He was trusted by the archbishop to fulfill and succeed in this role and he is exceeding expectations.

“I am so excited for the future of St. Dominic and it is humbling to be a part of that journey!” Fr. Russell said.

We want to thank Fr. Russell for all of his amazing work that he has done for this school and for bringing all of us closer together and closer to God.