A New Start And A New System

Ms. Tansey

Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year, Titans! This year is already shaping up to be a great one. Everyone is ready for a new, fresh start and excited for the new house system that Holy Trinity has implemented. Each student and staff member has now been sorted into one of six houses, inspired by great Catholic and Jesuit leaders from throughout history. Students have started earning points for their houses and are beginning to build bonds with their fellow house members. We can’t wait to see how this system grows over the year!

Our six houses are The Arrupe House, Becraft House, Day House, Juana House, Romero House and Xavier House. Below you will find a brief biography of each founder along with each house trait. In the coming weeks students from each house will share what it means to be a member of their house.

  • Arrupe House-
    • Founder: Pedro Arrupe was a Spanish Jesuit Priest with a heart for refugees who served as the Superior General for the Jesuits in Japan. After the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, he cared for 150 sick and wounded Japanese. In 1980 he started the Jesuit refugee service, serving Vietnamese refugees. The organization has now served over 40 millions refugees from around the world.
    • Trait: Compassion
  • Becraft House-
    • Founder: Anne Marie Becraft was a lifelong educator, teaching in Washington D.C. and Baltimore. At just 15 she started the Georgetown Seminary, a day and boarding school for young black girls in The District. She eventually left the school and when she was 26, became one of America’s first black nuns, joining the Oblate Sisters of Providence. Georgetown University recently named a building after Becraft.
    • Trait: Perseverance
  • Day House-
    • Founder: Dorothy Day was a Catholic convert who felt God’s calling to serve the poor. She was the co-founder of the Catholic Work Movement, a radical but non-violent movement which provided service to the poor and homeless and took political action on their behalf.  Her canonization is currently being considered by the Church.
    • Trait: Gratitude
  • Juana House-
    • Founder: Joanna of Austria is the first and only female member of the Society of Jesus. After the death of her husband she was expected to take Franciscan religious vows, but felt called to the Jesuit community instead. The Jesuits had never accepted females, but she persisted in her efforts and ended up taking Jesuit vows under a male name.
    • Trait: Humility
  • Romero House-
    • Founder: Saint Oscar Romero was a social activist and Archbishop of San Salvador. He stood up for the poor and voiceless and passionately denounced the persecution of members of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. In 1980 he was assassinated while celebrating mass and was canonized in 2018.
    • Trait: Justice
  • Xavier House-
    • Founder: Saint Francis Xavier was one of the first members of the Society of Jesus and was the first Jesuit missionary. He spent most of his life as a missionary in Japan and is credited with developing the early Jesuit mission approach. He was canonized in 1622.
    • Trait: Courage