“Justice under God.”
While one might expect the ominous phrase to imply standing before the Holy Father at the end of time, it is instead synonymous with our own “Penance Hall”, or “PH” as students commonly refer to it. “Judgement under God,” or JUG for short, represents a punishment much more severe than sweeping up trash or cleaning whiteboards, though, as students at St. John’s College in Belize are required to mow portions of the front lawn — with a machete. Father Wally Sidney, the new Rector of the Jesuit Community here in Dallas, served as Superior at St. John’s after directing the pastoral program. Sidney’s experiences at St. John’s and many other Jesuit institutions have prepared him well for his arrival at Jesuit Dallas.
Fr. Sidney entered the Society of Jesus in 1966 after graduating from St. Louis University High School. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1978, and since, he has traveled all over the world serving the Jesuits: to Denver as a hospital chaplain, retreat director, and parish priest, to De Smet Jesuit as Pastoral Director, to Spokane, Washington for Tertianship, to Belize for St. John’s College, to St. Louis University High as rector, and to Regis Jesuit as President. Now, Father Sidney joins the Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas community as Rector.
Sidney describes that the move to Jesuit Dallas has been great, explaining that the “very simple transition” has been facilitated by the fact that “Jesuit culture” manifests itself similarly across the country, and Jesuit Dallas aligns well with the other high schools he has worked for. Similarly, he lauds the friendly faces at Jesuit who “have been very kind and very generous, helping [him] settle in.” Father Leo Leise SJ reciprocates Sydney’s feelings, saying “the transition from Fr. Huete to Fr. Sydney has been a positive experience for all members of the Jesuit community. Father Sydney has ample experience in high schools and with other Jesuit communities so he is able to understand well the peculiarities of Jesuit life.”
For Father Sydney, the most exciting aspect of his move to Dallas “is getting back into the classroom.” Due to his role as President at De Smet and Regis, Sydney has not taught in many years. However, he explains that “all of us Jesuits got involved in high school work because we wanted to teach…so the most exciting thing for me now is to maybe put administration at an arm’s length and be able to get back into the classroom and go to the games and enjoy those and other things that take place around the school.”
Sydney possesses other goals besides returning to the classroom, such as making “the transition between living attached to the school to over in the new houses behind the creek” as best as possible, attempting to make the move coordinated and fluid. Additionally, he details that the upcoming 36th General Congregation of the Jesuits presents many opportunities for the Dallas Jesuit community and for Jesuits worldwide. A General Congregation is a meeting of Jesuits from all around the world, in which they will elect a new Superior General and address needs of the church. For example, the number of Jesuits is growing, so Sydney explains that “we need to look among ourselves and find the places we need to be… To carry on those kinds of discussions here… How can we be our most effective? How can we be ready to pick up and go wherever the province wants us?”
All in all, the bright future of the Jesuit community continues to shine as Father Sydney steps into his new role as Rector. The faculty and students look forward to a deeper involvement of the Jesuit community in the life and direction of the school, which continues to develop and evolve over time.
