On Sunday, March 1, 2026, Jesuit hosted its annual Mother-Son Brunch at the Westin Park Central Hotel, an extremely popular event where Jesuit Students and their mothers join together for a morning of delicious breakfast, mass, and more.
Reception & Opening
To kick off the event, a reception was held outside of the ballroom where Jesuit students and their mothers could enjoy light refreshments of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate while engaging in conversation with each other. In addition to this, a photo booth with signs as well as photo shoots with professional photographers were offered for Jesuit mothers and their sons to remember their time together. Following the ball room’s opening, families were invited to sit at one of the many tables before Jesuit President Mr. Earsing gave a short speech about how mothers evoke the many qualities of guardian angels as someone who guides and protects their children.
Mass
Before the eating began, a mass was given by Rev. Paul Deutsch S.J., Rev. Jon Polce S.J., and Rev. Mr. Chris Knight. During the homily, Fr. Deutsch spoke about the presence of chaos in the world. However, he underscored this with how despite this chaos, there exists the relationship between mother and son, one in which the mother helps to provide strength and protection and vice versa.
Food
For brunch, Jesuit mothers and their sons were served delicious platters of egg and spinach bites with bacon and seasoned potato wedges. In addition, bowls of fruit and pastries were at the tables, with the pastries being all too familiar to Jesuit students. Beverages available included coffee, orange juice, and water, as well as the hot chocolate and tea from the reception.
Student Speeches
Two seniors, Ethan Irrobali ’26 and André Cornejo ’26, gave heartfelt speeches about the importance and impact of mothers on their sons, both of which being surprises to their mothers as they had not been notified of their sons’ speeches beforehand. Ethan gave a beautiful talk about how mothers are the “architect” of their children’s lives, subtly forming them whether they know it or not, helping them to make important decisions and pushing them to grow. For Ethan, this was especially true while he was deciding whether or not to come to Jesuit, as it required a major amount of trust and willingness to be uncomfortable. But thanks to his mother, he made the decision to attend Jesuit anyways, a difficult decision he is now very thankful for.
Andre focused on how mothers want to spend time with their sons in any way possible, reminding people how when they ask their child if they need help, that they are also trying to deepen their relationship with them in addition to providing assistance. Andre challenged all of the Jesuit students listening to do their part in fostering the relationship between them and their mother, especially when it comes to small acts like talking about their day.
Closing Ceremony
To end off the event, Jesuit Principal Mr. Garrison gave a short reflection about the mass’ Gospel reading before explaining the annual Mother-Son Brunch tradition of chocolates and flowers. Students were encouraged to give their mother a rose, located at the center of the table, while mothers were encouraged to exchange with their son one of the bags of chocolates next to the flowers as a sign of the loving bond between mother and son.
“It was great to be with my mom and…see other people…be with their mom[s] and…celebrate them [because] they’re so meaningful in our lives.” – Trey Massey ’28
Final Thoughts
The Jesuit Mother-Son Brunch is one of the greatest opportunities that Jesuit offers for students to strengthen their bonds with their family. As someone who has attended the event both this year and last year in my freshman year, I highly encourage you to attend next year if you are able to do so, as it is a wonderful experience. Thank you so much to all of the amazing Jesuit faculty and staff, hotel staff, and Jesuit volunteers for making this event possible, but most importantly, to all of the mothers who make life at Jesuit possible and give up their time and strength for their children out of love for them!
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