Where Else But Benedict’s?

Gray Bees go the distance (literally!) for each other. Alumni who live a few blocks from 520 MLK Boulevard and those from more than 3,000 miles away showed up for The Hive’s first large-scale Alumni Reunion Weekend in October. The three days we spent together were significant for our kids and the School. Where else but Benedict’s would you find such a vast group of brothers and sisters — all with deep connections to the past, present and future of this place — bound by a shared purpose and traditions? 

Alumni spent a lot of time with the kids by design. Your presence at Convocation — in science labs, Group activities and at athletic games — tells students that they belong to a community much bigger than the one they see on the Property every day. Your Benedict’s stories of persistence give them a reason to believe that the work they do as Gray Bees now will shape their lives for decades to come. Thank you for being here. Moving forward, Alumni Reunion Weekend will be an annual event, so if you missed this one, mark your calendars for October 22-24, 2026. You are always welcome home. 

This Annual Report recognizes 2,830 alumni and teammates who made a gift to St. Benedict’s Prep in 2024-25. The accompaniment we provide to 1,000 kids from in and around Newark runs on the support from the people who went here, as well as our wider Benedict’s family, which includes friends and foundations. That’s an amazing testament to the universal appeal of our call to love one another, as imperfect as we may be, and to be a light for others. We are incredibly grateful that you’ve chosen to be on this mission with us.

I hope you will continue to ride with Benedict’s in 2025-26. Your gift does a lot of practical good now and reverberates far into the future. Gray Bees who benefit from your contributions today will one day come back to tell the Benedict’s tale so many before them have spoken. “I once sat where you are now. I trusted this place and the people around me, even when I didn’t want to. You can, too.” 

That’s the enduring connectedness of the Benedict’s community: an unbroken chain of Gray Bees who transcend time and distance. The declaration you may have seen on the newly named annual fund, The Benedict’s Fund, bears repeating. Your story is our story. Share it. Live it. Support it. 

Finally, thanks to all for the good wishes for my 80th birthday and for participating in Giving Tuesday. Your love for Benedict’s is a blessing. Please pray for me as I do for you.

Courage,

Fr. Edwin Leahy, O.S.B. ’63
Headmaster