Chris Wardwell (’84) is a native Houstonian, a frequent visitor of the Kentucky hills, and the newest director of the Basilian Network for Education and the New Evangelization (BNENE). Prior to assuming this new role, he taught at various Catholic schools in the Houston area, including St. Thomas, and has written multiple textbooks published by St. Mary’s Press.

In his new role as BNENE director and Campus Ministry assistant, he hopes to inspire students at Basilian Catholic schools to learn more about Basilian values and enact them in their daily lives.

“My role is to encourage and ensure that the Basilian educational mission is carried out in all Basilian high schools,” he said. “Basilians really understand young people. They’re great homilists because they’re a teaching order. They know how to connect and how to reach out to these students.”

The schools that fall under Wardwell’s jurisdiction include St. Thomas High School, Detroit Catholic Central, St. Michael’s of Toronto, and Detroit Cristo Rey High School.

“When I’m in, for example, Detroit, and I sit down with a Basilian father that I’ve never met, there’s just a feeling of familiarity,” Wardwell said. “There’s a feel to them that’s all the same—they walk alongside you rather than trying to get you to follow them. They are all so nice and inviting.”

At St. Thomas, Wardwell remembers the brotherhood of his days as a student and the relationships he built as a Theology teacher at the school for 13 years. As a teacher, he created the Father/Son retreat, carving out specific time in the school year for students and their dads to connect in goodness, discipline, and knowledge. The retreat was borne out of his passion for the school and the knowledge he gained in writing his Master’s thesis on adolescent male spirituality at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

“The creation of the Father/Son retreat is one of the things I’m most proud of,” he said.

This year, Wardwell and the Campus Ministry team planned the annual retreat for Faculty and Staff. On October 18th, educators and administrators spent the day at St. Theresa Catholic Church attending multiple sessions on gratitude. Faculty and staff enjoyed the day spent off-campus, listening, sharing, and growing together in thankfulness.

“We have Catholics and non-Catholics on staff, and we have those who like to share and those who don’t,” he said. “The idea was to come up with a theme that applies to everyone. Gratitude was that theme.”

The day began with coffee and prayer. Then, attendees broke into groups, participating in their choice of gratitude-themed session. Sessions varied from Eucharistic Adoration to Spiritual Journaling to a lesson from the Scripture led by Theology teacher Jenny McConnell. The day ended with Mass, followed by a catered pizza lunch and social hour.

Looking to the future, Wardwell seeks to serve each Basilian school’s faculty, staff, and students, in determining their needs and supporting the process of Basilian education.

“We are really building this as we go,” he said. “As I learn more about each school and their students, I hope that they all know this resource exists for them, and that building on Basilian cornerstones will benefit the child, the teacher, and the whole school community.”