Dear Cristo Rey Jesuit Community,
It is with a heavy heart that I write to you today to share with you the difficult news of the passing of our beloved Founding President, Father TJ Martinez, SJ.
Our thoughts are with you and your families as together we grieve this tremendous loss. We know that Fr. Martinez was so many things to so many people, and that each person who had the honor of knowing him – whether as a spiritual leader, mentor, role model, or friend – was better for it.
Under the leadership of the Jesuits, Father Martinez and his core team have grown Cristo Rey Jesuit’s student population from 80 to nearly 500; added 150 blue-ribbon corporations so that every student has a job; purchased a nine acre embattled facility and renovated it into an architectural award-winning 21st century educational institution; and graduated two classes of seniors, all of whom have been accepted into college.
It is an understatement to say that Cristo Rey Jesuit was Fr. Martinez’s pride and joy. Addressing the crowd of students, faculty, staff, and families gathered at an award reception in the Cristo Rey Jesuit gym last March, Father encapsulated this sentiment in the powerful way that only he could: “You guys are the highlight of my life and I will live and die with my favorite story being you and this school.”
These words are a testament to Fr. Martinez’s lasting impact on each of us, and I feel that the best expression of our gratitude to him is to build upon the legacy that he so lovingly created. I have the utmost faith in the entire Cristo Rey Jesuit community to carry on Fr. Martinez’s inextinguishable torch.
Viva Father TJ Martinez! Viva Cristo Rey Jesuit!
Paul Posoli
Interim President
Ad majorem Dei gloriam
For the greater glory of God
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