Mission San Juan Capistrano, one of nine California missions founded by Fr. Junipero Serra, is located just over a mile from JSerra High School.
That means JSerra is the only Catholic high school in Orange County and beyond where the saint the school was named after actually walked near the soil on which its campus sits today.
“We are down the street from one of the missions that he probably prayed at just as he was fulfilling his call to go out and bring the Gospel to all nations,” said Pat Reidy, JSerra’s vice president of mission and faith. “He probably prayed for all those who would come after him, and so we really feel we’ve been called to JSerra to build on the shoulder of this giant.”
JSerra celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and school officials marked the milestone with a week of festivities, culminating with a “Patrons Day Mass and Bash” on Saturday Sept. 23.
After Mass was celebrated in the JSerra gymnasium, attendees walked to the adjacent football field for the bash, which included free food, games, and bounce houses.
“The blessings continue down upon students who come through our school,” JSerra president Richard Meyer said following the Mass. “And we think about that and where we started back in 2003. We have so very much to be thankful for and I think many times we don’t even know the impact that a school like JSerra is having on all of our students, our families, our faculty and our staff.”
Sept. 23 was purposely chosen as the day to celebrate Mass and the festivities because the date is also the eighth anniversary of Fr. Junipero Serra’s canonization into sainthood….
“The reason this school has thrived is because we have a mission,” said Tim Busch, who co-founded JSerra with his wife Stephanie. “You don’t build a Catholic high school every year. It happens every 20 or 30 years. Santa Margarita was the last Catholic high school to be built, and then this one 20 years ago and they said you couldn’t have room for both schools, but they’re both jammed.”
JSerra opened with 153 students on what was essentially an office complex. More than 1,300 students make up JSerra’s current population and there have been waiting lists at every grade level for the past four years. The school has added more buildings and a state-of-the-art athletic complex across the street that also keeps expanding.
JSerra has 28 CIF sports, 33 athletic teams, five club sports, 53 clubs, five magnet programs and will have graduated more than 4,200 students by the end of this academic year.
As JSerra’s special events coordinator, Charity Hauke spent hours planning the activities for the 20th anniversary celebration.
Aside from her position as special events coordinator, Hauke is a mother of seven, with one child who graduated JSerra, another who is currently a sophomore at the school, a child in eighth grade who will attend next year and four younger children who will likely attend JSerra in the future.
“We knew that we wanted to stick with the Catholic institution,” Hauke said. “So we went to all the local high schools, and it was just very apparent as soon as we walked onto the campus that there was more going on here. Besides just being academically excellent, we could tell that they really wanted to form the character of the students, and that was really important to us.”
Other alumnus at the celebration included Carlos Garcia, who graduated from JSerra in 2006 and is back serving as the strength and conditioning coach for several Lions’ teams.
The expansion of the athletic program over the years since he was a student, which includes a new athletic pavilion, new fields and additional staff, has been amazing to see, Garcia said.
“A lot of the teams that I work with, bringing in sports psychologists, hiring multiple-trained coaches, and stuff like that and nutritionists, all those things,” Garcia said. “It’s great to see it. It’s great to see the school grow.”
JSerra alum Rachel Brack, who also returned to the school after finishing college, said the strong community vibe at JSerra is what makes the school stand out.“It’s awesome to see,” said Brack, who works in advancement.
One unforgettable experience for Brack was the student retreat to an impoverished region of Peru, where students constructed homes and delivered clothing and other needed items.
Brack made the trip as a student and then went again as a chaperone in 2022.
“I went on retreats and they were super spiritual and fulfilling,” she said. “I think it goes back to the community. There’s a great faith community around here and there’s a lot of support.”
From OCCatholic
I’ve heard several good things about this school, including about some excellent faculty and staff members. See below about this school, from its website. It’s no wonder. So many Catholic high schools, like MItty, Presentation, Bellarmine and others, have abandoned Catholic faith and morality
JSerra is an independent Catholic high school that encourages students to pursue personal and professional excellence in life. Our inspirational teachers partner with committed parents to form the faith, intellect, and character of young men and women within a Christ-centered, sacrament-based learning environment.
JSerra Catholic High School was founded to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ rooted in the tradition of the Catholic Church and Sacred Scripture. For this reason, we are committed to presenting Catholic moral teaching with fidelity, and we firmly adhere to our mission in all school endeavors.
All JSerra students and staff are required to take part in certain Catholic traditions and attend various Catholic events, including weekly all-school Mass. Catholics and non-Catholics alike are expected to show respect for the Church’s traditions and refrain from displays of lifestyles or behaviors that conflict with Catholic moral teaching. Fundamental principles of morality can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (“CCC”). Examples include:
THE SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE
THE GIFT OF SEXUALITY
THE DIGNITY OF MARRIAGE
These examples are not intended to be an exhaustive list, rather they are given as particularly relevant illustrations of our beliefs.
What a wonderful testament to fidelity to our Lord. I wish, anonymous in San Jose, that the article had told us more about the spiritual dimension at the school as you did rather than the seeming obsession with sports. Thanks for giving us more of the picture, and thanks to Tim and Stephanie Busch for having the vision and faithfulness to found the school. You are bright stars in the spiritual firmament.
What about Serra High School in San Mateo? It’s just off the El Camino Real, so Fr. Serra probably walked there too when traveling to and from Mission Dolores in San Francisco.
There’s also a St. John Paul II High School in Denver, which is where Pope John Paul II went for Youth Day in 1993, so he walked near that campus. And JPII is not only a saint but also was a pope. So that has JSerra beat.
Then there’s Elizabth Ann Seton High School in Maryland, near where Elizabeth Ann Seton lived and founded her religious community.
JSerra’s claim that it’s the only Catholic high school to be located where its saint namesake walked is false.
The school didn’t claim that. The diocesan newspaper did. Maybe you should write a letter to the editor.
This is the internet age. ⌨️💻🔌👀😤🤡😶🌫️😆
This is where the serious Catholics go to high school. East along the parkway, Santa Margarita Catholic High School is the inferior option.