Important Message Regarding Saint Viator High School Leadership

Dear Friends of Saint Viator High School,

Greetings during this holy season of Lent. I write to inform you in my capacity as the Chairman of the Board of Governors for Saint Viator High School and Provincial for the Clerics of St. Viator. My friend and the President of the School, Rev. Daniel Lydon, C.S.V., requested that he be allowed to begin his retirement early and leave before the end of the academic year. After due consideration, the Board of Governors granted his request. Fr. Lydon will continue his priestly ministry and enjoy some well-deserved rest at the Viatorian's house in Bourbonnais, Illinois, before taking his sabbatical. All of us are deeply grateful to Fr. Lydon for his three years of dedicated work on behalf of the families, students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Saint Viator High School.

In light of this change, I am pleased to share that Fr. Thomas von Behren, C.S.V. will temporarily return to Saint Viator High School as the Chief Administrator of the School for the remainder of the school year. In this role, Fr. von Behren will shepherd St. Viator during this interim period and while the school completes its search for a new President, who will begin in the summer.

Many of you many remember Fr. von Behren from his time as President of Saint Viator High School from 1999-2005, or as a faculty member during the 1978-1979 academic year. He made his vows as a Cleric of Saint Viator in 1978 and was ordained as a priest in 1983. Fr. von Behren was a faculty member at the former Griffin High School before serving as President of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, making his way to Saint Viator High School thereafter. After leaving Arlington Heights, he had a successful career as the Founding President of Cristo Rey Saint Viator College Preparatory High School in North Las Vegas, Nevada, where he retired just last year. We are fortunate to welcome him back to lead the School during this transition. He will join the other outstanding members of the School's Executive Team to ensure that students successfully complete the academic year and that the faculty and staff are equipped to finish the year with the same enthusiasm and passion they have demonstrated all year long.

In his Lenten Message this year, Pope Francis reminds us that Lent is a time for reflection. The Holy Father tells us: "Slow down, then, and pause! The contemplative dimension of life that Lent helps us to rediscover will release new energies." I pray that during these forty days, all of us will stop to rediscover, and, with Easter, will come new energies.

Thank you for the confidence and trust you place in us every day to provide a faith-filled education to your children rooted in the Viatorian mission. We look forward to carrying out this ministry for many years to come.

Very Rev. Mark R. Francis, C.S.V.
Provincial Superior
Clerics of St. Viator, Chicago Province