This year, Immaculata House has the honor of having Caroline Cunningham as our House Captain. Caroline is a junior here at Trinity. She plays girls varsity soccer for Trinity and has been on the team since her freshman year. Caroline started to play soccer for Keystone FC 2005 when she was just 3 years old. Caroline has also run track since freshman year and placed 5^th and 7^th in states for 4×4 event. She was her mentor group’s ministry coordinator during both her freshman and sophomore years, and decided to become an even more influential part of the house system.

Caroline is a very dedicated and persistent leader, and she has shown amazing drive when it comes to being a good leader. She said that the reason she applied to become Immaculata’s house captain was because she wanted to be able to bring new fun activities to the house system and contribute to the house system as a whole. Caroline said that her main goal for this year is to bring Immaculata to House Cup Victory, or at least not get last! Caroline has innovated some amazing traditions and activities so far this year, and continues to show great compassion and care.

Congratulations to Caroline, and keep up the good work!

by Chrissy Snerr ’24 (De La Salle House)

This past month, the Trinity faculty and students voted in their school captains for the 2022-2023 school year, and selected Lauren Shook and Ben Frantz! Lauren and Ben made a great campaign and are excited to take up the challenges of being school captains.

You might know Lauren Shook as a member of the tennis and lacrosse teams at Trinity, which she has been part of since her freshman year. She enjoys surfing and attending Trinity football and basketball games. Lauren was inspired to run for school captain by the examples of the current and past captains. Seeing the work previous captains have done for the school pushed Lauren to ensure that their work continues on and expands. One of Lauren’s priorities is to get all students involved in school happenings. Lauren will be high energy, hard-working, and driven as a leader to make Trinity an environment for everyone. She will make changes by first listening to the feedback of her peers, and then working alongside the administration to facilitate her plans. Lauren is in the middle of her college search, and is looking for a school that resembles Trinity in its outstanding academics and great student body.

Ben Frantz has been an active member of the Trinity soccer team since his freshman year. He is a member of many school clubs, as well as the National, Math, and Foreign Language honor societies. Additionally, Ben plays CYO basketball and enjoys watching sports, playing video games, and hanging out with his friends. Ben was encouraged to pursue leadership positions by his parents and teachers. He aims to restore Trinity’s environment back to its pre-pandemic state, with more events and activities, as well as more house-vs-house competitions. Another plan of Ben’s is to create more leadership opportunities within the house system for students who are interested. Ben values the input of his fellow students, and will use their feedback to make changes that ensure everyone can have the positive high school experience that he has had so far. Ben plans to study business in college, and maybe run for president someday.

Lauren and Ben both hail from the same mentor group at Trinity and have known each other since freshman year. They have gotten to know each other very well and are able to work together efficiently and effectively. A high priority of both Lauren and Ben is the involvement of all students and creating an enjoyable environment for every student. They are able to identify each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and assist each other in making sensible decisions. Most importantly, they are both enthusiastic about the betterment of Trinity and are excited to get to work together for the whole of the Trinity community.

We wish them the best of luck as the 2022-2023 Trinity school captains!

Join us in welcoming Father Matt Cannon to Trinity! Father Matt will join Father Kenneth Roth at Trinity as a co-chaplain! Father Matt serves as parochial vicar at Saint Theresa Parish and will be at Trinity every Wednesday starting on February 8. Father Roth already joins us every Tuesday. We are so blessed to have their priestly presence in our school with our students.

When did you first hear or consider the call to be a priest?

For me, it was as early as fifth grade. I heard the call for the first time around 10 years old. At the time, I didn’t really know what to think of it. I had always been in touch with the faith and had been excited about my faith. I always remember sitting in the school Mass on Fridays and really just being amazed at what the priest did on the altar, and being in awe of what he did.

That feeling really carried with me as I got older. In high school, I had a good friend and we started talking, and that’s how I found out he was discerning the priesthood at the same time. This was the first time that, other than my family, that I had someone my own age that I could talk to and share with about what I was feeling.

As I got to the end of high school, I wasn’t ready to make that final decision, that final jump into seminary. I really prayed and asked our Lord, “Lord, I’m really not sure what you’re calling me to do right now, but I know you’re definitely calling me to something special, whatever that is.” So I went through a year of college at St. Vincent’s and got involved in campus ministry. My experience there was good, but I never really felt fulfilled. I really sat down and started praying, asking the Lord what to do. That’s when it was clear to me that I should enter seminary and discern the priesthood, and thirteen years later, here I am.

You’re very involved with Saint Theresa School. What do you like about working with kids and about the Catholic school environment?

For me, the kids are the now and future of the Church, and as much as I can give a presence to them as a priest, the better. As they are able to know me more as a person and see that a priest is someone who has fun, who has hobbies, will come to their house for dinner, will cheer them on at their sports and events, the more they are able to connect me, and the priesthood, and the Church to their everyday.

A ministry of presence has always been important to me, especially with kids, and as I expand my work to Trinity, I’ll get to be with teens regularly as well as the younger kids at Saint Theresa. From a personal standpoint, when I’m with the kids at school I can see how joyful and happy they are, and that gives me strength and renewal. Being with kids is a gift to me.

What are you looking forward to at Trinity? How are you hoping to impact students?

I’m really looking forward to starting this new adventure. When I was in seminary, I helped at Delone Catholic, especially with the Kairos retreat and with visiting classes. Teenagers are at a different stage than the elementary kids. They’re at an important time in their lives, trying to figure out their next steps, what their vocation is, and what kind of person they’re going to be. Anything that I can do to help them discern their path and grow in their idea of themselves, I’m really thrilled to be part of that and I’m happy to help them grow in that way.

What do you feel are some of the challenges facing teenagers today, especially as regards their faith?

One of the biggest challenges is that many kids don’t feel comfortable talking about their faith. Even with peers who are Catholic, they can often feel self-conscious. One of the things that they’ll hopefully come to realize is that being Catholic and being a person of faith doesn’t mean you need to be this uber-religious person. God works through all sorts of people and activities and events. You don’t need to fit into a certain mold in order to be a Catholic, and it’s an important moment, when kids realize just how much God loves them, and in turn, how much they can love him right back.

What are some personal details about you, Father Matt?

I am the oldest of three brothers, and I’m going to be an uncle for the first time in June. I’m a huge Philadelphia sports fan, particularly of the Phillies and Eagles. My favorite TV shows are Blue Bloods and the Rookie. I also like to exercise and watch stand-up comedy (particularly Jim Gaffigan, Brian Regan and Tim Hawkins).