Welcome to O'Hara Campus Ministry

As the Heart of the Cardinal O’Hara Family, Campus Ministry exists to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ’s redeeming Love, to grow as disciples in that Love, to develop healthy relationships through that Love, to serve others with that Love, and to return that Love to God in worship.

Hello O’Hara Family,

This year is off to great start!  This year is already characterized by joy, energy, and hard work, even in the face of trials.  Mrs. Vice has given us the theme: “Be true YOUR school”. Although the building is very important and our President, Mr. DeFruscio, has made many updates for safety, technology, and aesthetics, we know that O’Hara is more than a building.  O’Hara is family that stretches far and wide throughout Delaware County, the greater Philadelphia area and even the country.  As far as our family stretches we remain united in our heart, because the Heart of the O’Hara Family is our FAITH.

We can take this year to reflect on what it means to be part of this amazing family and how we can be true to the spirit of pride, excellence, and tradition that lives in our halls, and, more importantly, in our students. 

For me as chaplain, an essential part of being true to our school is being true to the countless students, friends and parents who have grown closer to Christ during their time here.  Students are transformed while at O’Hara, and Christ is central to so many of those transformations.   I experience this time and time again on the retreats, in my conversations with students, in the quiet time they spend in chapel or in the challenges the face in the classroom and beyond.  O’Hara is a place of growth and a community centered on Christ and the Eucharist.  Just like the chapel is the heart of the building, Christ is the heart and the truth, of our school community.   He is THE Truth and the true meaning of O’Hara.   

So my brothers and sisters, this year, let us go deeper in our relationship with Christ as a community, as a family - the O’Hara Family.   Let’s be true to each other and let’s “be true to our school!”

May God bless us this year. 

Fr. John

This past weekend was the sixth annual AbbeyFest. The turn out this year was amazing. There were many students from our school who went. People were highly encouraged to go and the amount of students who were there was amazing! It showed that the dedicated Catholic students of O’Hara, and their families, made time for this uplifting event. One person that attended was O’Hara senior, Grace Longo. Yes Grace went for the fun, but she also volunteered and worked at AbbeyFest. Sophomores Abby Griswold, Haley Garecht, Andrew McCarthy, and their friends also attended the event. The twitter page for AbbeyFest (@theabbeyfest) tweeted “We’d like to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who attended….” The organizers were clearly glad that so many people could attend. Some of the people who performed at AbbeyFest were Matt Maher, Mac Powell, and Hannah Schaefer, and none of them disappointed! Aside from all of the musical performances, there was also an incredible and peaceful adoration for everyone there to take part in. The event has seemed to grow in popularity over the years and will continue to grow in the coming years.

Here are a few words from students that attended the festival.:

“I love AbbeyFest because it’s a great day to grow in your faith alongside thousands of others who share a similar love for Christ. The music and speakers are so inspiring and it makes me proud to be a Catholic.” 

- Abby Griswald, ‘22

My favorite part of AbbeyFest is the candle lit adoration that we have at the end of the night. It is so powerful. The whole day is full of outstanding speakers, great music, mass, laughing, playing, talking and singing, but then during adoration, everything just stops, everyone is still. Hundreds and hundreds of people who have been going and going all day, having fun and praising God, everyone is finally quiet, each with a lit candle in hand, and we just get to be in silence and adore him. AbbeyFest is a beautiful tradition of family and friends coming together to give praise to our Lord, and to have a whole day to continue to be transformed by his love. Plus, it’s so much fun! If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it. Trust me, God really is so cool.” 

- Grace Longo, ‘20

“AbbeyFest was an incredible experience that definitely strengthens your relationship with Christ. Some very valuable lessons in faith were taught to both children and adults that I think we'll remember for many years to come.” 

There seems to be an overall agreement on the opinions of our fellow classmates. They believe that it is a life changing experience that you don’t want to miss. So mark this on your to do list and prepare for next year! We wouldn’t want you to miss out on this spiritually moving event next time it rolls around!