Edwin D. Leahy

Rev. Edwin D. Leahy, O.S.B., became the 23rd Headmaster of Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in 1972.

Infobox Criminal
subject_name = Edwin Leahy O.S.B.


image_size =
image_caption = Fr. Edwin with two St. Benedict's students.
religion = Catholic

He graduated from St. Benedict's Prep in 1960. He earned a B.A. in philosophy from Seton Hall University in 1968 and a Master’s in Divinity with distinction in 1975 from the Woodstock College at Union Theological Seminary, New York. In 1966 he took his first vows as a monk of the Benedictine Abbey of Newark and was ordained to the priesthood in 1972. Fr. Edwin began his work at St. Benedict's Prep in 1967, teaching biology and religion and assisting with the wrestling and American football teams. Following the suspension of operations of St. Benedict's in 1972, Father Edwin was named to direct the efforts of monks, interested parents, alumni and friends to re-open the School as soon as was feasible. Under his direction St. Benedict's re-opened in 1973 with 89 students and 14 faculty members.

St. Benedict's has now grown to 580 young men, most from African-heritage and Hispanic backgrounds, and 67 faculty members. 95% of the school’s graduates go on to college, with the most academically talented attending such colleges as Bates, Boston College, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Harvard, Notre Dame, NYU, Penn, Rutgers, Swarthmore, and the University of Chicago. In 1988, the School added a $9 million academic-athletic center, followed by a $10 million campaign for a new library and endowment funds for scholarships and teacher support. A Field House and a 60-student residence, named Leahy House, were added in 2000. St. Benedict’s has recently completed a $50 million campaign to renovate its oldest buildings and increase endowments for scholarships and teacher support.

Father Edwin is president of the Board of the Essex County Vocational and Technical Schools, and serves on the Board of St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania. In 2006-07 he is a Gustav Heningburg Civic Fellow with the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience at Rutgers-Newark. Father Edwin is also a member of the Newark Alliance.

"Source:Text:http://65.36.189.169/iecme/?section=bios&fuse=list&category=fellows&id=69 Picture: School website @ Headmaster's welcome: http://sbp.org/headmasters_message.asp"