“At Xaverian, there was always a sense
that you don’t live just for yourself,” says
Reverend Christopher Peschel, a
2006 graduate. “You live to be in the service
of others…not in an unhealthy way, but in a
way that honors the gifts you have been given
by sharing them with other people.”
It was this notion of a life lived in service
that led Father Chris to the priesthood.
After attending Xaverian and being an active
participant in the campus ministry program,
Chris went on to study at Franciscan
University of Steubenville. It was there
that he first understood his calling to the
priesthood. “It was a decision of personal
surrender,” he says. “I am here to serve at
the will of others, including the Lord my
God.” Father Chris joined the seminary at
19 years old. He earned a B.A. in philosophy
from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary-
Overbrook, followed by a Master of Divinity
and a Master of Arts in Theology from Saint
John’s Seminary.
Now he’s the Pastor of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel in New Bedford, feeling
fulfilled each day by his place in the Church
community and in the affiliated St. Teresa
of Calcutta School. A heavily Portuguese
community, Father Chris is putting his talent
for languages to use, offering Masses in both
English and Portuguese. While he humbly
denies fluency, he is also proficient in French,
Spanish, Latin, and Greek.
The work of a priest for Father Chris, in
many ways, looks like that of a construction
manager. “There’s been two defining
elements of my nine years of priesthood,
and the first one is construction,” he says.
He previously oversaw the renovation of St.
John the Evangelist Church in Attleboro,
and now he’s in the middle of leading a
construction project for his parish school,
turning a former gymnasium into a middle
school. Acknowledging that this work
may seem banal, he says, “It can seem like
you’re a plant manager in some regards, but
there’s also a sense of which you bring in
the element of beauty to it all. When you’re
given that chance to do something artistic,
you recognize that the things we build in the
created world all point us to God.”
The school construction project brings
him to the second defining element of his
priesthood: education. “Whether I’ve served
a parish that had a primary school, or in my
last assignment as a high school chaplain
for an urban Catholic school in Fall River,
and even now with this school here in New
Bedford, I recognize that there’s a sense
of paying it forward to kids who want the
opportunity of an education that is rooted in
Catholic values,” he says. Father Chris looks
back on his 12 years of Catholic education
in grammar school and through his time at
Xaverian, and he recognizes the sacrifices his
parents made to make that possible.
“Being responsible for St. Teresa of
Calcutta School now as a pastor is the pride
and joy of what I do. It’s the heart of being
a missionary at home,” he says. “Mother
Teresa often would remind people that to be
a great missionary you don’t have to go to the
far reaches of the world. We all need to be
missionaries at home—in our own families,
in our own neighborhoods, and in our own
parishes.”
We were blessed with another beautiful early-
fall day at Wellesley Country Club for our
Annual Golf Classic held on Monday,
September 26. This year, 154 friends, family,
and alumni hit the links, helping us raise
$172,671 for our scholarship fund.
Thank you to our sponsors and our golfers!
Fundraising on the Links
Pictured (L-R) are
Adam Evans ’02,
Brad Bestgen ’98,
Andrew Sweeney ’02,
and Michael
O’Brien ’98
Pictured (L-R) are Brian Murphy, Rick Smith ’14, Paul Lyons ’83,
P ’14, ’17, and Steven Lyons
A Missionary at Home
Rev. Christopher Peschel ’06
Winter 2023
Xaverian Magazine