Editor’s Note: This article was also published in the Benet Herald 2024 Graduation Edition, as well as in the Benet Connections.

Over this past school year, Benet Academy‘s Campus Ministry organization has been hard at work on ensuring the students of this school to grow in grace and wisdom through their Catholic faith. Led by Deacon Christopher Weiland, this past school year has seen perhaps some of the biggest expansion of faith programs in its history. Not only have they navigated a successful rebranding of the image of Campus Ministry to the moniker of “Living in Faith and Truth”, or LIFT for short, but they have helped sophomore students in this school by expanding the Lenses Retreat to become a biannual event. Benet LIFT continues to improve its relations with neighboring schools in the form of the 2nd Eucharistic Procession in school history, which saw God passing through the streets of Lisle between Benet Academy and the nearby Chesterton Academy of the Holy Family. Additionally, Benet LIFT has proved instrumental in helping to serve the needs of those in the surrounding community. Over the past year, they have created numerous fundraisers, such as the “Redwings Fight Cancer” Campaign, raising over $2,000 for the Loyola Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, and the “Love Like Sean” day of remembrance, raising a record-breaking amount of nearly $8,000 for the foundation dedicated to the cause of  remembering Sean Richards (‘27). In no small part due to the efforts done by its members, LIFT has been able to become one of the most successful organizations that this school has to offer.

Despite this success, LIFT continues to reinvent itself for this upcoming school year. In late April, 42 members of the classes of 2025, 2026, and 2027 were selected to form the Board for this upcoming school year. Twelve Group Leaders, affectionately nicknamed the “Twelve Apostles”, will seek to further the Benedictine nature of this school. The Executive Board Leaders, Madeline Kirchgessner (‘25) and Quinn Knox (‘25) bring with them a host of different experiences from every corner of this school. In the words of Board Member Nicholas Derbis (‘26), “I’m excited to continue making a positive impact on the faith of those that go to Benet and in the community!“ It is clear that a difference continues to be made at Benet Academy through LIFT.