Massachusetts Catholic school expands with $20 million classical-inspired building

St. Benedict Classical Academy in Natick, Massachusetts, on its opening day, Dec. 2, 2024. / Credit: Adam Richins Photography

CNA Staff, Dec 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A group of home schooling moms in Massachusetts banded together more than a decade ago with a vision: a classical Catholic school for their children centered on Christ.

St. Benedict Classical Academy, which began in 2013 with 25 students, has since grown to more than 300 and until recently was operating out of a humble schoolhouse in Natick, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston.

But on Dec. 2, St. Benedict Classical Academy (SBCA) opened its new campus — a $20 million classical-inspired structure that the headmaster, Jay Boren, said is designed to “lift the hearts and minds of all who enter it to the contemplation of God.”

“Architecture is the first teacher of the student, so it was very important to our community that the new schoolhouse ‘teach’ the student the importance of what they do each day,” Boren told CNA.

The headmaster sees classical architecture as “the best-suited design to articulate the truths of God.”

The building was designed by architect Nic Charbonneau, director of the Sacred Architecture Studio, a group that for the last quarter-century has aimed to promote a return to the sacred in architecture by learning from the richness of ecclesiastical history.

“As our architect, Nic Charbonneau says, ‘Classicism is a form of human art which is most deeply in touch with divinity and uncreated truths, through the lens of the human mind, as it seeks understanding of creation,’” Boren said.

“Beauty and truth are inseparable — they are two sides of the same face,” Boren explained. “As the students seek to know the truth in their studies it is only fitting that they do it in a building whose beauty turns their minds to God.”

Growing through community

It’s no small effort to build a school that lifts the hearts of students and teachers to the contemplation of God.

But St. Benedict’s passionate community of families, alumni parents, and supporters around the world all came together to fund the undertaking.

“Both current community members as well as friends of SBCA spanning the globe have stepped up financially in truly humbling, awe-inspiring ways,” Boren said, noting that nearly 100% of parents have given to St. Benedict’s annual fund. 

Families don’t just give their treasure to ensure their children attend St. Benedict’s — they also put in time, support, and gas money.

Families commute from more than 40 towns to attend St. Benedict’s, sometimes coming across state lines.

When asked what contributed to the school’s growth over the years, Boren cited the enthusiasm of parents as well as the success of students and graduates.

“It is very clear that the parents of MetroWest Boston are looking for a school focused on faith, intellect, and character and given how consistently SBCA has delivered on all those fronts for 12 years, we only see the interest continuing to rise,” he said. 

But it’s not only the mission — it’s also the people. 

“From the moment it was conceived of, SBCA has been a school made up of people who see this place and the work it takes to bring it to fruition as the Lord’s work,” Boren said. “This means that there is little our community will not do to ensure its success — and with great joy to boot!”

Boren credits the hard work of parents early on in the school’s founding — a close involvement that continues today. 

“In the early days, parents did herculean work to ensure SBCA’s success — authoring our very mission statement, recruiting board members and faculty and even filling in staffing gaps,” he continued. “They went so far as to support student supervision during lunch and recess to ensure faculty got the breaks and planning time they needed in the first three years we were open.”  

Boren said that this “SBCA tradition” of strong support for faculty still continues today. 

“No detail is too small,” he said, noting that on the first Friday of every month, families “bring in a parade of treats and snacks, our cherished ‘first Friday treats,’ just to give the whole team a little boost.”

But that’s not the only SBCA tradition. Families also jump in to support teachers and staff when their families grow.  

“Another beloved tradition is that each time a faculty member has a new baby, they are showered with meals for weeks,” Boren said. 

Teachers and staff also go above and beyond. 

“On their end of things, faculty reciprocate freely, going above and beyond to attend to their own students as well as frequently volunteering to coach, lead enrichment activities after school or just offering a helping hand to [a] student or parent that needs some extra encouragement,” Boren said. 

Building saints for heaven 

At St. Benedict’s, the goal is to make saints and citizens. 

When asked how Catholic identity is central to St. Benedict’s, Boren responded: “In short, we are here to build scholars for our republic and saints for heaven.” 

“Our most important, core goal, is to help each student advance on their journey to heaven while they are with us,” he continued. “All else flows from our joy in this work, all else is inspired by our total commitment to reaching this high bar, each day.” 

SBCA keeps Christ at the center through a variety of practical ways, from weekly Mass to monthly adoration and confession, as well as daily theology classes. For younger students, SBCA offers Catechesis of the Good Shepherd — a Montessori-inspired theology program — for its early learning, pre-kindergarten program. 

“Our primary identity as an institution is our Catholicism,” Boren explained. “It is with immense joy that we embrace and do not take for granted the freedom our educators and school leaders have to place Christ at the center and the teachings of his holy Church at the forefront of all teaching and learning at SBCA.” 

This involves “a rhythm of prayer, work, play in the daily life of the school,” the headmaster said. 

St. Benedict’s brings together academic rigor with its “primary identity” as a Catholic institution. As a classical K–8, it follows the grammar and logic phases of a classical education. 

“If we always begin with prayer, then invite full focus on calm, orderly work, and afterwards provide open-ended time for true play — not facilitated activities but true playtime outdoors, in nature, supervised but not micromanaged — we find that our broad array of students are able to reach for the high bar we set,” Boren said. 

St. Benedict’s also prioritizes creating “a culture of vocations” through inviting religious and priests to visit and speak with students, Boren explained. 

But every day, mission-oriented teachers “provide a living witness” of prayer and faith to students at St. Benedict’s. 

“Children notice the attitude and behaviors of the adults around them, and we have a team who are all aligned in striving ardently to be as close to God as possible,” Boren said. 

Teachers and staff “constantly weave the teachings of Our Lord and his Church into our approach to forming our students’ characters and intellects,” Boren noted. 

“In every academic subject, especially art and music, we are free to explore Christ’s role and influence on any given age, and incorporate the truth about God’s role in inspiring so many great thinkers, makers, and doers in every age,” Boren continued.

“This stocks our students’ memories and imaginations with living, breathing examples of the great adventure it is to seek and follow Christ!” Boren said. 

Even as the curriculum, teachers, and staff are centered on Christ, the building itself is designed to influence students’ imaginations and raise them to Christ.  

“We wanted a beautiful classical school that would articulate to the world through its beauty the important work going on in the classrooms,” Boren said. 

“It stands as a testament to all who pass that we can still build beautiful things and the human search for the good, true, and beautiful never ends.”