There are a number of religious events and announcements occurring at Archbishop Riordan, the first in person coed school Mass of 2021 being one of them. Another announcement this year is that there is a new addition to the Characteristics of Marianist Education. 

The phrase “integrity of creation” was added to the third Characteristic, “Educating for Service, Justice and Peace.”

In basic terms, having integrity for creation means protecting the Earth’s ecosystems, plants and animals, along with people. 

Joe Frias, Riordan’s World Religions teacher, said that people are God’s stewards for creation, and that “creation is not something to exploit just for our own benefit,”. He followed up with “A big part of it is the wise use of our resources and the impact that that’s causing if we overuse them.”

When the resources are exploited for profit, the burning of fossil fuels adds to air, land, and water pollution, while also contributing to climate change. 

Campus Ministry member Zailea Mae Flores ’22 believes integrity for creation encourages students to take action, and calls us to “go further than ourselves by engaging in collaborations and opportunities provided by our schools and communities to enact a greater change that benefits future generations.”

For example, Riordan Crusaders show integrity for creation by hosting beach cleanups, offering environmental science classes, having Wellness Ambassadors, and beginning the Crusaders for Life club.

Religious Studies Instructor Joshua Keeney thinks that “the Marianist emphasis is coming from the leadership of Pope Francis”. When looking towards role models for integrity for creation, “Looking at the lives of the saints I think is always a good place to start and hopefully as well for the students looking at teachers and vice versa…” 

Director of Riordan’s Campus Ministry, Alex Datoc ’87 added that “Each of the characteristics hope to obtain that our students kind of experience this, learn this, are able to articulate it when they graduate from Riordan, so it’s a real driving force at this school.”