Soon-to-be head of school has four main goals and boosting enrollment is priority

By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent

Father Jose F. Carvajal taught for five years and served as principal for three at a Catholic secondary school in his native Colombia, but after he was ordained in Worcester in 2021 the thought of running a Catholic high school again never entered his mind. 

“Oh gosh, no, no, no, no,” he said. “I had no idea. Not even contemplating the possibility.”

Since he was ordained in 2021, Father Carvajal has served as associate pastor at St. Mary Parish in Shrewsbury, and he expected to eventually become a pastor in the Worcester Diocese.

However, on April 10, David Perda, superintendent of Catholic schools in the Worcester Diocese, announced that Bishop Robert McManus had appointed Father Carvajal as the head of school at St. Paul Diocesan Jr./Sr. High School effective July 1. Michael Clark, head of school since St. Paul opened in the fall of 2020 following the merger of Holy Name Central Catholic Jr./Sr. High School and St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic Jr./Sr. High School, announced earlier in the week that he will step down at the end of June.

“It’s mind blowing honestly,” Father Carvajal said. “It’s like my two worlds coming together.”

He’s convinced it was God’s plan.

“If I don’t think that this is the Holy Spirit prompting me to do this, then I don’t know what faith is for,” he said. “It has to be God’s hand in all of this. It’s amazing.”

After Mr. Clark let it be known he would not return as head of school, Father Carvajal said he was surprised that Bishop McManus and Mr. Perda approached him about taking the position. He said he told them that he wasn’t sure if he had the proper experience or if it was a great idea. He had the same humble reaction in 2013 when he was only 25 years old, but was asked to become principal at Colegio Jesus Maria, a Catholic secondary school in Colombia with an enrollment of 1,200 girls.

Father Carvajal also taught English as a second language and religion in Colombia for five years. When he was 19, he taught high school seniors who weren’t much younger than him.

He’s still only 34 so he expects to be able to relate to St. Paul students.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I’m super excited.”

Father Carvajal said he has four main goals for St. Paul. First of all, he wants to make St. Paul a place for spiritual formation.

“Sometimes, Catholic education doesn’t do enough to nurture student spiritual growth,” he said. “A Catholic school needs to help students develop a deep relationship with God. That would involve providing opportunities for prayer, reflection, worship, even sacramental participation.”

Secondly, he wants to promote academic excellence. Thirdly, he wants to foster a sense of community and social responsibility by serving others and advocating for justice and equality through service projects, outreach activities and partnership with local agencies.

Finally, he wants students to discover how art, humanities, science and global perspectives interact with their faith.

St. Paul has a little more than 400 students. Father Carvajal said boosting enrollment is a priority and that he’d rely on his experience as a parish priest to visit parishes to fundraise and prompt parents to consider sending their children to the only diocesan Catholic junior-senior high school.

Father Carvajal has enjoyed serving as associate pastor at St. Mary and helping out at St. Mary Elementary School, which has students from preschool through eighth grade.

Prior to becoming associate pastor, he spent weekends at St. Mary in 2015 while studying at Clark University and he spent the summer of 2016 at St. Mary as a seminarian.

“This is my home parish, the parish that adopted me so to speak when I first came to the country,” he said. “I’ve gotten to know people well, I’m part of their dynamics and families. So of course, I’m going to miss it.”

Monsignor Michael Rose, St. Mary pastor, said St. Paul is receiving a “great gift” in Father Carvajal.

“Everybody will find a very friendly, outgoing, warm, engaging person,” Msgr. Rose said, “who is a young priest in our diocese. They will find him energetic, hard working. He will be very visible and present. He will be everywhere within the school, in the corridors, in the cafeteria, fields and courts, meeting rooms and the office. He will do a great job meeting with individuals, one on one. He will be great in working with committees on projects. He is very bright and knowledgeable, but at the same time very collaborative. He’s a great listener and loves to work with people on things.”

Becoming head of school Father Carvajal will assume more responsibility.
“You will be leading so it can be intimidating,” he said, “especially within the context of being in a different culture, a different language that is not your first language, a different country that has very specific educational law.”
Father Carvajal, whose first language is Spanish, is pursuing a master’s degree from Boston College in educational leadership and policy, and he’s scheduled to graduate in the fall of 2025. He already holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and English as a second language from Pontifical Bolivarian University where Father Hugo A. Cano taught him education law. Father Cano is director of the Hispanic-Latino Ministry for the Worcester Diocese.

Father Carvajal also has a master’s degree in theology and a Master of Divinity degree from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore.
Mr. Clark served as associate superintendent of secondary schools for the diocese for two years before becoming the founding head of school at St. Paul. The new high school opened five months after the pandemic forced all Massachusetts schools to close the previous spring. Despite that challenge, Mr. Clark led St. Paul through its first accreditation process with the Commission on Independent Schools of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

“I’ve greatly enjoyed working with Michael Clark over the past six years,” St. Paul principal Sandra Pollette said. “He’s a wonderful man with a great ability, a lot of skills and a good heart, but I also understand that change is a part of life.”

Ms. Pollette said she is looking forward to working with Father Carvajal.
“I’m hopeful that he will look at our community with new and different eyes,” she said. “Having fresh ideas is always a positive thing.”

“I am so grateful for the stability, leadership and wisdom Michael Clark has provided to St. Paul for the last four years,” assistant principal Karen Fuller said, “and to me personally as I transitioned into the school this year. I will miss him.

Mrs. Fuller came to St. Paul this year after working at Bancroft School for 23 years, most recently as a Latin teacher and world language department chair.
“I am heartened, however, by the appointment of Father Jose,” Mrs. Fuller said. “His warmth and humility and commitment to education make him a great fit. His intention to collaborate and build relationships sets the perfect tone for our staff, students and families. I am excited to start working with him.”