Mercy at the Heartbeat of Cristo Rey

By Father Christopher Calderón, S.J., President, Cristo Rey High School Sacramento

At Cristo Rey High School Sacramento, our identity as a member of Mercy Education runs deeper than signage or tradition. It is the very heartbeat of our mission. Every day, in classrooms, offices, and corporate work sites across the city, we live out the charism of Mercy entrusted to us. It is a charism rooted in compassionate service, courageous hope, and a steadfast conviction that God’s grace thrives most powerfully at the margins. And it is this same spirit that shapes our students. They entrust us with their dreams and, in turn, reveal to us the ongoing work of God in our midst.

Many of the students who arrive at Cristo Rey are from under-resourced and immigrant communities, and come to us two or three grade levels behind. Some carry with them the challenges of being the first in their family to walk the path toward college, while also carrying the weight of fear and worry that comes with the realities facing their undocumented family and friends. Despite it all, from the moment they join our community, they are met with an unwavering belief: that their story is still unfolding, that their talents are abundant, and that real, courageous mercy will accompany them through every step of their transformation.

Through the tireless dedication of teachers, counselors, and staff who view education as a ministry, students begin to see themselves differently. They discover that confidence can be nurtured, skills can be strengthened, and futures can be bright. Year after year, the students who once doubted what was possible or available to them, walk across the graduation stage not only prepared for college, but often choosing among multiple college offers. Their success is not accidental. It is the result of a community that believes in them fiercely and asks them to believe just as fiercely in themselves.

Integral to this journey is our Corporate Work Study Program, a distinctive gift of the Cristo Rey model. By the time they graduate, students have accrued more than 1,000 hours of professional work experience in some of Sacramento’s most respected companies and organizations. They have walked through the doors of boardrooms, greeted CEOs by name, contributed to meaningful projects, and witnessed firsthand what leadership, professionalism, and mission-driven work look like. For many, this exposure reshapes what they imagine possible. For some, it awakens a vocation. For all, it nurtures confidence built not on abstraction but on lived experience.

But at the heart of everything, beneath the academics, the work experience, and the college acceptance letters, is a sacred truth: our students discover God at work. They come to see that God is not distant but alive in their resilience, present in their challenges, and active in their hopes. They learn that the God who calls them by name also equips them with gifts, walks beside them in moments of fear, and rejoices in their growth. Mercy becomes not just a value they study but a reality they embody.

And while our students experience many firsts at Cristo Rey, they understand deeply that they are not the first to walk the road of mercy. They belong to a legacy; to a generations-long cloak of Mercy-formed students who strive to remake the world through compassion, justice, and courage. Their achievements add new threads to this cloak, reminding us all that the name of God is mercy, and that this mercy continues to unfold through them.

Cristo Rey Sacramento stands as a testament to what is possible when faith, education, and mercy unite. And our bold, hopeful, hardworking students are the living proof.