by Nels Nelsen

Dr. Francesca Po, a University of Oxford graduate and theology teacher, recently became St. John Bosco High School’s new Coordinator of Youth Ministry (CYM) after the school had not had one for almost a year.

Her job entails overseeing the spiritual formation of the school, which includes the faculty, staff, students as well as parents to make sure everything is on par with the Salesian spirituality.

“My title is Coordinator of Youth Ministry, which is kind of like an assistant principal of spiritual formation, but [CYM is] specifically the Salesian title for that role,” said Dr. Po.

She has a PhD in Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Oxford in England, and her research focuses on why people leave the church.

“A lot of the findings that I have I’m taking into this job. It transfers well to this job because you want to make sure that students continue to identify with the church and continue to love the church as much as we have and that we counteract the reasons that I found of why people leave the church,” Dr. Po said. “We want to make sure that everybody maintains that direct spirituality with God.”

One of the main reasons that Dr. Po found out why people leave the church is that they feel alienated by the church in some way. They feel rejected maybe because of their sexuality, or they feel rejected because they feel different in  some way. Because there are people in the church that may make them feel alienated or rejected, many do not identify with the church anymore.

The interesting thing to Dr. Po is that even if people leave the church, they do not lose their connection with God. They maintain their faiths, morals or beliefs. It is the institution and specific individuals within it that they were against.

“If the church takes a more inclusive route, that’s really what people resonate with in all kinds of spirituality,” said. Dr. Po.

In addition to her Phd, Dr. Po also received a master’s degree from Oxford and another master’s degree from San Francisco. It was difficult, but she was someone who always did well in school, being a valedictorian in high school. The real challenge was pursuing a PhD from Oxford, her dream school. In the end, Dr. Po knew it was worth it.

The part that made getting her PhD hard was transitioning from the American education system to the English education system. A lot of this adjustment revolved around Dr. Po being a very artistic writer, while the PhD required more straight forward, technical writing and research.

Dr. Po’s personal relationship with God has been the most consistent thing in her life. God has been speaking to her as long as she could remember. Dr. Po has been following what God has been guiding her to through the grace of the Holy Spirit. She feels God has led her to this role as CYM at Bosco.

She strives to be as inclusive as possible to all different kinds of people, because a good leader displays those qualities. She values that everyone should feel loved and included.

Her influences that guided her on her spiritual journey with God are her immediate family. Other early spiritual influences would be her parish priest and Cardinal Roger Mahony. 

In college, there were a lot of spiritual teachers from different faiths that really opened Dr. Po’s heart, mind and soul to different expressions of God.

Mr. Joseph Griffin, the Chair of the Theology Department and a teacher at Bosco for 35 years, believes that Dr. Po is a great pick for CYM. Dr. Po went through an interview process, and Mr. Griffin was a panel member in that interview.

“She’s highly intelligent. She has personal charisma. She has a lot of experience in Catholic education, and I think she’s a very good fit,” said Mr. Griffin.

He also states that besides Dr. Po’s intelligence and charisma, some other good qualities are that she is a very pleasant person, not threatening or intimidating and very welcoming to anyone that wants to engage in discussion or participate in any activities that she is arranging.

“She is not doing the whole job by herself. She has a Campus Minister to rely on,” said Mr. Griffin.

The Campus Minister supporting Dr. Po is Mr. Sergio Esparza, who comes from St. Joseph’s High School and will also be teaching four theology courses on campus.

Due to the vacuum left last year by the previous CYM leaving midway through the first semester and never being replaced, Mr. Griffin is very pleased to have a new and committed CYM in place.

Senior Diego Salcedo is one of the student leaders on the Campus Ministry team. He was involved in Campus Ministry last year and believes that Dr. Po has set a good tone for the year thus far. He thinks reinstituting a CYM this year will improve Campus Ministry, as there will be more people on the job and people that are dedicated to it.

Diego said communication with Dr. Po has been great. She always willing to try new things, and he always tries to find creative ways to bring the faith to students.

Diego would like to add that the Campus Ministry team is always trying to find more students to join and help spread Christ’s love on Bosco’s campus.