Building Men Who Matter: On the Marvel and Mystery of Raising Teenage Boys

By Brother James M. Kelly, C.F.X. • Hardcover • 5.5 x 8.5 inches • 320 pages

Since 1839, generations of boys from all walks of life have been molded by the wise, firm hand of the Xaverian Brothers. Brother James M. Kelly, a Xaverian Brother for 45 years, brings the spirit of the congregation's 170-year-old tradition and a keen understanding of modern life to his current role as President of Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, Maryland.

Before Brother Kelly came to Baltimore in 2001, he spent eight years at the helm of the nation's oldest Xaverian Brothers' school, Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky. It was there that he began to pen monthly newsletter columns, dispensing counsel, practical advice, humor and hope to legions of exasperated parents struggling through the vicissitudes of raising teenage boys. The best of those columns were collected and published in Brother Kelly's first book, Respecting the Man the Boy Will Become, the title of which was based on the Xaverian philosophy of education.

In this second anthology, Building Men Who Matter, Brother Kelly once again combines his gift of Irish storytelling with his passion, as a Xaverian Brother, to help boys become the bright, responsible, caring men God wants them to be. His words of wisdom will offer invaluable insight, inspiration and encouragement to parents as they experience the marvel and the mystery of raising a modern teenage boy.

About the Author:

Brother James M. Kelly, C.F.X. is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, Maryland, the second oldest Xaverian Brothers school in the nation, founded in 1876. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, Brother Kelly has been a Xaverian Brother for 45 years. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Latin and Greek from The Catholic University of America (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna cum Laude), a Master's degree in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University and a Master's in counseling from Saint Joseph College. He began his teaching career at Saint John's High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and served for 17 years at Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut. From 1982 until 1991 he was the principal of Xavier High School. After a brief assignment as Director of Development for the Xaverian Brothers, he became the President of Saint Xavier High School, in Louisville, Kentucky, in June of 1993 and served in that position until he came to Mount Saint Joseph in July of 2001.