PORTSMOUTH — The sun broke through the clouds Sunday, just as the Portsmouth Abbey School faculty and members of the Class of 2025 descended from the steps of the Church of St. Gregory the Great to process onto the Holy Lawn at the onset of the school’s 95th Commencement.

The Class of 2025 included 83 graduates from eight different countries, with seven hailing from Portsmouth: Lila Bragan, Gabriel Devaney, John Paul Devaney, Layla Grilli, Ella Liuzza, Henry Martin, and Hannah Zelden.

Commencement speaker Jim Farley, a 1981 Abbey graduate and now CEO of Ford Motor Company, began his remarks on a light note. “If there were ever a moment to ask your parents for something special, it’s today. A Bronco — a Ford Bronco. That’s exactly what you should ask them for!” (Later, Farley personally handed each graduate a Bronco hat after they received their diplomas.)

Farley said the Class of 2025 had “grown up in a time when many choose to focus on the face they present to others. Curated selfies, distorted through filters, seeking validation with ‘likes’ and ‘loves.’ It will turn out to be a waste of time.” At Portsmouth Abbey, Farley said, “You’ve learned there are bigger ideas, greater truths in life, especially about yourselves.”

He spoke of the school’s classical curriculum and recalled the ancient Greeks’ advice to “know thyself.” Then, he suggested that before one could “know thyself,” they would have to “face thyself.”

“‘Who am I?’ The answer to most questions in life lies in that simple question,” Farley said. “Not to answer it. But to begin to answer it. Acknowledge the gaps that exist between the person you see in that mirror and the face you show the world.” 

Farley shared that he had taken the first steps to knowing himself at Portsmouth Abbey and was still essentially “the same kid sitting in one of those seats almost 45 years ago.” He challenged the Class of 2025 to spend a few minutes each day facing themselves and letting the answers to that foundational question guide them like a compass as they face life’s transitions. 

Student speakers

One of the two students speakers Sunday was John Paul Devaney of Portsmouth. He’s the son of faculty members Stephen and Stephanie Devaney, and a day student who lives on campus with his family. 

“JP” Devaney and his twin brother, Gabriel (Gabe), made an immediate impact upon their arrival in the fall of 2023. In addition to his skills on the soccer pitch (team captain, All-EIL and All-NEPSAC) and track, JP is well-known amongst his peers for his ability to captivate an audience with his public speaking. 

A prefect in St. Hughes responsible for leading the school’s Third Form (grade 9) boys, he is a young leader whose faith is central to his being, and his peers respect and admire him for that, as well as his keen sense of humor. He will attend Villanova University in the fall.

He spoke about his endeavor to Pack the Church every Tuesday morning, to bring the entire community together at morning mass once a week. The 7:20 a.m. mass fluctuated at about 12 attendees until three weeks before the end of school, when it dropped to six, and then a week later to three. 

On the last Tuesday, the last week of school, Devaney felt despair when, at 7:16, hardly anyone was present. Then, the church doors opened, and hundreds of students and faculty poured in.

“Tears welled up in my eyes as I realized that it was only a matter of time before the school came together in this new dimension, and I realized there is something about this school worth fighting for,” he said. “I am eternally grateful for this display of kindness and faith. I always knew I had an army of 36 freshmen boys if I ever wanted to invade another house like Aelred’s or Leo’s, but now I know God has an army of hundreds of Ravens, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against them.” 

Vocation to Monastery

Devaney said that the “army of Ravens” had made him comfortable enough to share that he had a vocation to Portsmouth Abbey Monastery and to the Catholic priesthood. He cited a fellow student’s paraphrasing of William Blake: “I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see, I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brothers, and I found all three,” and reflected on all the class had experienced together, including athletic victories, performances and simple conversations in the cafeteria about daily life that can mean so much. 

“In 10, 20, or 70 years you will not know me as John Paul or JP for I will have my name changed within the confines of this Monastery,” he said in closing. “But you will still know me as your friend, and I hope you will still know Portsmouth Abbey as your home.”