Spiritual Life

Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church founded by St. Josemaría Escrivá, provides a chaplain who in turn administers the sacraments on a daily basis and oversees the religious education program.

We are very grateful for the permission granted by Cardinal DiNardo to offer religious education to our Catholic students, to offer daily Mass and Confession, and to be able to have the Blessed Sacrament with us throughout the week.

One of our goals is to help our students to freely and truly become souls of prayer—young men who can experience “silent listening” deep within their heart and conscience. As the great thinker, Josef Pieper, reminds us: “...the world reveals itself to the silent listener and only to him; the more silently he listens, the more purely is he able to perceive reality.”

We are deeply aware of and in debt to the great traditions and benefits of Catholic education. We are a school started, owned, and operated by laymen. For this reason, we are and wish to be a private independent school accepting the full responsibility of our endeavor. While together the appointed chaplain and lay educators feel the responsibility of living and reflecting a Catholic Spirit throughout our school, professional laymen are responsible for the education and administration of the school, and the chaplain is particularly responsible for the religious education program.

Western Academy is not a Catholic School, and is not under the supervision of the Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Office of Galveston-Houston. It has been accredited by a private independent schools association, AdvancED Accreditation Commission, and is independently funded.

Mass and Chapel Time

The Chapel is a place of worship. The Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the tabernacle throughout the school year. Students should act with reverence in the Chapel and should avoid distracting behavior in the areas outside the Chapel when in use.

 Mass is celebrated every day at 10:05 a.m. Students, parents, and faculty are welcome to attend. Please check the Western Word, School Calendar, or WA social media for any changes to the Mass schedule.

Regular chapel periods take place for each homeroom class every three weeks. During these periods the school chaplain gives a brief talk on some point relevant to the development of spiritual life and the growth in human virtues. The school chaplain is also available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation at posted times or by appointment.