Oratory Mysteries

Oratory is a mysterious place. Any school will have unanswered questions and mysteries, but Oratory, especially, is such an interesting environment to go to school in that it is bound to have things bubbling underneath. This article was inspired by my own question, which was about the lone jersey hanging in Bain gym. Why is it up there? Why is it only one? Mr. Horan was kind enough to provide answers. It belonged to a former Oratory student and later teacher, who set a shooting record and led Oratory basketball to victory.

In the spirit of this, I reached out to the OP student body in an attempt to answer their questions. Patrick Milton asked, “Did Danny DeVito like the school or did they bully him for being short?” While Mr. DeVito was not available for a comment, I’m pretty sure I remember an old alumnus telling me he was “the man” back in the day. James Simon and Zach DeVita-Paulson both asked about the basement of the Bain building, while Fernando Aviles asked about “the set of stairs next to the Bain building.” That is the Bain basement! And apparently, it is kept under lock and key. Mrs. Gribbin told me she had been in the old Newman Hall basement, but never the Bain one. Nick Werbaneth, Chris Uustal, and Alexander Cowell all asked about Mr. Kearns legendary fight with the bear. For those unaware, word on the street around Oratory is that, at one point in his past, Mr. Kearns fought off a bear. When I have seen Mr. Kearns asked about it, his response was “me and that bear went our separate ways,” and other teachers are reluctant to talk about the story. This story will be harder to uncover, and perhaps will be the topic of another article (Editor’s Note: It already was.  Check the archives). Christian Simms asked why we are called Oratory, while Nick Battista asked why our school’s name was changed from Carlton Academy to Oratory Prep. A former headmaster changed our name to attract Oratorian monks, the order founded by our very own St. Philip Neri. Aiden Reed asks, “why did the school never bring back the football team?” As far as I can tell, Aiden, half the school would have to play football for a school of our size to have a football program. Brian Kelly asks, “where is the third floor?” Brian, I have some bad news. Both of our buildings only have two floors. We have about four hallways in total. Jay Chacon, among others, asks, “does the secret pool exist?” No, unfortunately, the secret pool on the roof, in the closet near the old art room, in the basement of DeGaeta Hall, wherever you think it is, does not exist. I would love to keep the ruse going, but it’s usually frowned upon to lie in journalism. Dan Pereira asks, “why does no one step on the gold circle in the new building?” It’s a sign of respect for our school seal!  And finally, I was asked about the legendary Mrs. Gribbin-Mr. Gordon rivalry. When I asked the two teachers for comment, Mrs. Gribbin said “I’m not sure if I know the answer… Ask Mr. Gordon. Lol.” Meanwhile, Mr. Gordon simply said “Sibling rivalry.” Make of that what you will. If you have any more Oratory questions, please let me know, and I’ll try to hunt down the answers.