PW Alumni and priest preaches about his upcoming memoir, and the moments that inspired it

by Samara Chew, PWHS Class of 2026

Before he became a globally known Jesuit priest and New York Times Bestselling Author, Rev. James Martin, SJ, was a proud alumni of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School. Even earlier than that, he attended Ridge Park Elementary School. While there, he noted that it was one of his first instances of God reaching out to him. “I saw it as an encounter with God,” he added, “it seemed that God was, in a sense, calling out to me.”

In his upcoming memoir, "Work In Progress," he says how fond he was of his teachers at PW, and how they taught him to write. Looking back, he feels that “as a writer, I owe so much to PW.” An involved student, Father Martin was a member of the Milestone and the Town Crier. Included in the book, he specifically mentions his former French teachers, Mrs. Paulos and Mr. Sherman, but also said in a recent interview how much English teachers, like Mrs. Donnelly and Miss Baker, helped him to hone his writing skills.

Nearly 50 years after his time at PW, Father Martin was inspired to find a way to permanently get these memories down so that he wouldn’t forget them. Crazy stories like tales of summer jobs with friends, deserved to be shared with a larger audience. But most importantly, Father Martin “wanted to show how God was at work in everyone's life, even an elementary school, junior high or high school student.”

As a bestselling author, Father Martin has written 15 books, his first releasing in 1999 and the most previous one in 2023. Along with writing, he has used his advocacy to be a voice for marginalized groups. Following the tragic 2016 Pulse Nightclub Shooting, he felt compelled to take a stand. “I felt that the church should be doing more for this community so it encouraged me to reach out to them.” His work with that community earned him an appointment by Pope Francis as a consultant for the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication and is featured in a documentary executive produced by Martin Scorsese.

Here is a link to the book on the Harper Collins website.