Catholic Schools’ Week

January 25, 2018
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone

Catholic Schools Week provides an annual opportunity to remember and appreciate anew the contribution of Catholic schools in the United States. This remarkable school system stands apart from public and other private school systems, and is a source of great pride for the Church. It is fitting for us to recognize and remember the vision and sacrifice of the countless women and men who helped Catholic schools take root in this country and flourish to this day.

The story of Catholic schools is a story of vitality and resilience rooted in fidelity to their mission – the education and formation of life-long faith-filled Catholics who discover and live out their God-given vocation so that they might know, love and serve God in this life and so be happy with Him forever in the next. This mission is the reason these schools exist. It defines the Catholic enterprise, and this is what sets it apart from all other types of schooling in this country.

Significant struggles and setbacks, as well astounding accomplishments, have been part of the Catholic school story throughout its almost three-hundred year history in this country. But whether in times of prosperity or times of peril, the three theological virtues – fearless faith, abiding hope, and unceasing love – were hallmarks of good planning for the future of Catholic schools. Attending to these virtues, those who charted the future of Catholic education were able to be bold and wise and faithful to the mission of Catholic schools and open to their extravagant possibilities. They found the courage to challenge themselves, to learn from others, to adapt their approaches to changing times, to innovate prudently, and to strive for excellence for the sake of the Kingdom of God and the souls of their students.

Today’s Catholic schools face an array of challenges that are daunting indeed. But as the Paschal Mystery demonstrates, for those who suffer in communion with Christ, struggles and setbacks are not the last word. Rather, they serve as pathways to renewal, revitalization and rebirth. The next chapter in the Catholic school story in the United States will be written by us. May our faith be as fearless, our hope as abiding, and our love as unceasing in these demanding times as they were for the generations who have gone before us. For this we pray.