Starting today, we begin Catholic Schools Week. What is National Catholic Schools Week? Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It starts annually on the last Sunday in January and runs all week. The theme for National Catholic Schools Week 2022 is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.” Schools typically observe the annual celebration week with Masses, open houses and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members. Through these events, schools focus on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our communities and our nation.
Catholic Schools were originally founded as opportunities to form the whole person in an environment where the fullness of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of God could be boldly front and center, particularly as preserved, promoted, and proclaimed in the Church Christ founded – the Catholic Church. From their beginning, Godly Faith, human Excellence, and Christ-like service have been key. In the first days of Catholic education in this country, the early 1800s, Catholics faced a great deal of discrimination at all levels – socially, politically, and educationally. Many ‘public’ schools at the time were largely influenced by the predominant Protestant faiths. Catholic students were often unduly singled out by their non-Catholic instructors and ridicule of the Catholic Faith was openly expressed. Also in the early 1800s, the Catholic population in the USA was growing rapidly due to increased immigration from European countries. A large percentage of these immigrants were Catholic. Immigrants, then as now, faced additional struggles, hardships, and obstacles to integration and acceptance. The Catholic faith was actively an added barrier to integration. One response to this, St Elizabeth Ann Seton was approached and accepted the task of beginning not one, but numerous Catholic schools that became the precursor for the modern parochial school system (that is, parish based & supported schools). Initially, the focus was to assist families of the poor and provide girl’s education. St Elizabeth was to be the first native-born U.S. saint, started the Sisters of Charity.
Holy Family Catholic School & Preschool (HFS) carries forward this rich long tradition of Catholic Education for 3-year olds through eighth grade. The New Albany Deanery parishes also support spiritually & financially Our Lady of Providence High School (PHS) to provide a Catholic high school option. HFS focuses on the immense value that Catholic education provides to the faith-filled formation of young people and its contribution to our Church and community.
Holy Family School & Preschool invites prospective students, their families, and community residents to an Open House this Sunday, January 30th following the 10:30a Mass from 11:30a-1:30p to learn about the school’s educational programs and extracurricular activities. HFS is an “A” rated school. For more information, contact Principal Amy Huber in the school office at 812-944-6090 or email ahuber@holyfamilyeagles.com or School website at
http://holyfamilyeagles.org/
Holy Family, The First School of Holiness, Pray for us.
~ Fr Jeremy M. Gries