2025 Catholic Schools Week

During the last week of January, each of our schools celebrated our catholic identity and mission.  A Catholic School is not a stand alone entity nor here to simply boast great athletics, high level of scholarship or an empty promise to merely provide for parents’ educational desires.  A catholic school is always, by its nature, connected to the local church and her mission.  

I will always be grateful for the Catholic education I received.  Growing up in a Catholic family, my parents always took me to Mass.  They also strove to teach us the faith.  But the Catholic school was the place where I learned so much (and I don’t just mean in the classroom)!  I have fond memories of the activities of Catholic Schools week- the eighth grade volleyball game, the dress up days, the extra time for prayer, writing ‘thank-you’ cards for the local community.  In many ways, the Catholic school assisted my parents in preparing me for a priestly vocation. It taught me the importance of growth in virtue, friendly competition and our duty to promote a peaceful society.

I’d like to take a moment to share a story.  During my fifth grade year of Catholic grade school, the school had an “occupation day”.  Well, I declared to my parents that I would dress up as a priest.  All sorts of students dressed down that day as lawyers, teachers, doctors, and there was a photographer.  As we began our religion class that day, which was taught by the priest who nurtured my own vocation, one aspiring photographer took a picture of me standing next to our parish priest!  Looking back at that photo over the years, which I keep in the front of my bible, I am always reminded of the gift of my Catholic education which was so much more than ‘learning good things’.  Moments like these from my youth inspired me to be a good catholic and a priest- and one who recognizes that all of the faithful have a task to support true education.  

The Catholic Church reminds her bishops, priests and all of the faithful of the noble ideals we must see at work in our Catholic schools: “True education must strive for complete formation of the human person that looks to his or her final end as well as to the common good of societies, children and youth are to nurtured in such a way that they are able to develop their physical, moral and intellectual talents harmoniously, acquire a more perfect sense of responsibility and right use of freedom, and are formed to participate actively in social life” (CIC 795). 

Admittedly, the Church recognizes that these lofty ideals can also be fulfilled by parents who choose to use public schools and take their responsibilities to form their children in the faith seriously.  The Church also recognizes these same goals can be met by homeschooling households and co-ops.  But we really do have many special opportunities, at this time in St. Joseph, to ensure that genuine catholic education will be here to stay in our Catholic schools.  

Thank you for supporting the Church in her evangelizing mission. And thank you for supporting our Catholic Schools!!!

In Christ, 

Fr. Armentrout

Chaplain, Bishop LeBlond High School