January 25, 2022 (Louisville, KY) –Students, families, pastors, faculty and staff at 48 Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Louisville will join dioceses throughout the nation in celebrating Catholic Schools Week from January 30-February 5, 2022. The theme for this year’s Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.”
Festivities include a Mass on Tuesday, February 1, 10:00 a.m., at St. Patrick Parish, 1000 North Beckley Station Road, Louisville. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, schools will attend the Mass with smaller delegations in order to facilitate social distancing. Masks are required. The Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D., Archbishop of Louisville, will preside and preach. This Mass will be livestreamed. Search for St. Patrick Catholic Church, Louisville, KY on YouTube to see the broadcast, which also will be archived on the YouTube channel.
At the Mass, Archbishop Kurtz and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mary Beth Bowling will present the following: Distinguished Catholic School Leader Award (Lara Krill, principal of St. Gabriel School in Louisville), Irene Casey Catholic Inclusion Award (Audrey Carney, St. James School in Elizabethtown); and Outstanding School Volunteer Award (Jenni Garner, Holy Spirit School in Louisville). In addition, Lisa Lauder, a teacher at St. Gabriel School, will be recognized for the Father Joseph McGee Award for Outstanding Catholic Educator. The Catholic Education Foundation presents the Father Joseph McGee award at the annual Salute to Catholic School Alumni Dinner, which will be held on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at the Galt House Hotel.
At this Mass, the Catholic Education Foundation will present poster and essay-writing contest awards to elementary students for winning posters and to a high school student for a winning essay. The poster and essay contests invite students to reflect on the theme for this school year: “Be Intentional – Be Invitational – Be Inspirational” and to depict/answer how they, as Catholic school students, invite others into a relationship with Jesus by modeling their Catholic faith?
The 48 Catholic elementary and secondary schools reside in seven counties of the Archdiocese of Louisville. Attached are a sampling of ways in which schools are observing Catholic Schools Week. Media outlets seeking to cover any of these examples should be in touch with the contact at the school(s) to discuss coverage in light of the schools’ COVID-19 restrictions.
Bethlehem High School (309 West Stephen Foster Avenue, Bardstown, Ky.) will hold a variety of activities to honor parishes, community, students, faculty and those who serve the Church through a religious vocation.
On Sunday, January 30, the Bethlehem High School Choir will participate in the 11:00 a.m. Mass at the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral.
On Monday, January 31, Bethlehem will hold a breakfast to honor first responders at 7:30 a.m. in the Bethlehem High School Library. In addition, seniors from Bethlehem will visit feeder
elementary schools closest to the Bethlehem High School campus to read stories of the saints to students in the elementary schools.
On Tuesday, February 1, Bethlehem High School students will participate all day in a scavenger hunt, which is focused on the school’s history, during their religion classes.
On Thursday, February 3, Bethlehem students will write notes of gratitude to priests and to grandparents.
On Friday, February 4, Bethlehem High School teachers will videotape short reflections on the value of Catholic education and the school will honor teachers at a Faculty Luncheon at 11:30 a.m.
On Saturday, February 5, Bethlehem High School will collaborate with the Basilica of St. Joseph’s parish youth group to hold a “Souper Bowl of Caring” in the St. Joseph Parish parking lot at 4:30 p.m. Bethlehem is donating chili to the fund-raiser, which will benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Bread for Life Community Food Pantry in Bardstown.
For information, contact Brigid Manion at (502) 507-9590 or bmanion@bethlehemhigh.org.
St. Raphael School (2131 Lancashire Avenue, Louisville) holds open house.
So that prospective families can see the school in action, St. Raphael School will hold an open house during the school day on Wednesday, February 2 from 9:00 a.m. until noon. For the health and safety of students, staff, and families, St. Raphael is scheduling tours. Please sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0f4ca5a628a0fb6-straphael3.
For information, contact Jenny Garcia at (502) 456-1541 or jgarcia@straparish.org.
Sacred Heart Model School (3107 Lexington Road, Louisville) holds Community Caring for Community Activities during Catholic Schools Week.
Throughout the week, Sacred Heart Model School will live out its campus theme, “Community Caring for Community” through several service projects. The focus is less on the school and more on how members of the school community, as Catholics, serve others in the community.
These include:
- Our Sisters are Souper: a canned soup and can opener drive to benefit Paula’s Pantry and Louisville Area Community Ministries.
- Change Challenge: a collection of loose change to benefit three organizations supported by the Ursuline Sisters. These are St. Mary’s Center, House of Ruth, and Water with Blessings.
- Collection and Creation of Care Kits and Sock Bundles: benefits those facing homelessness at St. John’s Center. There is a goal of collecting 1858 items to honor the year the Ursuline Sisters arrived in Louisville. On Thursday, February 3 at 8:00 a.m., the 7th graders will bundle socks for the St. John Center. This will take place in Brescia Hall (Building 3) on the Sacred Heart Schools Campus.
- Making Valentines: Students will make Valentines, which will be delivered to veterans at the Louisville VA Medical Center.
Activities will be connected each day to Sacred Scripture and to the Ursuline core values.
For more information, contact Allison Bayer, (502) 297-3015 or abayer@shslou.org.
St. James School (401 Robinbrooke Blvd., Elizabethtown) holds Community Breakfast and Cereal Box Domino.
On Tuesday, February 1, at 8:00 a.m. St. James will hold a breakfast for businesses in order to promote the value of a Catholic school education and build relationships in the community.
On Saturday, February 5 at 11:00 a.m., St. James School students and faculty will attempt to tumble a display, set up in a domino formation, of boxes of cereal that students have donated throughout the week for local and regional food banks. This event will take place in the first floor of the school building and into the gymnasium if necessary. If the school collects and tumbles 6,500 boxes, it will break a Guinness World Record.
For more information, contact Jennifer Moran, (270) 765-7011, ext. 110 or jmoran@stjamesetown.org.
John Paul II Academy (3525 Goldsmith Lane, Louisville) holds open house
John Paul II Academy is holding an open house for interested families on Sunday, January 30, 2022, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The school is inviting families to visit the school “where Christ leads and students excel.”
For more information, contact Alicia Conliffe, Principal, (502) 452-1712 or aconliffe@jp2a.org.
