First published as “Together on the Journey: A Weekly Word from Archbishop Hebda”
January 29, 2024
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Happy Catholic Schools Week! Each year in the last week of January, the Church in the United States celebrates the mission of our Catholic schools. In our Archdiocese we are blessed with 91 Catholic schools, which serve more than 31,000 preschool-12 students by providing an excellent education that fosters the faith and serves our beautifully diverse communities. I love visiting our schools and was thrilled this morning to celebrate Mass with 7,000 of our students at the Xcel Energy Center. The presence of nearly 60 pastors certainly demonstrates that there is widespread support in this local Church for the work of Catholic education.
Here in the Archdiocese, we have placed our schools under the patronage of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom. Saint John Henry Newman explained, “Mary has this title in her Litany, because the Son of God, who is also called in Scripture the Word and Wisdom of God, once dwelt in her, and then, after His birth of her, was carried in her arms and seated in her lap in His first years. Thus, being as it were, the human throne of Him who reigns in heaven, she is called the ‘Seat of Wisdom.'”
I have been counting on the Blessed Mother to intercede for our schools and our students, pointing them to her son, Wisdom Incarnate, as their educational model. Catholic schools take a holistic approach to forming the mind, heart, and soul of each student, always with the aim of helping them to know Jesus Christ. The various subjects that are taught — math, literature, science, etc. — all come together in the person of Jesus.
That encounter with Jesus hinges on the phenomenal ministry of the women and men in our Archdiocese who have dedicated themselves to the work of Catholic education. I think not only of our principals and teachers, but also of the committed professionals who work in the Archdiocesan Office for the Mission of Catholic Education (OMCE). They are the heroes in our midst, and I can understand why parents would be willing to give us the privileged opportunity to collaborate with them in the education of their children.
We are also really blessed to have so many generous Catholics in our Archdiocese who are committed to the success of our schools, even when they no longer have school-aged children. I know that many are acting from the deep gratitude that they have for what they received from Catholic schools. Others point to the positive impact that excellent Catholic education has on our community. All recognize that the future of our Church depends upon our ability to pass on the faith to our youth.
As we begin Catholic Schools Week, I’d encourage you to not only learn more about Catholic education in our Archdiocese (perhaps by going to spmcatholicschools.org, or joining one of our school communities for Mass), but also to join me in praying for our Catholic schools. I love the prayer Saint John Paul II shared in his encyclical, Fides et Ratio: “May Mary, Seat of Wisdom, be a sure haven for all who devote their lives to the search for wisdom. May their journey into wisdom, sure and final goal of all true knowing, be freed of every hindrance by the intercession of the one who, in giving birth to the Truth and treasuring it in her heart, has shared it forever with all the world.” Through Mary’s intercession, may God bless in abundance our Catholic school students we well as their families, principals and teachers, and reward all who sacrifice to make Catholic education possible.