Secondary Schools

By Sue Brown, Director of Marketing and Community Relations--Catholic Education Office

"The first essential mark of a school’s Catholic identity is that faith in God is proclaimed in everything the school does," said Archbishop Robert J. Carlson in his St. Louis Review column, “Before the Cross” (Oct. 7, 2011). “Catholic schools teach by words and example that we are called, first and foremost, to be women and men who love God, love our neighbor and look forward to our destiny to be happy with Him in heaven. If God is at the center of your school’s daily life, you will have a strong Catholic identity. Your school will truly be Alive in Christ!”

One way Catholic schools teach young Catholics to love their neighbor is through Christian service programs that are an integral part of the school’s academic and faith formation curriculum. Often, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis partner with social service agencies, many of which are Catholic, to learn about their ministries and to offer their support through personal contributions of their time, talent and treasure.

Ursuline Academy's 5th annual Cardboard Village was held the evening of Friday, October 14, through the morning of Saturday, October 15. Sixty-one students and six co-workers experienced homelessness by sleeping overnight in cardboard boxes on the school's athletic field.  Each student raised a minimum of $30 to benefit St. Patrick Center's “Key Player Initiative.”  Students were allowed to bring only what they could carry in their box—no electronics or food were allowed. After setting up their living arrangements for the night, students were educated by two local organizations who serve the homeless of St. Louis—St. Patrick Center and Covenant House.  Kristen Bracken, volunteer coordinator from St. Patrick Center, said of the organization's Key Player Initiative, "Thanks to Ursuline's annual Cardboard Village project, five individuals who were homeless have received the services needed to make a positive, permanent change in their life."  This event alone raised over $2,000 for St. Patrick Center's Key Player Initiative.    

St. Patrick Center also hosted 140 students from Christ Prince of Peace, St. Mary Magdalen and Villa Duchesne/Oak Hill Catholic Schools for the agency’s “A Hand Up” homeless simulation presentation for St. Louis area middle school and high school students. For two hours, the students learned about the homelessness issue and St. Patrick Center programs in three core areas—housing, employment and health. The social justice experience included a virtual tour, a mock client intake session and three interactive breakout sessions. Students from St. Mary Magdalen (pictured above) also shared how they raise money for St. Patrick Center as one of the agency’s Key Player schools (CPOP & VDOH are also Key Player schools). To register a group of your students to attend “A Hand Up,” visit the St. Patrick Center website: http://www.stpatrickcenter.org/volunteer/youth-opportunities/

In the Ste. Genevieve Deanery, the Vincentian Marian Youth Group, founded in 2004, has grown to national status.  Local high school students participate in mission trips throughout the year.  Last June, VMY took approximately 100 high schoolers to Little Rock, Arkansas, and last weekend, VMY hosted a Mission Box Experience, through which students had to "beg" for donations for the poor and come to the event with their own box to sleep in overnight.  What was NOT typical of a homeless night was the Eucharistic celebration that began the evening. Money collected will provide new windows for the home of a local woman and a used van for a needy man to get to and from work. Twenty-three students from Valle Catholic High School in Ste. Genevieve and St. Vincent Catholic High School in Perryville participated.