Dear Friends,
This week in the United States we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, a time set aside to mark the many contributions that Catholic schools across the country make to our Church and our society as a whole. While the number of Catholic schools has diminished, it is sad to say, over the years, their importance to the future of our Church remains unchanged. By way of illustration, when I was a student at SS. Peter and Paul School in Waterbury in the late 1960's and early 1970's, there were eleven Catholic schools in Waterbury alone. My school had an enrollment of 750 students at the time. Today, sadly, there are only two schools. My own alma mater closed in 2019.
I cite these statistics not to be gloomy but to stress the importance of Catholic education and the need to continue to support it to the best of our ability. We are blessed as a parish to have a school, and not just any school, but an excellent one at that. St. Mary’s School this year celebrates sixty years of providing excellence in education and excellence in religious formation. The state of our school is quite good. Enrollment has held more or less steady. There are no serious financial concerns at the present. In this time of pandemic, our school has stepped up and faced the challenges with vigor and determination. The leadership and guidance of our new principal, Deacon Dominic Corraro, has already reaped significant improvements. The faculty and staff have faced and met the challenges of both inperson learning as well as remote learning with determination. The students, well over three hundred in all, have also met the challenges imposed by the pandemic, namely the wearing of masks, social distancing, and hand hygiene with the spirit of true cooperation.
I am optimistic about the future of our school. The spirit of cooperation, the level of support, and the enthusiasm all point to a bright future. While there are some priests who would not in any way desire to be the pastor of a parish with a school, I am not one of them. I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead a parish, a strong parish at that, with an excellent school. I also once again pledge to do whatever I can to insure that the future of our school is solid. Join with me in praying for all Catholic schools this week. Keep our students, their families, and the members of the faculty and staff in your prayers.
I have a slight modification to make regarding a change in policy regarding prayers for the sick at Mass that I announced several weeks ago. Instead of eliminating specific prayers for the sick altogether, it seems better to provide a means whereby specific names can be prayed for silently by the priest at Mass, thereby insuring due regard for privacy. Therefore, beginning February 1, if you would like to have someone who is sick to be prayed for at Mass, please call in the name each week to the rectory. We will place a list of those names on the altars in both churches and the priests will include them in silent prayer at the Mass. I ask that the names be called in each week so that we can be sure that we are praying for those who are sick, and not including names of those who, happily, have recovered or, sadly, who have died. In any case please know that it is my custom to include in the Prayer of the Faithful a general intention for all of the sick at all weekend Masses.