I was well into adulthood before I understood that my father’s seven‑day‑a‑week work schedule wasn’t simply the demands of the factory that employed him for over 40 years.
His was a quiet sacrifice — so many long hours of overtime worked so that all seven of his children could receive a Catholic education. And that education was rooted in a parish that was so much more than the place we gathered each Sunday morning.
The parish was the center of our lives: school, worship, friendships, service and community celebrations. My whole family found communion and community there, woven into a fabric so familiar that, as a child, I did not fully appreciate or even understand its value.
I certainly did not grasp the magnitude of my father’s commitment — his willingness to trade rest for time‑and‑a‑half pay, year after year; nor did I understand the steadfast dedication of my mother, who cared for our home and all of us with that same devotion.
Catholic elementary school, Catholic high school, and for many of us, even Catholic university, simply felt like “the way things were.” I assumed every family lived this way.
It wasn’t until I became an adult — one who chose a lifelong vocation in Catholic education — that the reality of my parents’ sacrifice and devotion came into focus. Only then did I understand the gift they had given us.
As we enter Catholic Schools Week, I find myself returning to that foundation my parents quietly built — one extra shift at work, one tuition payment, one act of faith at a time.
Their sacrifices did more than provide an education; they instilled in me a deep love for Catholic schools and a conviction that faith‑filled education changes lives. Today, as superintendent, I recognize that the work I am privileged to oversee is the direct result of what they began.
“Our schools are not simply academic institutions; they are communities of discipleship where students learn to see the world through the lens of the Gospel values.”
The gratitude I carry for my parents naturally extends now to all of the parents, grandparents, guardians and benefactors who make similar sacrifices so that over 18,000 students in the Archdiocese of Louisville can encounter Christ in the classroom.
This year’s theme, United in Faith and Community, captures the heart of what Catholic education has always been: a shared mission rooted in the belief that we are stronger, holier and more hopeful when we walk together.
Our schools are not simply academic institutions; they are communities of discipleship where students learn to see the world through the lens of the Gospel values. In hallways and classrooms, through service projects and prayer services, during moments of challenge and moments of joy, we witness what happens when faith becomes the bond that unites us in community.
In the Archdiocese of Louisville, our mission calls us to foster each student’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ through faith formation and education to inspire and nurture a lifelong commitment to faith, service, and learning. That mission is lived every day by our teachers who model compassion, by our principals and pastors who lead with integrity, by our staff who serve with humility, and by our students who develop faith, friendship and a future vision because of this mission.
Catholic Schools Week gives us the opportunity to celebrate all of this. And for me, it is also a moment to remember the two people who first taught me the value of Catholic education — my father and mother — whose sacrifices continue to echo in the work I am blessed to lead today.
