Dear Pastors, Principals, Teachers, Parents, and Students:
May God bless you during this special week when we celebrate the contributions of our Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Louisville! We have a lot to celebrate.
Faith. Excellence. Service. These three words from the theme for Catholic Schools Week speak so well to the qualities that our schools proclaim and that our young people experience.
Our schools are centers of faith, and our faith in Jesus Christ is the reason our schools exist. Every day, children and youth in our Catholic schools are invited to know Jesus personally, to love Him intimately, and to serve him wholeheartedly. The foundation of faith around which we build our school programs permeates every aspect of the school day and continues beyond it.
Students thrive from the excellence of the Catholic school educational experience. We celebrate the stellar test scores, millions of dollars in college scholarships and the innovation and professionalism that are the hallmarks of Catholic schools. We know that all students emerge from Catholic schools with a rigorous liberal arts education and with the skills needed to build a better world today and tomorrow.
I am very proud of the way in which faith and excellence are manifested in service to others and in an embrace of a calling that is greater than each individual’s success. Indeed, in Catholic schools, students learn that their greatest potential lies in that intersection of their God-given gifts, the desire to learn and service to others.
I want to say a special word of thanks to our school leaders, teachers and school staff for their heroic efforts over the past year. From an abrupt transition to remote learning last spring to this fall’s return to in-person instruction in the midst of so much fear and uncertainty, you have nobly and gracefully demonstrated these qualities of faith, excellence and service. I know I join parents and students in my thanks for your courage and commitment.
Finally, I want to extend my deep gratitude to our Superintendent of Schools, Leisa Schulz, who will be retiring this summer. She has been a wonderful leader who has accomplished so much for our schools over these past 23 years, in addition to her excellent service as a teacher and principal since 1980! I am especially thankful for her calm and confident leadership during the many challenges facing our schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. As I thank Leisa, I warmly welcome Dr. Mary Beth Bowling, who will succeed her.
Please know of my prayers for all of you. Happy Catholic Schools Week 2021!
Sincerely yours in our Lord,
Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D.
Archbishop of Louisville
