Our Catholic schools are communities of love and learning
Dear friends and families of Catholic schools,
As I write this Catholic Schools Week message, our diocese is blanketed in snow, and a brief hush seems to have settled over our typically frantic world. Every once in a while, something forces us to pause, and it’s usually in those moments that we realize the great benefit of finding a few minutes of silence and stillness in our busy, and sometimes distracting, lives.
Our world is a noisy place, not just in the physical sense — texts pinging on our phones, trucks rumbling by on the highway — but in every other sense as well. We may not realize it, but the daily headlines that broadcast the news, the social media that feeds insecurities, the non-stop emails that draw us back into work afterhours, all of it is a kind of noise that can cloud our mind and keep us from truly hearing the important things around us and, more than that, the voice of God in our hearts.
This time in our Church’s history can leave us wondering how things might look as we forge ahead. What gives me hope — and what can give all of us hope — is what we see happening in our Catholic schools across the diocese. These communities of love and learning are a place apart from the non-stop noise, a place where children are heard, and where they learn to listen. Where they learn to love, and love to learn. In the midst of uncertainty in our world and our Church, our Catholic schools not only educate our students but give them a focus on faith that will lead them through even the loudest of terrains.
All you need to do is look at the photos we post on our Catholic School Office social media pages every Friday to see what I mean. Smiling faces, incredible classroom projects, community service, moments of peaceful prayer, and so much joy you won’t be able to keep from smiling yourself. Our schools truly are a beacon of hope in a world that can beat us down, and that is no small thing! Are you following us on social media? Give yourself this simple respite.
Our amazing pastors, principals, faculty, and staff work tirelessly day after day to give our students a safe place where they can learn and grow, not just intellectually but emotionally and spiritually as well. These communities, built upon faith and through the support of families and friends who understand the value of grounding an education in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, are an oasis of light and possibility. We recognize the challenges our students face and help them meet those challenges in every area, but at the same time, we know how critical it is for our children to have the time and space and guidance needed to learn to slow down, listen deeply, and make choices not based on the world outside but on the Spirit within.
When I watch our students walk across the graduation stage each year, I marvel at how far they’ve come, not just academically but as well-rounded people who are kind and caring, who know the difference between background noise and something that deserves their attention. It reminds me just how necessary our Catholic schools are in a secular world that so often forgets to anchor itself in something bigger — faith, excellence, and service.
Giovanni Virgiglio, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools, Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany
