Jason Slattery hopes that the faithful in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis see at work in their local Catholic schools “what the Church teaches about a school, what makes our schools really different: … that Christ is the foundation of the whole educational enterprise in a Catholic school. His revelation gives new meaning to life and helps man to direct his thoughts, actions and will according to the Gospel, making the beatitudes the norm of his life.”
That important vision for a Catholic school is one of the things that gives Catholic Schools Week “such deep and great meaning for the Church, especially in our Catholic school communities,” said Slattery, director of Catholic education for the archdiocese. He recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to talk about Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 29-Feb. 4, and the announcement of a rebranding for Catholic schools in the archdiocese.
During the interview, Slattery shared a story about a third grade teacher at Immaculate Conception School in Columbia Heights. The teacher is working with students in the classroom to pray the rosary for each Catholic school in the archdiocese during Catholic Schools Week. The students are also sending notes to the other schools, “telling them that they’re praying for them, and asking those schools to pray for each other,” Slattery said. “And that’s just a beautiful point of solidarity that comes to us in this great week of Catholic Schools Week.”
Slattery said that example is one of many “beautiful stories” that students could share — “all 31,000 or more of them,” he said, referring to the number of PreK-12 students enrolled in archdiocesan schools this school year.
The education office provides vision, support and direction “to all those who teach in the name of the Church within the archdiocese,” Slattery said, “and schools and catechetical programs so they can achieve their mission to proclaim Christ and form authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.”
The office recently launched a new, systemwide brand for Catholic schools in the archdiocese. The image used with the brand is an icon inspired by art depicting our Blessed Mother’s “seat of wisdom,” he said, and the child Jesus, “that reminds us so much of the care and trust that we seek in a Catholic school.” The depiction contains “layers of symbolism that lay the foundation for the whole of the archdiocesan Catholic school system,” he said.
The image also is intended to remind people of “the gift of being open to life and the importance of trusting that God has a purpose and a plan for every human life,” he said.
The image and articles about the new brand are featured in the Jan. 26 issue of The Catholic Spirit. To learn more about archdiocesan Catholic schools and to hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Jan. 27 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Jan. 28 and 2 p.m. Jan. 29.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who discusses Catholic schools and Bishop-elect Michael Izen’s upcoming ordination; and Laura Hester, director of scholarship programs for the St. Paul-based AIM Higher Foundation, which provides tuition assistance to families in need for use at archdiocesan Catholic grade schools.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
