The Catholic Education Foundation Futures Committee recently toured and had lunch with students at Resurrection Catholic School, the parochial school located next to the Cathedral of St. Peter in Kansas City, KS. This is the second time I’ve had the privilege of spending time at one of our CEF Schools. Both times I’ve left with a sense of pride. Pride in the Church’s mission in providing education to our youth, even with limited financial resources, and pride in the universality of our Faith.

About twelve of our CEF Futures Committee members attended the lunch at Resurrection and each of us were greeted by two eighth graders who gave us personal tours of the campus. Immediately, I was impressed by how personable and engaged these students were in one-on-one conversation. They were eager to share that their school has received the “CEF School of Excellence” award four times. After the tour, we had an opportunity to converse with Mrs. Higgins, the school principal. She shared how many of the students come from diverse backgrounds, many families being refugees resettled in the Kansas City area by Catholic Charities. Many of these students are bilingual and speak a different language at home than they do at school.  Even though the students speak various languages and come from various socio-economic backgrounds, they share a common faith which is brought to fruition by the school. What a wonderful example of the universality of our Catholic faith!

Resurrection is a consolidated school of five KCK parishes: Cathedral of St. Peter, St. John the Baptist, All Saints, and St. Mary/St. Anthony. Financial resources at these parishes are scarce, so supporting the school becomes burdensome at times. As Mrs. Higgins said to us, “The mission of the Catholic Church is to educate children.” This is where the CEF steps in; to support Catholic education by assisting schools, parishes, administrators, teachers, and families to not only keep doors open and keep children in Catholic school but create environments in pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness for students in the Catholic tradition.

I was blessed with a Catholic education for my last two years of high school, but my experience was not the same as the students at Resurrection. Firstly, my school had considerable financial resources in comparison and secondly, diversity was severely lacking in my high school. We have much to learn from schools such as Resurrection. Their dedication to the mission of education and, as Pope St. John Paul II said, “handing on the timeless message of Jesus Christ to its youngest members” shines through in their resolve to fight financial battles and their expression of the universality of the Church. My experience at Resurrection strengthened my faith in Catholic education, my belief in the mission of the CEF, and my awe at the Church’s diversity.

‍