2025 Catholic Schools Week Supplement

Our 68 Catholic schools transform lives and instill hope

Dear Friends in Christ,

We have embarked on the Jubilee Year, exhorted by Pope Francis to be “Pilgrims of Hope.” There is no greater means of experiencing hope than in communion with the Holy Trinity—God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This focus of our Jubilee Year is enhanced by the national theme for Catholic Schools Week, “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community.” The 68 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis provide a transformative impact of instilling hope for individuals and families throughout central and southern Indiana

Our Catholic schools excel in academics, athletics, the arts and service. Most fundamental to the identity and mission of any Catholic school, however, are its roots in the Church’s task of evangelization and catechesis. With a primary focus on forming missionary disciples of Jesus Christ, our Catholic schools strive to form hearts and educate minds in the two-fold command of loving God and neighbor as a means of transforming students and educators as well as families and society.

In the spirit of synodality, we must be intentional about calling forth each baptized member to embrace the universal call to communion, participation and mission in the life of the Church. For a Catholic school to be credible and effective in its core mission, its members must strive to cultivate a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, which requires a commitment to both worship and service.

It is the task of both students and educators to grow in the life of faith through an openness to the Holy Spirit by means of prayer, both personal and communal, the Word of God, the grace of the sacraments, the teachings of the faith and a life oriented toward service.

As a mission of the Church, Catholic schools strive to transform rather than be transformed by culture. Catholic teaching is predicated on the firm belief in the saving grace of the kerygma—namely, the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that Catholic schools are equipped with crucifixes, immersed in daily prayer, and find their ultimate meaning in the celebration of the Eucharist at Mass, the source and summit of our identity and mission as Catholics.

With assurance of my continued prayers, especially for blessings upon our Catholic schools, I remain

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson
 

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