CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 2010

Ambria Hammel/CATHOLIC SUN

Xavier College Preparatory cheerleaders were among nearly 1,000 students rallying at the state capitol Feb. 3 to celebrate the tuition tax credit.

Catholic Schools Week celebrates stewardship, tax credit

Faith, education and state government converged Feb. 3 for the pinnacle of the annual Catholic Schools Week celebration.

Arizona’s three bishops kicked off National Appreciation Day for Catholic Schools by meeting with state legislators.

The bishops then concelebrated an all-schools Mass for students and rallied with them at the state capitol to reaffirm Catholic education’s vital role in the Church and the community.

The day of events was all part of the annual Catholic Schools Week festivities, which campuses nationwide celebrated Jan. 31-Feb. 6.

The diocesan celebration got underway with an all-schools Mass at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. Special attention was given to ways students can help others regardless of age or income.

Gallup Bishop James S. Wall, who was the homilist at the Catholic Schools Week Mass, challenged students to be generous with their God-given gifts.

“All that I am, all that I have and all that I am able to do is a gift from God,” he said to the nearly 1,000 students in attendance. The key, then, is to give back to God.

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The bishop named St. Blaise, a martyr and the saint of the day, and St. John Vianney as models of stewardship. Both men exemplified the scriptural ideal of “laying down one’s life for one’s friends.”

MaryBeth Mueller, superintendent of the diocese’s 43 schools, led a brief recognition service at the end of Mass for four local leaders who have dedicated their lives to Catholic education. She, alongside Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, recognized an elementary school nurse and two high school educators for their 25 years of service to the diocese.

Mueller didn’t overlook the parents, priests, teachers and school administrators for their sacrifices in making a Catholic education available. She encouraged students to thank them for their leadership, which many did through school-level activities.

During a lunchtime rally on the Senate lawn, cheer teams from four Valley high schools plus a Tucson high school led hundreds of students in cheers for the tuition tax credit and the Catholic Tuition Organization for the Diocese of Phoenix.

Many elementary school students also made their own appreciation posters for legislators.

Tim Vee, former Senate president, spoke on behalf of Gov. Jan Brewer. He emphasized her support for school choice, which gives families education options.

Ron Johnson, executive director of the Arizona Catholic Conference, the Church’s legislative arm, also spoke at the rally. While private school enrollment is down in most states, the tuition tax credit in Arizona is sustaining enrollment, which has seen a slight increase.

“It helps parents send their kids to the best schools they want and it saves the state money,” Johnson said of a Catholic education. “It’s a win-win situation.”