By Dr. Angela Johnson
What an exciting time to serve, learn and worship in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco! In celebration of National Catholic Schools Week, reflection on the first half of the academic year recalls the numerous blessings and successes of the first semester that fill hearts with gratitude and sustains a sense of hope from the completion of the Jubilee Year.
It seems as if it was just yesterday that new principals were gathering with the Department of Catholic Schools at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University at the start of the Fons Et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit, to attend the Forum on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacred Music and Catholic Identity in Education with the Cardinal Newman Society. The summit and the forum inspired a liturgical renewal throughout the academic year, which has led to initiatives that promote increased celebration of the sacred liturgy for students, inaugural implementation of the Theology of the Body program and professional development for teachers in sacred music, to name a few.
Led by the Holy Spirit, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone continuously leads the liturgical renewal and is constantly mindful of how Catholic schools play a significant role. “Catholic schools provide a sacred space where students can learn to be attentive to the gentle voice of Christ, the Good Shepherd,” wrote Archbishop Cordileone. They do this through prayer, spending time reflecting on Scripture, and especially through the encounter with Christ in the sacred liturgy” (Catholic San Francisco, September 2025).
In response to the liturgical renewal, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco have made strides to foster more opportunities for students to attend the sacred liturgy and learn about Theology of the Body from St. John Paul II. Prior to the start of this academic year, at St. Brendan Parish, the pastor, Father Michael Quinn, and the principal, Dianne Lakatta, collaborated and strategically planned for the students at the school to attend Mass at the parish on a weekly basis. On the Feast of the Assumption, the faculty attended Mass celebrated by Father Quinn and then participated in the flagship training for the implementation of the Theology of the Body program, led by speakers from the Ruah Woods Institute, Kathleen Cory and Dena Reany.
The church and school collaboration are a living testament to how the sacred liturgy transforms catechetical and leadership formation of Catholic school administration, faculty, staff, students, parents and families, and renews Catholic education when it is centered in the Eucharist. The sacred time and space for children to be able to stop and pause in their day to reflect on their Creator is an essential part of the Catholic school day. Students of all ages, including the youngest children, are taught to be able to “listen” to the voice of the Lord with their hearts and not necessarily their ears.
In her insightful book, “The Mass Explained to Children,” Maria Montessori wrote, “Therefore, in this question of the liturgical education of children it is very important for us not only to teach them what they must know, but to lift ourselves to a much more sensitive frame of mind in order to be able to teach it.” Catholic educators are called to consistently and constantly cultivate their own liturgical formation and spiritual development if they are to pass on an authentic liturgical understanding and promote active participation among students. According to “The Identity of the Catholic Schools for a Culture of Dialogue” (2022), Catholic educators in schools and universities bear the responsibility to ensure that all students, regardless of age or developmental level, not only pass on the faith and how to participate in it but truly live the faith.
As the Department of Catholic Schools seeks to further support the liturgical renewal, it has partnered with various leading, mission-driven organizations to train administrators and teachers in support of their spiritual formation and the instructional leadership capacities. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, director of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, provided teachers with training on sacred music for the sacred liturgy and the classroom environment. She will offer ongoing training to teachers in the spring as well.
The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education offered various presentations to administrators and teachers on pedagogical and leadership methodologies that engage Catholic schools in the traditions and practices of the faith in all aspects of spiritual and intellectual formation. Thus, these efforts testify to the recent report that when Catholic schools place the sacred liturgy at the center of their programming, priorities naturally and supernaturally align, which inevitably results in increased academic achievement, increased enrollment and increased retention of staffing and students, to name a few, according to the Cardinal Newman Society (2023).
In honor of National Catholic Schools Week, further inspiration for Catholic education in the United States is drawn from the liturgical legacy of f Pope Benedict XVI and his profound message for this nation at The Catholic University of America during his visit in the spring of 2008, where he called Catholic educators around the world to minister in all their respective roles in schools or universities in bringing all students, regardless of age, to encounter Jesus in the liturgy and to foster a deeper love for Him and for the salvation of all souls.
Pope Benedict pointed out that the United States, despite its relatively youthful age, had been blessed with the fruits of the legacy of American Catholic education founded by some of the holiest saints in history – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Frances Cabrini and St. Katharine Drexel, to name a few. Across the nation, Catholic schools have cultivated families, national and global leaders, and innumerable vocations, including that of Pope Leo XIV, who was educated in a Catholic parochial school, as well as at the seminary and university levels, in the United States.
Therefore, together, in joyful support of the popes, bishops, especially Archbishop Cordileone, and priests of the Church, may parents, the primary educators, and Catholic educators and catechists continue to partner in efforts that support the liturgical renewal in Catholic schools and form the next generation of missionary disciples, vocations and global leaders, who are committed to a deep spirituality that leads to the presence of Christ in the Eucharist for the salvation of all souls.
Reference: https://www.ncregister.com/features/how-daily-mass-transformed-a-catholic-school-in-kentucky
Dr. Angela Johnson is the associate superintendent for elementary schools.
