Guest Column: Discover Catholic Schools Week

October 28, 2023

Editor’s Note: The following originally ran in the Nov. 7, 2021 issue of The West Texas Catholic.

“True education enables us to love life and opens us to the fullness of life.”
—Pope Francis, 2014

This month, we invite our Catholic community to DISCOVER Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Amarillo. Our Catholic schools are a gift to our parishes, our diocese, our community and our nation because they introduce us to what is possible in Christ. Our schools are integral to the mission of the Church in that they provide students with an encounter with Christ. We invite you—parents, students, volunteers and benefactors—to join this mission. For parents, choosing a Catholic school in the Diocese of Amarillo means never having to choose between your children’s academic enrichment and their moral and spiritual development.

Catholic education, which begins in the home and is supported in our Catholic Schools, enables us to believe, to deepen our Faith and to hear the Word of Christ, indeed, to encounter Him so that we can then go out and proclaim the “Good News.” In our Catholic schools, students encounter the traditions of the Catholic Faith. Through the celebration of Mass, the Sacraments and daily prayer, students keep God close at hand as they move through the hours of their day. A life of Christian Faith is practiced not only through prayer but also through outreach and service to the community. In their classrooms, students learn about the works of mercy, the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the principles of social justice.
Our Catholic high school, Holy Cross Catholic Academy, and elementary schools—St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Joseph in Amarillo, as well as St. Anthony in Hereford and St. Anthony of Padua in Dalhart—are part of a centuries-long tradition of academic excellence in the Diocese of Amarillo. Please join us and DISCOVER the value of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Amarillo. Your children are worth it.

For more about Discover Catholic Schools Week, please visit one of our five diocesan Catholic Schools or see the advertisement on page 7 of this issue of The West Texas Catholic.
• Holy Cross Catholic Academy, Amarillo, 806-355-9637, online at holycrossama.org. Craig Logan is Head of School;
• St. Joseph’s School, Amarillo, 806-359-1604, online at stjosephamarillo.com. Angela Seidenberger serves as principal;
• St. Mary’s Cathedral School, Amarillo, 806-376-9112, online at stmarysamarillo.org. Lydia O’Rear is principal;
• St. Anthony of Padua School, Dalhart, 806-244-4811, online at stanthonydalhart.com. The principal is Shay Batenhorst; and,
• St. Anthony’s School, Hereford, 806-364-1952, online at herefordstanthonys.com. Linda Gonzalez is in her second year as school principal.

Christine Wanjura is Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Amarillo and the Diocese of Lubbock.