Archdiocese of Chicago’s Schools Celebrate National Catholic Schools Week 2020
Chicago, IL (Jan. 22, 2020) – Catholic Schools Week, an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States, takes place this year from Sunday, Jan. 26 through Saturday, Feb. 1. The theme for this year’s celebration is Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed. The 205 Catholic schools across the Archdiocese of Chicago will mark the week with special activities including, Masses, service projects, community appreciation efforts, open houses, talent shows, pep rallies, and guest speakers.
“Catholic Schools Week is a wonderful time for Catholic schools across the country to celebrate their successes and the positive impact they’ve had on their communities,” said Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago. “We are blessed to be entrusted with the spiritual and academic formation of young men and women in the Archdiocese of Chicago as we prepare them for adulthood.”
Research has shown that a Catholic education pays dividends throughout a student’s life. Ninety-eight percent of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Catholic high school students graduate with 96 percent attending college after graduation. When compared with public school graduates, Catholic school graduates are: four times more likely to vote; to be found in leadership positions in business, government and non-profit organizations; to have higher earning potential; and to be more civically engaged and committed to service as adults.
The Archdiocese of Chicago schools are proud to welcome students of diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition, more than 17 percent of our students are not of the Catholic faith.
“During Catholic Schools Week, we celebrate the exceptional contributions of our schoolteachers, leaders, and staff who work relentlessly on behalf of their students,” said Dr. Jim Rigg, superintendent of Catholic Schools. “Catholic schools not only form children in knowledge but inspire their development of faith and values. This enables them to be civically engaged and work to improve the world around them.”
Cupich will preside over Catholic Schools Week Masses prior to the start of Catholic Schools Week at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Resurrection College Prep High School, 7500 W. Talcott Ave., Chicago, and at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, with St. Nicholas of Tolentine and Queen of the Universe Schools at St. Nicholas of Tolentine, 3741 W. 62nd St., Chicago.
Rigg will attend Catholic Schools Week activities throughout the week across the archdiocese. These activities include:
Wednesday, Jan. 29
8 a.m.
Rigg will attend Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe School, 9050 S. Burley Ave., Chicago.
Friday, Jan. 31
8:15 a.m.
Rigg will attend a Blue Ribbon Celebration Mass at Ss. Cyril & Methodius, 607 Sobieski St., Lemont, Ill.
The annual Catholic Schools Week celebration is a joint project of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Catholic Schools Week was established in 1974 to recognize the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to the Church, communities and nation. Nearly 1.8 million students are currently educated in 6,289 Catholic schools throughout the United States.
To learn more about the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Catholic schools, visit schools.archchicago.org.
