Catholic Education Week 2023 begins on Sunday, April 30, 2023. The Catholic schools in our parish will engage in a series of events to celebrate the ongoing gift of publicly funded Catholic education. You are invited to learn about the various celebrations that are happening in your children’s school and are welcome to attend, if possible. Publicly funded Catholic education has existed in Ontario since 1841 and its graduates have served Ontario and Canada very well. The current generation of students in our publicly funded Catholic schools will serve with the same spirit and generosity as their previous generations.

This year’s Catholic Education Week theme is, “We are Many, We are One.”

The theme for Catholic Education Week 2023 was inspired by the following considerations:

• The Church worldwide has embarked on a synodal process, “a synod on synodality,” which centres on intentional listening: listening to each other and listening to the Holy Spirit. We have each been asked to actively reach out and listen to the voices and experiences of people where they are and consider what steps the Holy Spirit is inviting us to take as we walk together. As the Catholic Bishops of Ontario highlighted in Renewing the Promise, “It is about taking the time to walk alongside one another, to listen and to teach, and in doing so, to transform.”

• Ongoing recognition of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission and the importance of Indigenous culture and spirituality as we move forward together.

• The Ministry of Education’s focus on Inclusion and Equity resonates with all educators and administrators as we desire to serve all of God’s children, and Pope Francis’ encyclical entitled, Fratelli Tutti, will guide us in this good work.

• The challenges to personal and spiritual well-being posed by the uncertainty of the current global crisis make the timing and the concerns of Mental Health Week, which takes place during the same week as Catholic Education Week, all the more relevant.

The Catholic Education Week biblical quote is, “We, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members, one of another.” (Romans 12:5)