In The Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, writes, “The specific purpose of a Catholic education is the formation of boys and girls who will be good citizens of the world, loving God and neighbor and enriching society with the leaven of the Gospel, and who will also be citizens of the world to come, thus fulfilling their destiny to become saints.” In Catholic schools, achievement depends less upon the teaching of reading, writing, and arithmetic than it does upon the dedication of gifted and faithful Catholic educators who embrace that forming future saints is both a gift and a challenge. The task to which Catholic educators are called demands a deep personal relationship with Christ and imitation of him in both word and behavior – characteristics of a school that is permeated by the Christian spirit rather than one where religion is simply taught (The Catholic School, Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, 1977).

Consistently boasting graduation rates of 99% – significantly exceeding national averages – Catholic schools not only prize academic achievement but also offer something rarer: a formation focused on the intellectual, spiritual, moral, social, and emotional development of each child, created in the image and likeness of God. Integrated with faith and reason working together in the search for truth, each subject helps students understand that success is to be measured by virtue, character, and service, rather than solely by a collection of academic and athletic accolades, leading students to ponder, Who do I want to become? and more importantly, Who is God calling me to be? Research continues to show that Catholic school graduates are more likely to attend and complete college and embrace lifelong habits of service, leadership, and civic engagement.

In a culture saturated with technology, ambiguous identity, anxiety, and lacking morality, today’s parents face unique challenges, leading them to seek educational opportunities offering more than standardized test scores and college acceptance rates. They are eager for partners to help form children into young people who seek truth, pursue holiness, and serve others with love. Catholic schools respond to that need by nurturing faith, practicing virtue, and cultivating wisdom through prayer, sacraments, service learning, moral decision-making, and fostering meaningful relationships. The true success of Catholic schools – heaven’s acceptance rate – is impossible to measure. Until then, we can rely upon the numbers of alumni who become faithful spouses, devoted parents, ethical leaders, and generous volunteers. To be like Christ is to see others with mercy, pursue justice with courage, seek truth with humility, and recognize that every life deserves immense dignity. Catholic education cultivates these habits as it prepares students not only for the world, but for sanctity.

Catholic schools in the Diocese of Savannah have a long and storied history. Pre-existing the current structure of the public school system and having formed many leaders in education, medicine, the arts, and government – including a US Supreme Court Justice – our diocese’s schools host the longest continuously operating Catholic school in Georgia, the state’s first and only Catholic school for special education, and a school built by St. Katharine Drexel. Influenced by the spiritual charisms of their founding orders – including the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Presentation Sisters, Sisters of St. Joseph, Marist Brothers and the continued services of the Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Daughters of Charity, Franciscans, and Benedictines – Catholic schools in the Diocese of Savannah have flourished through constant focus on the Gospel; for without it, the Catholic school loses its purpose (The Catholic School). In every classroom, chapel, athletic field, and service project, Catholic schools serve as the largest evangelizing arm of the Church, shepherding young people to discover that faith and learning are mutually inclusive, equipping the next generation with tools not simply to change the world, but to transform it with the love of Christ.