This week all 12 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Corpus Christi have joined other Catholic schools across the nation in celebration of National Catholic Schools Week. Many schools began the week by celebrating Mass with their parishes on Sunday, Jan. 30. This year the celebration includes the theme "Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service." 

Many Gifts, One Nation will begin Feb. 1. Many Gifts, One Nation is a day of giving for Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. One day a year, for 24 hours, our participating schools will have a dedicated site open for monetary gifts from anyone wanting to give back to their Catholic school of choice. 

St. Patrick School students Story Mendez, Josefina Orines and Kate Ruiz won first place in the local and district level of the Knights of Columbus: “Keep Christ in Christmas Poster Contest” for the 2021-2022 school year. These three artists will go on to compete at the state level. 

Forty students from St. John Paul II High School boarded an early morning bus and braved the cold weather to attend the Rally for Life in Austin on Jan. 22.  

Young men from St. John Paul High School prepare for the Exodus 90 challenge. These juniors and seniors will be led by their teachers Matthew Heeder and Benjamin Nye through the Exodus 90 program, which is a 90-day spiritual exercise for men based on the pillars of prayer, asceticism and fraternity. 

Children whose parent is incarcerated received a Christmas gift with a message of love at a private drive-thru event held at Christ the King Church on Dec. 16. 

Incarnate Word Academy hosted the first-ever Angel Lights event on Dec. 9 at the Elementary Level Pavilion.

Locally, we have youth and young adult groups that lead and encourage teens to follow Christ. At St. John Paul II High School (JPII) in Corpus Christi, the Night of Worship has begun to gather more and more high school students, their families and the community. The night highlights prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. 

Fifth graders from St. Pius X School went to see the Blessed Mother exhibit at the Mary and Jeff Bell Library on Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) campus on Dec. 3. Artist, Avery Rodriguez, displayed 21 porcelain vases of Mary and Jesus as part of her Bachelor of Fine Arts art show.

Twelve-year-old Samantha Lee never imagined she had any talent for sewing. But just a few weeks into her new sewing class at Bishop Garriga Middle Preparatory School, she is already making plans to elevate her skills.“I found out I’m really pretty good at this,” Samantha said with a beaming smile. “I’m looking forward to making clothes for my family and maybe a scarf for myself someday.”

The Diocese of Corpus Christi Office of Catholic Schools held the 36th Annual Diocesan Catholic Educators’ Conference (DCEC) virtually on Nov. 12. The professional development conference is designed to energize teachers, faculty and staff with keynote speakers who will inspire them with “relevant strategies, ideas, techniques and winning best practices,” said Dr. Rosemary Henry, superintendent of Catholic Schools. “We accomplished all this and more. Teaching and learning can be a joy!” 

The Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament (IWBS) have been teaching, evangelizing, and accompanying people in Corpus Christi and surrounding areas for the past 150 years. In celebration of this incredible milestone, Bishop Michael Mulvey presided over their 150th Anniversary Mass and the anniversary of their school, Incarnate Word Academy (IWA), at Corpus Christi Cathedral on Nov. 5. 

In October, the Office of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Corpus Christi hosted their first-ever 2021 School Safety Poster Contest. October is packed with safety observations, from bullying prevention to internet safety, from fire prevention to Red Ribbon Week.

Incarnate Word Academy’s Varsity Volleyball team will hosted their annual Dig Pink and Senior Night game on Oct. 27 in the Mother Patricia Gunning Gymnasium. The Lady Angels will played against St. Augustine Catholic High School.

Fifth-grade students from St. Pius X began their first annual Virtual Cyber Robotics and Coding Competition through CoderZ on Oct. 27. They are currently in their second week of competition, competing with 99 teams worldwide while developing their STEM and coding skills. STEM is a curriculum based on educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

St. John Paul II High School community of students, staff, teachers, bishops and priests celebrated their patron saint’s feast day with Mass, praise and worship, adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation at the school's campus on Oct. 22.

Incarnate Word Academy Middle Level students celebrated Rock Your School Day on October 21. At the IWA Middle Level, teachers hosted an array of activities and events in their classrooms, including science experiments, camping activities, creating art, theater games, track and field activities, and more. 

Incarnate Word Academy hosted its first-ever IWA Cares Farmer’s Market on Sept. 30 at the High School Level patio. The school invited individuals and businesses who embody the words of Genesis, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it,” to participate in the IWA Cares Famer’s Market.

During Celina Garcia’s computer class, St. John Paul II High School students, who volunteered to work on Chromebook repairs, repaired a Chromebook that had a broken screen. 

At the behest of Bishop Michael Mulvey, the Diocese of Corpus Christi has begun a partnership with Partners in Mission. The first information session was held on Sept. 16 at the St. Juliana Family Center of Most Precious Blood Parish. Seventy participants representing Catholic schools attended the session led by Partners in Mission facilitator Steven Virgadamo.