As an earlier post noted, this is Catholic Schools Week, and a number of dioceses are promoting and celebrating the remarkable work of America’s Catholic school system.

One of them is the Diocese of Providence, where the Rhode Island Catholic takes this opportunity to examine just what, exactly, makes a school Catholic:

Visitors walking through the doors of Catholic schools in Rhode Island face one obvious change from years past. The presence of religious sisters or brothers as teachers is almost – if not totally – non-existent in many schools. But that doesn’t mean the schools are less Catholic, according to those in the know at three of these schools.

Paula Bailey, principal at Msgr. Matthew F. Clarke Regional School in Wakefield, said religious education, prayer and community service are strong elements of daily life at her school, which includes Pre-K through Grade 8. “All teachers (in the diocese) who teach religion are required to get certification through the CORE (Certificate of Religious Education) program at Providence College,” she explained.

Offered on-line, the program requires participants to take seven courses, covering “the realms of the Creed, sacraments, morality and prayer,” according to the PC Web site.

Students at Msgr. Clarke begin their day at the school, as well as each class, with a prayer. In fact, Bailey said, “everything we do we starts with prayer. “And that includes basketball games,” she added.

The same could be said about prayer at Christ the Redeemer Academy in West Warwick and St. Pius X School in Westerly. Both schools offer Pre-K through middle school grades.

Deacon Paul Shea, school chaplain and guidance counselor, coordinates religious activities at Christ the Redeemer. While his job covers organizing first Friday Masses and leading the rosary, his duties extend to teaching religion to kindergartners. It all starts with teaching the youngest students their prayers and then getting the older youths to take an active part in Mass, he said.

“We have morning prayers, and religion is taught five days a week,” the deacon said. “It’s part of the curriculum,” as well as part of the academy’s goal. “Basically our mission statement is to lead children to Christ,” he said.

Principal Henry Fiore of St. Pius X School said, “We pray all the time here. We pray for the students, their families. We pray for the community at large.” The school has received at least three phone calls recently asking the children to offer prayers of thanksgiving. The calls were acknowledgments of previous requests that had been answered by God, Fiore explained.

One of the extracurricular activities at St. Pius X School is Armada Bianca, a prayer group dedicated to the Blessed Mother. The group prays for special intentions and is well-attended, according to the principal.

Despite the lack of religious in the faculty ranks, it is not uncommon to see a priest in the halls of St. Pius X. Father Raymond N. Suriani, pastor of St. Pius X Church in Westerly, is considered the spiritual leader at the parish school. There is even an “Ask Father Ray” jar for youngsters who wish to use it. A number of seminarians also are active at the school. “We’re blessed to have the clergy that we do,” Fiore said.

With both the church and the school located on Elm Street, getting students to Mass or special services is easy. The same holds true for Christ the Redeemer Academy, which is located behind St. John the Baptist Church,

From the start of the school year, all academy students – except for those in pre-K – attend Mass. But as “the younger ones mature, pre-K goes as the year goes on,” said Deacon Paul, who also teaches Baptism class for the parish and thereby provides another link between school and church.

Dominican Sister Patricia Langton, who has been known to answer phones at Christ the Redeemer, said that as religious move away from teaching, there is still development of the faculty at Catholic schools. The academy is part of the Bread of Life Consortium, which has a membership of seven urban schools. As associate director of the consortium, Sister Langton cited a key goal of the group as “ensuring that we will have quality Catholic education in urban communities.”

You can read more at the link to find out what else is being done to ensure that goal.

Photo: Bishop McVinney School fourth-grade teacher Karen Erikson, top left, looks on as her students watch Barack Obama take the Oath of Office Tuesday and become the nation’s first African-American president. Seated, clockwise from bottom left, Ma-Wen Duncan, Abigail Fleurima, Denise Johnson, Onaysia Martinez, Timothy Dele, and Dario Smith. Photo by Michael Guilfoyle.