NCEA Convention

An Easter people: Catholic education must focus on the risen Lord, archbishop says

Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of Cincinnati elevates the Eucharist on March 25 during the opening Mass of the National Catholic Educational Association’s annual convention at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Also concelebrating at the altar are, from left, Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, Bishop John M. D’Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind.; Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger of Evansville, Ind.; and Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Sean Gallagher

Catholic education is fundamentally about “the risen Lord,” Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk told Catholic educators during the opening Mass for the National Catholic Educational Association convention on March 25 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

“Every educational undertaking of the Church—colleges, high schools, elementary schools, seminaries, parish schools of religion, adult education programs, novitiates, the publication of textbooks—they are all ultimately about the risen Christ,” he told about 2,500 educators.

He also said that if the Resurrection is separated from Catholic schools, they cease to be Catholic.

“Nothing that we do, nothing that we teach, can be detached from the Resurrection of Christ and still claim to be Catholic education,” Archbishop Pilarczyk said in his homily. “If we can’t point to some connection with the risen Christ in what we do and teach, then we are not doing and teaching Catholic education.”

Most of those attending the convention came from the United States. Several other countries, however, were also represented.

Also present for the Mass were Bishop John M. D’Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind.; and Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger of Evansville, Ind.

Indianapolis Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein was unable to attend because of ongoing chemotherapy treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer affecting the lymphatic system.

Seminarians of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis assisted at the Mass. Charles Gardner, executive director for spiritual life and worship for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, directed a choir for the Mass made up of music directors and high school students from the nearby Lafayette Diocese.

Archbishop Pilarczyk reflected on how the Masses for each day of the week following Easter are treated by the Church as solemnities because of the importance of the Resurrection to the Catholic faith.

“The Resurrection of Christ is the central reality of our faith,” he said. “It’s what gives sense and direction to everything else in our life, here and hereafter. Without the Resurrection, nothing else is important, nothing else makes sense, nothing else is worth bothering about.”

Archbishop Pilarczyk then noted how it is fitting that the NCEA holds its annual convention during Easter week. The March 25-28 convention drew more than 7,000 participants to Indianapolis for keynote speeches, workshops, liturgies, award ceremonies and an exhibit of educational supplies.

The theme for the convention was “Crossroads: Where Challenge Meets Opportunity.”

“Just as the Church wants its members to highlight the risen Christ in their spirituality during these days,” the archbishop said, “so also the Church wants its members to think of the Church’s educational mission as an aspect of Easter, an aspect of the life of the risen Lord.”

Convention participant Gretchen Amigon, who attended the Mass with her 2-month-old son, Eduardo, said it was “wonderful to hear so many people praising God, all together.”

Amigon, who teaches theology at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minn., said it was particularly important for the NCEA convention to begin with worship.

“Prayer and worship is the basis of what we do as educators,” she said. “And without that, we wouldn’t be able to do the job that we do and to have the vocations to be educators that we have.” †