A Matter of Principal: Christ the King Parish School

My siblings and I, members of the Baby Boom generation, all enjoyed the benefits of a Catholic education. Our parents, still imbued with the spirit of Baltimore, sacrificed to make this possible. While we may smile at the quaint, pat answers of the Baltimore Catechism, there was something of greater value that came out of that council meeting in 1852 (and no, I’m not quite that old!).
The catechism from which some still remember answers looked to provide a foundation in faith to children recently emigrated by and large from European countries. While providing a basis, the answers seemed to recognize only black and white issues. The shades of gray that seem to color our world today were unheard of at the time.
The lasting legacy of Baltimore is the urging, even insistence, of the bishops that all parishes support a school. The bishops, in their collective wisdom, recognized that the recent immigrants to America needed the glue of the Church to hold them together, and to aid them as they built this country on a foundation of faith. The surest way, then and now, to pass along our faith is to provide a Catholic school.
Although I attended grammar school, high school, and even college in the 1960’s and 1970’s, that spirit of Baltimore is what moved my parents to send me to Catholic schools. While I was not required to learn the responses to the catechism that came out of those famous plenary councils, the spirit of them lived on. I went to Catholic schools, kindergarten through college, because of the bishops’ urging from the 1850’s. Perpetuate our faith, they said, by providing a Catholic education to the young.
Today, sadly, that education is not so easily obtained. Gone are the religious sisters, with their vows of poverty, that taught so selflessly in our schools. Our teachers are lay people, and the Church must provide a living wage as well as benefits to them. The cost of educating a child today is so expensive that tuition in a Catholic school is out of reach for many parents. It is often necessary for both parents to be employed simply to put food on the table and a roof over their children’s heads.
I am making an appeal to those of you who remember that spirit of Baltimore, and who educated your children in a Catholic school because of it. Can you find it in your hearts, and in your budgets, to help subsidize the education of a child from our parish? Would you be able to provide one month’s, one quarter’s, or one semester’s tuition for one of these little ones? If you could commit to do just that, we in the office will spread that amount over the course of twelve months so that payments are manageable.

Can you join our efforts to provide a Catholic education to any child who wishes it?

Will you help keep the spirit of Baltimore alive in Lombard today?

God bless you+

In Christ,
Mrs. Mickey Tovey, Principal
Christ the King Parish School, Lombard
630 627.0640





Yes, I am willing to make a contribution to provide a Catholic education for a parish child!
I can underwrite _____One month’s tuition _____One quarter’s tuition
_____One semester’s tuition _____One year’s tuition
_____Fees for one child

Name_________________________Phone#_______________
God bless you for your kindness