(Mar. 21-22)
ACE in the City:
ACE is honored to be partners with the Diocese of Brownsville, which has the highest percentage of Catholics to total diocese population in the United States (around 85 percent). Since 1997 and 1998, Brownsville and Mission have been home to 55 and 27 ACE teachers, respectively. Well over half of these graduates continue to work in education, and over 30 work with Catholic schools as teachers, coaches, and administrators. Today, seven ACErs serve four schools in Brownsville (St. Anthony School, St. Joseph Academy, Incarnate Word Academy, and Guadalupe Regional Middle School,) and six teachers serve four schools in Mission (St. Joseph Catholic School, Immaculate Conception School, Our Lady of Sorrows School, and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School.)
Where We’ll Be:
Friday, March 21
9:30 a.m. CST — School visit, mass, and pep rally at Our Lady of Guadalupe School
- 10:45 a.m. — School showcase with 275 visiting students from other diocesan schools
611 N. Dunlap Ave., Mission, TX 78572
1:00 p.m. CST — School visit to St. Anthony School
1015 E. Harrison Ave., Harlingen, TX 78550
3:30 p.m. CST — School visit and pep rally at Guadalupe Regional Middle School
1214 Lincoln St., Brownsville, TX 78521
Event Point of Contact: Drew Clary —
Award Recipients:
The University of Notre Dame Sorin Award for Service to Catholic Schools
Mission
Sr. Marcella Ewers, D.C. served as superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Brownsville for 14 years from 1994-2008 before retiring from that post to focus on the construction and establishment of a new high school for the growing diocese, Juan Diego Academy. Sister Ewers was part of Steering Committee comprised of community and church leaders established to prepare the groundwork, establish the expenses and projected costs to construct the school and to come up with a plan to fund the project. Through their tremendous efforts, Juan Diego Academy was thus conceptualized and later founded upon the adapted site of St. Joseph and St. Peter Seminary. The school opened its doors to its first freshman class on August 22, 2011 under the direction of Sister Ewers as President, a position she continues to serve dutifully and faithfully day in and day out.
Brownsville
A native of Zapata, Tex., Bishop Daniel E. Flores came home to South Texas in 2009 after serving as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit since 2006. In Detroit, Bishop Flores spearheaded successful campaigns for increased Hispanic and Latino ministry. Flores brought this momentum with him to Brownsville, where he continues to lead efforts on inclusion and diversity within the diocese. On a national level, as a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Flores serves as Chairman of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church.
Since coming to Brownsville, Bishop Flores has stated a priority for the evangelization of youth and a strong commitment to Catholic schools. After consulting both his financial council and priests, the Bishop pledged $1 million to the High School project, which ultimately resulted in the establishment of Juan Diego High School in 2011. Bishop Flores generously donated the diocesan land of the former St. Joseph and St. Peter Seminary, which was then remodeled and expanded to meet the needs of a modern high school. With its inaugural class now in their junior year, Juan Diego High School is nearing full capacity and is looking forward to graduating their first class next year.
The University of Notre Dame Champion of Education Award
Juliet Garcia
ACE Point of Contact: Bill Schmitt -
Information confirmed: 3/18/14 - 4:25 p.m.