Missioning Mass Sends Forth Teachers for Catholic Schools

Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis presided at the Alliance for Catholic Education’s (ACE) Missioning Mass on July 26, invoking blessings for 260 teachers and leaders at the University of Notre Dame as they fan out around the country to serve students in Catholic schools.

“May their faith be enlivened and deepened as they bear witness to the Gospel,” Archbishop Tobin prayed during the ceremony that sent forth 173 recent college graduates enrolled in the ACE Teaching Fellows program and 48 aspiring Catholic school principals in ACE’s Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program.

The Mass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart also missioned 39 teachers in ACE’s English as a New Language program, who will help diverse student bodies overcome language barriers.

Missioning caps the summertime tradition when an array of graduate-level courses and topical conferences bring to campus hundreds of people dedicated to ACE’s goal to sustain, strengthen, and transform Catholic schools.

Archbishop Tobin said in his homily that he shares ACE’s commitment to keep Catholic schools operating as “an instrument of evangelization.” He urged the educators to “welcome in Jesus Christ” as they go forth to their classrooms, heeding and incorporating the Word of God in their work. “Then, brothers and sisters,” he said, “we have something to give.”

He blessed medals depicting Christ the Teacher and crosses depicting Jesus washing disciples’ feet and accompanying children of the world. ACE founder Rev. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., joined other concelebrants and ACE program leaders in distributing the icons to educators who soon would travel to numerous partner dioceses.

ACE will celebrate its 20^th anniversary during the 2013-2014 academic year. Father Scully and Rev. Sean McGraw, C.S.C., founded the Alliance for Catholic Education in 1993 to form college graduates as teachers for under-resourced Catholic schools, especially those serving disadvantaged children. That program, now ACE Teaching Fellows, became a springboard for other initiatives of formation and service.

Photos by University Photographer Barbara Johnston