Choir School Sunday and Open House

Today was Choir School Sunday at the Cathedral. The 1100 AM Mass was celebrated by Bishop Wester and the choristers assisted with the Mass singing music of Heiller, Mendelssohn and Faure. One of the great institutions of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States is our Catholic School System. It has enabled the passing on of the Catholic intellectual, moral, artistic and religious tradition to countless young people. It enabled an immigrant people who arrived from Germany, Ireland, Italy and other nations to maintain their faith and cultural traditions while finding their way from poverty in this new land. Men and women religious were incredibly generous with their very lives to be sure the work of forming young people remained vital within the church in the early part of the last century. Utah's own Catholic schools were created by the Holy Cross Sisters, the Daughters of Charity, and other religious orders.

The need for Catholic schools is just as great for us today. At a recent Sunday Spanish Mass at the Cathedral, Fr. Omar invited all of the young children to come forward and sit in the chancel for a special homily. Almost 250 children approached the cathedral's Altar - that is equivalent to the entire student body of the Cathedral's Choir School. What will be the legacy of our generation for our Catholic Schools? Are we willing to sacrifice to continue their important work? Are there new forms of generosity that will enable us to provide this important opportunity to these children who are the future of the Church in Utah?

Open House followed at the School. Special thanks to Admissions Director Jenne Payne for her work in organizing the event, and to Eric and Brigitte Klement, Eric's mother, and Debbie Morrison for their help with the food, hospitality and set up. A good number of prospective families were present.