Catholic Schools: A Faith-Filled Future

Dear Faithful of the Diocese of New Ulm,

I offer my heartfelt congratulations to everyone who was involved in the celebration of Catholic Schools Week, January 26-30, 2004. I believe in our Catholic schools. They are needed more today than ever before. The secularization forces in society are strong. We must know and live our faith well enough to resist these forces that tempt us to live as though God did not exist.

Our diocese is blessed with 17 elementary schools and 3 high schools. Since becoming your bishop, I have given my full support to these schools and I continue to encourage parents to enroll their children in these schools wherever possible. It is through these Catholic schools that our young people are formed in their faith while they are receiving a strong academic education. Our Catholic faith must permeate the whole school day from classroom to playground to lunchroom. It is through a deepening relationship with God, that young people hear the call to ministry in our Church as priests, religious, and lay ministers.

Thank you to all of those who minister in our schools: principals, teachers, pastors, support staff, and the many volunteers who assist in their programs. Together let us continue to provide excellent Catholic schools for a faith-filled future in the Diocese of New Ulm.

- Bishop John C. Nienstedt