She also said she appreciates the pro-family atmosphere of the Catholic school.
Holy Rosary principal Catherine Neumayr thinks a welcoming environment and an emphasis on prayer help draw people into the faith through Catholic education. Holy Rosary students maintain a list with prayer requests, and frequently school Masses are offered for people in need in the community. This adds an element to Catholic education that public schools don't offer. In addition to prayer for families in need, the Catholic school also offers assistance with care and casseroles.
Power of the Mass
Father Scott Garrett, pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Wasilla where Our Lady of the Valley School is located said he has seen "quite a few people come into the church through their association with a Catholic school."
Father Garrett is himself a convert, and his best childhood friend was also non-Catholic.
"He married a Catholic, but never went to church," Father Garrett said. "But after they sent their kids to Catholic school, he became a devout Catholic."
When people become involved with what their children are learning, they begin to appreciate the faith in a whole new way, Father Garrett explained.
Perhaps one of the greatest conversion mechanisms is the Mass itself. Some people who attend their children's weekday Mass come because they want to see their children in a liturgical role, as a reader or cantor. They might never ordinarily attend Sunday Mass much less a weekday Mass, but find themselves drawn by the church's liturgy in ways they never expected.
"When we brought the school (from a strip mall in Wasilla) onto the church property this year some people in the parish were a little hesitant," Father Garrett recalled. "But when the school kids became involved in the Friday parish Mass, I couldn't believe the unity it brought to the whole parish and to those who attend that Mass."
Tom Sorci, principal of Lumen Christi High School in Anchorage, said that on the very morning the Catholic Anchor called him for comments, "I had a parent come to me and say he'd like to become a Catholic."
Moreover, like other school principals, Sorci has seen many Catholic parents become more engaged and active in their faith as a result of being involved with Catholic schooling.
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Planting Seeds
Sometimes the Catholic school plants a seed in students and families that may bloom later, Sorci said.
"We have two graduates from last year's class who are now in the process of becoming Catholic," he continued. "Sometimes our non-Catholic graduates go off to college and discover they are more Catholic than some of the Catholic kids they meet."
Posted with permission from Catholic Anchor, official publication of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska.