Our school communities truly live that call. That may seem like a bold claim, yet it is clearly demonstrated in various ways: alumni who have become priests or entered religious life, current students dedicated to serving their communities and one another, and educators who, having greatly benefited from their own Catholic education, commit their careers to imparting that experience to their students. Clearly, Catholic education is an anchor of hope that carries many students throughout their lives in profound ways.

That anchor takes root in large part because of each community — each person living out their call to Christ in the ways God has intended. While many of the previously listed examples of living a more sanctified life become evident later in life, one powerful example is currently taking place within our student body. Over the past few years, I have noticed many of our schools have had increasing numbers of students entering the Catholic Church. I discovered that during the last school year, we had 25 students become Catholic, with their school communities playing a significant role in the decision.

Let’s look at a few of these stories:

• Gracie Morrison was a member of Holy Spirit Catholic School’s class of 2024. Entering the Tuscaloosa Catholic school when she was in the ninth grade, she developed a closer relationship with Christ and a deep relationship with the sacraments over the four years she spent at Holy Spirit. As she got to know the Catholic faith and its core beliefs and practices, her eyes were opened and she made the decision to become Catholic herself.
• John Carroll Catholic High School had six students enter the Catholic Church after being led through the OCIA program by John Carroll Catholic teacher Sister Mary Patrick Connor, O.P. Two of these students, John Gaddy and Adam McCuiston, each noted the realization that Catholicism was the Truth as playing an integral role in their conversions.
• Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School had two students become Catholic during the 2023-2024 year. One of these students, a second grader named Jonathan Jones, was baptized during a school Mass in April 2024 before receiving his First Holy Communion with his classmates later that month. Jones expressed a deep desire to become Catholic after learning about the faith at school and attending school Mass weekly.
• Mary Lynn Owens, a 12th grade student at St. John Paul II Catholic High School, was baptized Catholic in the fall and will receive the sacrament of confirmation this spring. She felt called to the Catholic faith because of her time at St. John Paul II and the theology instruction she received. She noted that her teachers taught her a great deal about the faith.

These examples prove our schools are rooted in the Body of Christ, as one body with each individual contributing their gifts exactly as God intended, supporting and guiding each other on the path to holiness. Our schools are rooted in the Eucharist, placing that Truth at the center of all that we do and anchoring our communities and each other in the hope that only Christ provides. This hope is the pearl of great price, and the 25 students who made the decision to become Catholic certainly recognized the gift this hope brings.