January 29th, 2022

Dear Friends,

At this weekend’s 9:30 Mass we initiate our celebration of Catholic Schools Week. Our parish is blessed to sponsor two schools which serve a total of over 400 students: Saint Gabriel School and Bridgeport Catholic Academy, each with its own personality and proud traditions.  During the past couple of years, we have endeavored to explore areas where our schools can work together and collaborate. Mr. Dan Flaherty serves as principal of both schools and works closely with the Assistant Principal at each: Mrs. Julie Jurisic at St. Gabriel and Mrs. Katie Thompson at BCA. Our dedicated and talented teachers and staff are among the heroes of the pandemic. They made the necessary adaptations and accommodations to teach our children during a time and under conditions that many others would not.

Saint Gabriel’s educational mission was in place from the parish’s beginning. Already in 1880 the Sisters of Mercy created an initial school faculty, and over 200 children walked through the doors and took their seats in one of the four classrooms. As time progressed new buildings were constructed which now boast large classrooms, a beautiful cafeteria and a 400-seat auditorium. Our PK-8th grade mission remains strong; we have seen incremental but consistent growth in recent years. While we draw students primarily from the Canaryville and southern Bridgeport neighborhoods, we want to expand our outreach into the Back of the Yards, where Catholic school availability has declined. 

Both of our schools are funded by tuition and Big Shoulders and Illinois Tax Credit scholarships, in addition to vigorous fundraising and the generosity of individual donors. While the parish does not formally subsidize the schools, we do send out monthly school support envelopes that a number of parishioners use to support our educational mission. Our parents make a significant financial sacrifice to send their children to our schools (next year’s tuition will be $5,600 for the first child- a great deal, when you think about it, but still a sacrifice). 

We will close out Catholic Schools week next Sunday at the 11:00 Mass at Nativity of Our Lord, so I’ll write about BCA in next week’s bulletin.  Be on the lookout for kids in uniforms! 
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A note to our parish donors: Because changes in tax laws mean that most of us do not benefit from itemizing our parish donations on our tax returns, we are not sending out individual statements to each family. However, we are happy to provide them upon request. Please either call the parish offices or email nativitygabrieloffice@nativitystgabriel.org to request a statement. 

May your week reflect the encounter with Christ We experienced at Mass today!