Basil Moreau once said, “Education is the art of helping young people to completeness; for the Christian, this means education is helping a young person to be more like Christ, the model of all Christians.” What a beautiful way to express what is at the heart of our Catholic schools. We desire to teach the whole person – spiritual, physical, intellectual, and emotional.
When I moved back to the Diocese of Lincoln, NE, our bishop, Bishop James Conley, asked if I would participate in the Diocesan Leaders Academy hosted by the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education (ICLE). As the new Director of School Improvement, I was happy to comply.
I taught middle school students for twenty years, before moving into positions of leadership, and loved teaching theology, math, English, and literature. It was a delight to help students make connections between our faith and the world around us. When God is at the center of all that we do, the rest falls into place. I think G.K. Chesterton said it well when he reflected, “Classic literature is still something that hangs in the air like a song.” This sentiment can and should be shared for all subject areas.
The Diocesan Leaders Academy helps to bring to the forefront the importance of the arts. Of course, this is nothing new. Aristotle once stated, “Music has a power of forming the character, and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young.”
Taking time to help students explore and discover are among the hallmarks of true Catholic liberal education. When we make use of various pedagogy like picture studies, seminars, and narration we help our students (no matter the age) to experience the transcendentals of truth, goodness, and beauty. Plato would applaud us for he reasoned, “for the object of education is to teach us to love beauty.”
The Diocesan Leaders Academy allowed me to work with fellow administrators who want to make their good schools— GREAT schools, and their great schools — even better! The opportunity to discuss how the Catholic faith can be naturally integrated into every subject, the value of strong pedagogy, the opportunity to see and experience first-hand schools that are thriving as they embrace a Catholic Liberal Education model was encouraging and amazing!
During our online classes, we discussed the importance of the role of the school pastor; writing curriculum from a Catholic worldview; forming teachers as missionaries; listening to the Holy Spirit as we aim to renew our schools, etc…
The Diocesan Leaders Academy connected me with likeminded individuals who want God to be the heart of their schools and who want to live out Jesus’ Great Commission, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19) The ten months of this program were truly formational and transformational on so many levels!
Humbly Submitted by:
Sr. Cecilia Ann Rezac, M.S.
Director of Schools for the Springfield Catholic Schools System in Springfield, Missouri
Marian Sisters of the Diocese of Lincoln
Applications are now being accepted for the Diocesan Leaders Academy 2026-2027 cohort. Learn more and apply today.