Holy borders

Through two locations, Sister Mary Regina helps to educate 450 students at St. Monica School, affectionately known as “The pride of South Philly.”

Staff photo by Joseph Myers.

As Rev. Joseph Kelley dismissed the 10 a.m. Mass goers at Saint Monica Church on Sunday, Ann-Marie Nacchio could not stop beaming over the filled pews and the bright smiles on the children in attendance, including sons John and Joseph. The 15-year-olds and their matriarch ventured to the Girard Estate-based house of worship, 17th and Ritner streets, to mark the opening of National Catholic Schools Week, a 43-year-old tradition with added significance for students at and products of “The pride of South Philly.”

“Going through the Archdiocese of Philadelphia school system is going to continue to provide them with the best possible experiences because of the quality of the education and the attention that goes toward building their character,” Nacchio proudly said of her children as members of the post-service crowd enjoyed a pancake breakfast prepared by the Fathers & Sons Club. “I’d say that’s true of every student in the city’s Catholic school institutions.”

As the official sponsor for the celebration of Saint Monica School and its parochial peers as standout learning destinations, the National Catholic Educational Association is looking to laud a model that instructs two million pupils nationwide in preschool, elementary, and secondary settings, graduating them at a 99 percent clip on the high school level. With the theme Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service, this year’s acknowledgment has inspired the Nacchio boys, who are currently freshmen at Roman Cathoic High School,

to reflect even more on their fortune as enrollees.

“Being in a Catholic school teaches you so much about believing in yourself and being kind to others,” Joseph said to a nod from his twin, with whom he shares every class. “We’ve made really good friends, and we’ve had great teachers who really care about us.”

“Those are the best parts,” John added, stating, with a laugh, that “It’s nice to use iPads, too.”

Increased awareness of technology’s immense role in enhancing curricula throughout its facilities has coupled with the Archdiocese’s constant concern for fostering faith to make the system as a whole even more appealing. That heightened consideration among the inhabitants of the nation’s fifth-largest city has meant that fears about the future of Catholic education have dwindled. Tensions certainly ran high five years ago when the five-county diocese, through the Blue Ribbon Commission, shuttered and consolidated many sites. Spokesman Kenneth A. Gavin noted that since the uneasy period, the Philadelphia South Vicariate, consisting of, among others, South Philly’s six elementary schools and Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, have witnessed a stabilization in terms of enrollment trends, with elementary tallies in the jurisdiction standing at 3,400 total students.

“Our registrants are special children,” Sister Mary Regina, Saint Monica’s second-year principal, said as people flocked to the senior school at 2500 S. 16th St. to fraternize with student tour givers. “The future is bright for all our schools, especially within our classrooms. There is great support across the archdiocesan leadership team because everyone is aware of the dedication that this call to educate future generations takes.”

WITH SECULAR MATTERS so prevalent throughout contemporary society, Catholic schools and their faith-fervent overseers have often faced ridicule as being behind the times and decreasingly vital as reliable institutions and educators. Brunella Mirarchi Benales disregards such disrespect for the estimation of what the buildings and the administrators accomplish, considering them all molders of morals that will yield lifelong blessings.

“The best benefits are that they receive a faith-centered education as well as the finest academics while enrolled at St. Monica’s,” the mother of third-grader Daniella and ’15 alum Damian, now a sophomore at Girard Academic Music Program, said. “There is an emphasis on Catholic values, and they apply them daily in the classroom. They are aware that God is present in everything they do. One of the most important reasons is that they get to practice their faith and their sacraments as a school community and create a special bond among the students that they will always carry with them.”

A 1985 graduate of the Girard Estate haven, which has regularly received kudos through the Great Philly Schools report, Benales solidified her regard for the Catholic school system by attending St. Maria Goretti High School and La Salle University. Deeming enrollment within a parochial location “a wonderful tradition to pass on,” she noted her descendants’ characters have evolved through the tutelage found within the archdiocese, with Salvatore Gullotta Jr. well on the way to joining her as a touter of the various schools’ pleasant environs.

“I’m more aware of all my feelings, and I have a good understanding of how we all need to be more compassionate,” the Neumann-Goretti freshman said as his father, a former treasurer for the Fathers & Sons Club, shared the late morning with the breakfast bunch. “I take pride in my faith, and I think it’s helping me to make good decisions as I grow older.”

The Marconi resident, his contemporaries, present registrants, and distinguished graduates have certainly done their part to validate Saint Monica’s aforementioned nickname, and the parishioners who took in the 10 a.m. Mass found themselves endowed with more proof of their prowess when learning from Regina that the Philadelphia South Advisory Council had tabbed Kelley, the parish’s beloved pastor, as a Champion of Faith. That honor comes as a direct result of his advocacy for Catholic education’s importance and will find him commended March 9 at the National Shrine of St. John Neumann in Northern Liberties.

“Catholic schooling is immensely important for the moral integrity of our country as a whole, and it’s increasingly easy to support it,” Regina said of sustaining the livelihood of her school, Neumann-Goretti, Our Lady of Hope, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Gabriel, St. Pio, and St. Thomas Aquinas through such measures as the Earned Income Tax Credit initiative. “We are messengers who come together with loving parents to give these children reminders of how precious they are and how they have a call to serve others in turn with love and compassion as their guides.