By Jay Sorgi • Posted January 31, 2025

On a morning when the Archdiocese of Philadelphia held a service event for students Thursday, Jan. 30 during Catholic Schools Week with the day’s theme of “Celebrating Vocations,” hundreds of students from across the Philadelphia region came together and gave witness to the universal vocation of service to one’s brothers and sisters in need.

Students from archdiocesan elementary and high schools, plus schools of special education, gathered inside the new Career Pathways Academy at Father Judge High School for Boys in Northeast Philadelphia to celebrate the week and to serve.

They packaged 1,500 care bags, all filled with non-perishable snacks, toothbrushes and toothpaste, seed packets, hand-written cards of friendship and other items, to be distributed to people at Martha’s Choice Marketplace, the Catholic Social Services ministry in Norristown, Montgomery County.

SEE MORE PHOTOS >>>Archdiocesan Students Package 1,500 Relief Bags for Catholic Schools Week

Referencing the week’s theme and introducing the service activity, Archbishop Nelson Pérez told the students, faculty and administrators gathered at Father Judge that “being united in faith and community is something you can do each day through kind acts of any size, like holding the door for the person behind you or offering a quiet prayer for someone in need of God’s strength. This kind of effort is powerful. Those small acts of loving care are contagious.”

“In my recent pastoral letter,” said Archbishop Perez, “I shared that we can encounter Jesus through acts of service. You are doing that today. I am encouraging you to live your faith as missionary disciples, which stems from Pope Francis’ call for Christians to go forth and boldly take the initiative.

“So, be bold. Go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads, and welcome those who feel outcast. I want you to know that God continues to reach out to encounter us. He loves us. In His house, the light is always on and the door is always open for you.”

Students learn in Catholic schools to “do the right thing” and not because their school is “forcing” them to do so, according to Brian King, president of Father Judge High School.

They serve because of their own personal generosity, and because “this is who we are in our faith,” he said. “I think sometimes those small deeds get overlooked.”

The chance to assemble care bags for the community during the service event made an impression on two students attending from Bishop Shanahan High School in West Chester.

“I really like the energy that is here, and I feel really helpful,” said Osi Okafor. “I feel ready to give, and helping out my community.”

“It was a great experience so far, and we’re happy to be here,” said his schoolmate Elan Madanat.

Students from other Catholic schools across the region agreed, and reflected on the value of a Catholic education in their lives.

“I love Catholic schools,” said Juliana Alvini of Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia. “I went to public school most of my life. (Catholic school) is so different. It’s a nicer community, and everyone is so close, it’s like family.”

As a member of the school’s student council, “I try to get as involved (with service projects) as best I can, giving back and helping others,” she said.

For Michaela Tarsi of Lansdale Catholic High School, Catholic Schools Week “is my favorite week.”

She remembers enjoying events of the annual observance as a student at St. Jude Catholic School in Chalfont and now at Lansdale Catholic, including “all the dress-down days, all the fun things that we do, the activities that Catholic schools have.”

But for her, it’s more than just enjoyable events. “I don’t take going to Catholic school for granted,” she said. “I’m very thankful my parents chose to send me to Catholic school.”

Longtime Catholic school teachers and administrators also saw the significance of the week that brings their work over many years into focus.

Meghan Maruano is both a product of Catholic schools in Philadelphia from grade school through college – St. Timothy Catholic School, St. Hubert’s High School, Holy Family University – and has built a 21-year teaching career, currently with second graders at Christ the King Catholic School in Philadelphia.

The five children she brought with her to Father Judge joined with students of all ages and backgrounds for the activity.

“It’s helpful for them to see that they are a smaller part of a bigger organization,” she said. “They think that their school – our motto is Small School, Big Family – (reflects) what the archdiocese is. We’re a small part of a bigger family of Catholic schools, which is even bigger than the City of Philadelphia. I think that resonates with them. This is a visual of that.”

Also a product of Catholic schools, Kathy Guyger has been a school administrator in the Archdiocese for 30 years, and now she is principal of Pope John Paul II High School in Royersford.

“I really value the fact that we celebrate the specialness of what our schools can bring” during Catholic Schools Week, she said.

A highlight of what makes the schools special, she said, “is being able to celebrate our faith on a daily basis with our students and sharing our journey with them. It’s a special place for me.”

Martha’s Choice Marketplace and Community Farm, an agency of archdiocesan Catholic Human Services (CHS), benefited by the bags being assembled by the students and by the youthful energy they brought to the task. That was not lost on Heather Huot, secretary of CHS.

“The energy in this room is off the charts,” she said. “This shows that if you give these kids a moment to help and to reach out, they’re going to rise to that occasion and be there for their brothers and sisters. We do need to engage with these incredible young people. We serve so many (people) that could benefit from the kindness that we’re seeing in this room today. We need to look at this not just as a one-day but an impetus for more. We do things like this on a regular basis.”

Archbishop Pérez thanked a long list of individuals and groups – including those working in schools, in archdiocesan administration and in human services.

He pointedly thanked the “many generous benefactors and foundations working with us to make the gift of a Catholic education available and affordable,” he said.

“I am so grateful to our school families for choosing the incredible gift of Catholic education for their children! I know you make sacrifices to provide that gift and we’re honored to be partners in the formation of your sons and daughters.”