By Brendan D. Towell • Posted February 27, 2026

Several months into my service as Director of Spirituality and Mission for the Secondary Schools and Schools of Special Education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, one thing has become unmistakably clear: the Lord is at work in our schools.

I am, in many ways, a stereotypical (and gratefully so) product of Catholic Philadelphia. I grew up in St. Alice Parish in Upper Darby and later graduated from Msgr. Bonner High School, where I met my wife, who attended Archbishop Prendergast. Today those two beloved schools stand together as one Catholic high school — a fitting symbol of how our story continues, even as it adapts to changing times and changing realities.

Parish life. Catholic schools. Lifelong friendships that turn into vocations. Stereotypical? Maybe. Classically Philly Catholic? Absolutely!

After more than 16 years in Catholic secondary education, I stepped into this role aware that much has been said about closures, consolidations, and an “unchurched generation.” We do not ignore that history. We learn from it. Yet our team of lay leaders, clergy, religious, and devoted volunteers is not focused on what has been lost. We are looking at the table as it is set today. What we see is a generation hungry and thirsty for truth, meaning, and belonging.

OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) participation is rising. Retreat engagement and sacramental life are growing. Students are asking serious questions about faith and purpose. The narrative of inevitable decline does not capture what we are witnessing firsthand. Something is happening!

In Catholic education, we have a particular advantage. We know where the real food is — the Real Presence. We are not offering trends or vague inspiration. We are leading young people to Christ Himself, truly present in the Eucharist, the Bread of everlasting life. At the center of our work is a simple but demanding vision: to help young people move from restless hearts to missionary disciples.

Inspired by Pope Leo XIV’s Augustinian insight that our hearts are restless until they rest in God, we see that this restlessness is not a problem to solve but a summons to accompany. Our task is to direct that longing toward Christ — present in His Word, alive in His Church, and truly present in the Eucharist.

The past must be honored, but we must also turn the page. The Holy Spirit is flowing through Philadelphia. In classrooms and chapels, on athletic fields and retreat weekends, seeds are being planted. As a kid from 69th Street now entrusted with serving our archdiocesan high schools across every zip code (not just 19082) I am deeply grateful to work alongside educators and families laboring faithfully for this next chapter.

So, to the graduates of our Catholic schools, I offer you a challenge. This Lent, consider giving something up (not chocolate or coffee) but negativity about the Church, or the refrain that “my school just isn’t what it used to be.” The past deserves gratitude — the present deserves your attention.

Follow your alma mater on social media. Pray for its students and teachers. Attend a school Mass, a play, a game, or a fundraiser. Reach out to a campus minister. Ask how you can help. Encourage a young person who is there now. Be proud and get loud!

Reconnect with the high school version of yourself. Remember what you needed then — encouragement, truth, challenge, belonging, someone who believed in you, someone who prayed for you. What you needed as a teenager is needed all the more now by our young people today. Help us offer it.

We are graduates of the oldest Catholic school system in America. That story is not over. It’s future is unfolding right now all across the five counties of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Something is happening. Come and see.

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Brendan D. Towell serves as the Director of Spirituality and Mission for the Secondary Schools and Schools of Special Education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.