Father Judge Mass to kick off Philadelphia’s Catholic Schools Week

Archbishop Nelson J. Perez spent his Thursday morning with students and teachers at St. Monica School in South Philadelphia.

“In a few short days we’ll be celebrating the gift of a Catholic Education during Catholic Schools Week 2022!” he wrote on his Facebook page later in the day, sharing photographs from his visit.

Perez will kick-off the national celebration of Catholic Schools Week in Philadelphia Monday at Father Judge High School in Northeast Philly.

Perez will celebrate Mass for the Father Judge community as they begin a special Jubilee Year in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the death of St. Francis de Sales. 

More than 20 priests will concelebrate Mass with the Perez, including 13 priests from the order of the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales. The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales have been strongly connected to Father Judge since the all-boys school was founded in 1954.

Monday’s Mass will be streamed live on Father Judge’s Facebook page.

Nancy Kurtz, interim superintendent of secondary schools for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and Irene Horstmann Hannan, chief executive officer of Faith in the Future Foundation, will be present at the service along with numerous Father Judge board members and benefactors.

After Mass, Perez will tour the school’s welding facility. The class of 2022 will be the first cohort to complete the program. The welding program, launched in the 2019-2020 school year, is the first-of-its-kind among Archdiocesan high schools, and will play a vital role in launching a career and technical education (CTE) initiative.

Father Judge intends to implement additional course offerings in CTE over the next five years as part of its strategic plan, including biotech, business, construction trades, culinary, engineering and entrepreneurship.

Following that portion of the archbishop’s visit, he will participate in a town hall gathering with student representatives from Father Judge, Archbishop Ryan High School in the Far Northeast, Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls in Hunting Park and Saint Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, also in Northeast Philly.

William McGlynn, a Father Judge senior, will serve as the emcee. Students will have the opportunity to engage with Perez on a variety of topics.

The town hall will begin at 10:45 a.m. Monday at the Father Brisson Center for Academic Excellence. It will be streamed on Archbishop’s Perez’s Facebook page.