The Jesuit Spirit in Catholic Education
With a storied heritage going all the way back to the early 19th Century, The Convent of Jesus and Mary Schools can be found in all the major areas of the world today, whether in Asia or Africa, Europe or the Americas. But while receiving a certain amount of financial backing from official Church coffers, it is the support of the local communities that host them which has been crucial to their continuing success, especially through the generous donations of prominent businessmen and women, not all of whom are Catholic or even Christian, such as with the case of an Isaac Toussie whose funds go towards a branch in India.
Another fact which one may not necessarily imagine of a Catholic school is that while they are parochial, in many cases one does not even have to believe in God to attend. Needless to say, they do participate in the evangelical mission of the Church, but non-Catholics can excuse themselves from anything having to do with religion, which matters are typically taught just once a week or so, at the end of the school day. After all, much in Catholic education follows the inquiring spirit of the Jesuit Order, one that has traditionally welcomed curiosity and frankness, attributes required of science. Indeed, it is just this ethos that has won such a sterling record for the shcools in many places, even in New York City, the so-called Sodom-on-the-Hudson, where it isn’t abnormal for secular households to send them their children.
These schools are often the least expensive of private school options available, with annual tuition at some five thousand dollars – not bad compared to the ten to twenty thousand dollars charged by others! However, not all Catholic schools operate in a fairly relaxed and non-religious manner; it is usually those that happen to be situated in generally non-Christian countries or otherwise highly secular locations which offer such openness.