By Maria Niebuhr
Nestled in the heart of Naples, within a modest neighborhood just off Golden Gate Parkway, lies St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School. Founded in 1981, the school bears the name of the first American-born saint and is in keeping with her spiritual gifts of courage, determination, faith and love.
Through hard work, dedication, and the support of parishioners and community partners, the school was handcrafted by the very families that wanted their children to have a quality, Catholic education. Since those humble beginnings, St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School carries on their legacy through rich traditions rooted in family values and faith in action. The tradition continues with the large number of alumni who have children enrolled in our school.
What sets St. Elizabeth Seton apart and makes us unique is our sense of closeness as a family community. Seton students know they are a part of the school family which is an extension of their own. You need only walk through the doors of the school to feel a difference, to experience the wholesome, loving personality of the school. In short, a presence of the spirit exists throughout its halls, courtyards and classrooms.
The spirit of St. Elizabeth Seton is alive and well. The school and Church’s dedication to children, education and the poor shone as a beacon of hope in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in 2017. Our campus suffered major damage, forcing us to close our doors for 18 days.
Thankful for technology and the digital age in which we live, our teachers taught remotely as best they could. However, all of us yearned to return to our beloved classrooms. Our prayers were answered when a family in the contracting business stepped up to expedite repairs and renovations. Donations poured in from across the country, making a reopening possible. When another school was hit by a hurricane, our community quickly came to their aid, just as they helped us in our time of need.
Our entire staff and faculty exemplify Faith in action. Maria Crowley, who has taught at St. Elizabeth Seton for 30 years, is just one of the many role models who lives our Faith! Teaching is more than a profession to Mrs. Crowley; it is her vocation, one inspired by her love of God’s unique creation, His children. She explains that on each child’s face, she sees the child Jesus. This feeling permeates throughout our faculty and staff, inspiring us to create a mutual sense of caring, closeness, and respect with our students and their families.
The school’s spirit is alive and continues to grow. We are small enough that teachers know all the students and their families though large enough to offer a full range of academic rigor and extra-curricular experiences. We offer a music program complete with beginner and concert bands, as well as a full range of competitive athletic offerings from volleyball to cross country. Our 1:1 iPad program in grades 5-8, and class iPads in grades K-4, allow us to create an engaging, technology-driven curriculum, while our diverse selection of after school activities such as Art Club, STREAM (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math) club, master gardening classes and theatrical performances embody the “whole child” concept.
I welcome you to visit St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School. We will gladly open our doors so you and your family may see firsthand the unique, uplifting spirit that inspires us to follow in the footsteps of our foundress. I will be happy to give you a tour of our special school, where academic excellence, faith, values and community come to life each day!
Please visit our website SaintElizabethSeton.com or call 239-455-2262. You are also welcome to attend our Open House from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 26 and experience the difference!
Every student at Cardinal Mooney participates in giving back through community service and is required to complete 100 hours of service during their four years at the college preparatory school.
Celebrated at several parishes in the Diocese, for the first time the tradition was celebrated at the Vatican by Pope Francis. The Holy Father opened the celebration at St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 15, Gaudete Sunday.
This tradition is also known by its popular Spanish name as the Misa de Gallo, or “Mass of the Rooster,” commonly indicating the pre-dawn Christmas Eve Mass. The novena serves as spiritual preparation for Christmas, in commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. The celebration is also seen as a way of requesting blessings from the Lord, as most people believe that if one completes the whole series of nine dawn Masses, wishes will be granted.
On Jan. 5, the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, the Feast Day of Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, Bishop Frank J. Dewane presided over a tri-lingual Mass (English, Spanish and Polish). This annual tradition includes the different language communities that are based at the Cathedral. At the beginning of the Mass, Bishop Dewane blessed the Cathedral where it is inscribed 20+C+M+B+20 (the year and the initials of the three magi) above the main interior entrance to the Church.
While choosing from the many opportunities Southwest Florida has to offer, consider these events for a chance to give back to the community. Proceeds go directly to help our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need through the many programs of Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice Inc.
“These Catholic Charities Galas and events are of critical importance as it brings like-minded and faith-filled people together for a good cause,” explained Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice Inc. CEO Philomena Pereira. “Each gathering serves to help educate people about a critical need in the area, while at the same time offering everyone chance to have fun.”
Celebrated on Dec. 12, the Feast is often linked to the Dec. 9 Feast of St. Juan Diego, the day in 1531 when Our Lady first appeared to the saint near modern day Mexico City.
Celebrations took place in many parishes and schools throughout the Diocese. Hundreds took part in rainy procession along U.S. 41 to St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Naples on their way to Mass. At Our Lady of Grace Parish in Avon Park the Mass was followed by an outdoor festival with music, dancing and food. Diocesan Catholic Schools also took time out to celebrate Our Lady by using the moment as a teaching lesson.
This apparition led to the conversion of Mexico almost overnight, when up to that time Catholic missionaries from Europe had made very little headway. The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City was built on the site of the apparitions and is one of the most visited religious shrines in the world. It is also home of the actual tilma of St. Juan Diego, which can still be seen, with the image clearly visible, nearly 500 years later.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane introduced Father Martis, a Benedictine monk of Marmion Abbey and a well-known sacramental theologian who was in the Diocese of Venice for the annual Priest Convocation in the first week of December.
