History, Hispanic Culture Sets South Bend Grade School Apart Though Jenni Crain wasn’t expecting her 4-year-old daughter to be able to answer the question, “Who’s coming to our school this week?” her daughter did indeed know: “Bishop Rhoades,” the young girl said. When asked who Bishop Rhoades was, Crain’s daughter answered, “He’s the nice man in the pink hat, and he loves us.” ST. ADALBERT CATHOLIC SCHOOL Address: 519 S Olive St., South Bend Phone: 574-288-6645 Founded: 1910 Enrollment: 231 students Nickname: Eagles Principal: Jenni Crain stadalbertschool.org Crain, the principal of St. Adalbert Catholic School in South Bend, saw that answer as a confirmation of the strength of the school’s pre-K team – and a good sign for the future. “It’s so important that a shepherd knows their sheep, but it’s so important that the sheep know that they’re known,” Crain told Today’s Catholic. Click here for more photos from the visit. Bishop Rhoades visited St. Adalbert Catholic School on Friday, November 22, the feast of St. Cecilia, which was commemorated in the morning Mass. Referring to legends about St. Cecilia’s life, Bishop Rhoades said in his homily, “When she got married, it says that she sang a song to the Lord in her heart. That’s why she’s the patron saint of music. … When we sing at Mass, we should sing with our voices, right? But also in our hearts.” Bishop Rhoades tells the story of St. Cecilia’s life during his homily on St. Cecilia’s feast day. Bishop Rhoades ended his homily by saying, “Martyrs inspire us to be courageous in our faith, to not be afraid, to live our faith, to praise God, to worship God – not only with our lips but by singing, praying out loud, like St. Cecilia, also with our hearts and by the way we live – by obeying God’s commandments, by loving one another.” During his classroom visits later that morning, Bishop Rhoades talked with the students about the sacraments and the Ten Commandments, but he also spoke about the life of faith more personally. To a student who asked, “What made you be in love with God?” Bishop Rhoades explained how his mom taught him how to pray. “Jesus became my best friend,” Bishop Rhoades said. “And still is,” he added, encouraging the students to get to know Jesus through praying, talking to Him, and reading about Him. The students also urged Bishop Rhoades to talk about his travels. When a young student asked how many countries Bishop Rhoades had visited, the bishop answered that he had counted them recently – 48. “That’s too many!” the student responded in surprise. Bishop Rhoades also was quizzed on his knowledge of country flags in the fourth-grade classroom, showed the third graders on a map where he had lived in Italy, and expressed his love for the Mediterranean Sea to the seventh graders. “I could live on a Greek island,” the bishop told them. The kindergarten students show Bishop Rhoades the paper foxes they are making. Holy Cross Father Ryan Pietrocarlo, pastor of St. Adalbert, told Today’s Catholic that Bishop Rhoades’ visit “brings a lot of excitement to our school community, and our faculty, staff, and students feel deeply supported knowing that the bishop is willing to dedicate so much time to spend with us and witness the mission of the school in action.” Crain hoped that the benefits of the visit extend to the bishop as well. “I am not a bishop; I cannot imagine the work or the planning or the organization or the heaviness of heart that role carries,” Crain said. “But I am the leader of a school, 250 people, and if I ever hope to be a decent administrator, I think that strength lies entirely in knowing my people. … I get excited to see them grow and work with their families. … I hope that on some level the chance to interact with our kiddos feeds our leaders, our superintendent, and our bishop. I hope it feeds what’s good in their soul and helps them to find energy and stamina and lightness of heart when it’s needed. It’s important because they make a lot of decisions that impact the kids, and there’s no better way to get to know them than to spend time with them.” St. Adalbert School is the oldest continuously running school in the city of South Bend, first opening its doors in 1910. The school building is as full of history as St. Adalbert Church next door, which is currently undergoing renovations for its preservation. In fact, the original parish church was on the lower level of the school building, which is now the school lunchroom. Although the school had permission from the construction company to have Mass with Bishop Rhoades in the church, roof renovations have recently forced them to have school Mass in the school lunchroom, recalling the space’s roots as a church. Crain mentioned that the school community built a special altar for use in the lunchroom Masses, and that students still wear their Mass uniforms. A Pre-K student at St. Adalbert School sports a uniform T-shirt with the school mascot, the eagle, on it. “It’s intentional in our school culture that Mass is set aside and special from everything else we do,” Crain said. Originally founded by Polish immigrants, the school today is largely first-generation Mexican-American – and as Father Pietrocarlo described it, the school offers “a Catholic education rooted in Latino culture.” “We celebrate and incorporate Latino culture into our education, including traditions such as Día de los Muertos altars, posadas, and devotions to Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Father Pietrocarlo said. “At the same time, we honor our Polish roots, inspired by our patron, St. Adalbert, and recognizing that as Hispanic immigrants, we follow a deep tradition of Polish immigrants who paved the way before us.” A sign of this shared Hispanic and Polish heritage is the school mascot, the eagle, which appears on both the Polish and the Mexican flags. Father Pietrocarlo added that English is the second language for most students, and that St. Adalbert School is an English as a New Language school. That status means one of the school’s goals is to help all its students reach proficiency in reading and writing English by the time they graduate in eighth grade. St. Adalbert School boasts a tight-knit community where many cousins and siblings go to school together. In fact, Crain’s daughter is the fourth generation in her family to attend the school. A testament to the community is that many of the parents rallied together to provide a home-cooked feast for Bishop Rhoades’ lunch during his visit. “There’s an elaborate network of who makes the best tamales, who makes the best fajitas,” Crain said. Crain continually expressed her pride in the community and school of St. Adalbert. “Enrollment is thriving, staff retention is up, our assessment scores are starting to go up, our church is getting the work that it needs, we have a strong pastoral team and amazing teachers, and if I could pick a time for someone to come check out what we’re doing, this is the time,” Crain said. 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