A Catholic Archdiocesan High School
What does it mean to be a Catholic Archdiocesan High School?
The Holy See, through its documents and interventions, whether of the Pope or of other Vatican offices, recognize in Catholic schools an enormous heritage and an indispensable instrument in carrying out the Church’s mission in the third Christian millennium. Ensuring their genuinely Catholic identity is the Church’s greatest challenge. With this in mind, he summarized more than fifty years of Vatican documents concerning Catholic schools.
In his document, Miller summarized five areas of Catholic identity in a Catholic School. Of those, #4 states, “…a school will be ‘Imbued with the Catholic Worldview.’ The Catholic Worldview calls for Catholic schools to include in every curricular area our Catholic faith. “This integration of the faith in all curricular areas, gradually develops every capability of every student: their intellectual, physical, psychological, moral and religious dimensions. It is intentionally directed to the growth of the whole person.
The Holy See’s Mission for Catholic Schools:
The Mission of Catholic schools is about making God known, loved, and served.
The Mission of Catholic schools is about making God known, loved, and served.
The Mission of Catholic schools is to help students find answers to life’s seminal questions:
-
Where did I come from?
-
Why am I here?
-
Where am I going?
The Goals of Catholic School Education:
-
To inform, form, & transform.
-
To provide for the development of the whole person: Mind, heart, body, and spirit.
-
Providing for students' spiritual and faith formation, meaning nurturing a real relationship with Jesus and the Father in the Holy Spirit through sacraments, prayer, and service.
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, “The Holy See’s Teachings on Catholic Schools,” (September, 2005)
The Archdiocese of Portland’s Vision for The Mission of Catholic Schools:
Why do Catholic Schools exist?
To give witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To give witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
What do Catholic Schools do?
We minister the salvation of Jesus Christ, exercising His mission to teach, sanctify, and shepherd his people.
What do we do in the Catholic Educational Apostolate?
We exercise Jesus’ mission by educating and forming the human person in support of the domestic church.
As an Archdiocesan school, Central Catholic High School brings life to the Archdiocese of Portland's vision for the Mission of Catholic Schools, focusing on helping our students understand that they have “been created to live in a relationship of love with the Holy Trinity and that they are formed to have an active spiritual life” (Archdiocese of Portland).
Central Catholic is committed to students demonstrating mastery of a curriculum that integrates a Catholic worldview throughout and that exposes them to the best of Catholic intellectual tradition. As such, all of our academic content standards directly align with our student outcomes. And, we honor and protect the Church’s vision of parents as primary educators of their children and the home as the first school.
Central Catholic is committed to diversity, mirroring the broader world through the richness of our racial, spiritual, neurodiverse, and socioeconomic differences. We support and empower students from all backgrounds and lived experiences. We believe the ideal learning environment recognizes and honors every individual's unique story as inspired by God to bring good into the world.
Central Catholic celebrates Mass as an all-school community monthly and on all Holy Days of obligation that fall on school days. An optional Mass is offered daily during lunch for faculty, staff, and students. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered through Theology courses during the seasons of Advent and Lent.
14-841A95861.jpg
