Dear Colleagues in Catholic Education,
As Catholics, an Easter people, we live always in hope. We rejoice in the many moments of our school life that bring us joy, like welcoming a new class of kindergartners, or when a capital campaign surpasses its goal, or when we get to celebrate the everyday victories of students who discover new ways to share their gifts. It also sustains us in times of trial, like in the storms of natural disaster, the ache of loss, or the unthinkable tragedies that touch our communities.
On August 26, our team concluded a site visit in Minneapolis, working closely with the archdiocese, neighboring dioceses, and other key collaborators to plan for NCEA 2026. We left with great hope for the Convention and for the witness our Catholic schools will bring to the city next spring. The following morning, that same community was shaken when a gunman opened fire during a back-to-school Mass at Annunciation Catholic School and Church, claiming the lives of two students and injuring many others, including children and senior parishioners. During times like these, it is so easy for us to lose hope.
What steadies us as we face such evil is the realization that our hope is anchored in Christ. We know that hope is not just shallow optimism or wishful thinking, but rather comes from our Lord’s promise “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). The theme for Annunciation School this year is A Future Filled with Hope. What a providential reminder that even in the deepest sorrow, hope in Christ endures. It is this hope that carries us forward, even when fear threatens to overwhelm. We accompany our brothers and sisters in Minneapolis knowing that every prayer and every act of goodness is a light against the darkness of that morning.
Moments like these remind us why we must answer the call from the late Pope Francis to become Pilgrims of Hope in our time. As educators and leaders, you are called to embody this hope in classrooms and breakrooms, on playgrounds, and in board meetings. Soon after this edition of Momentum reaches your mailbox, I will be in Rome as part of the U.S. delegation for the Jubilee of the World of Education. I will be carrying your hope with me, the stories of your resilience, your creativity, and your faith. I will be giving thanks for the incredible gift of Catholic education, which helps our young people not only to dream of the future but to walk toward it with an unshakable hope, anchored in Christ.
Thank you for all you do to keep hope alive for the students, families, and communities you serve. Together, may we remember that the Lord’s plans are always for our good, to give us a future filled with hope.
Sincerely,
Dr. Steven F. Cheeseman
President/CEO
National Catholic Educational Association