By Maria Ferris | Correspondent

The foundation of any organization is based on its identity – “who you are” – and its mission—“what you do.” And in the realm of Catholic education, its identity has always been – ever since the first Catholic school was built in the United States – rooted in the life, ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ.

So said Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., when he gathered with faculty and staff of St. Gregory the Great Academy and members of the parish community during Catholic Schools Week to talk about a topic near and dear to his heart – Catholic identity and the mission of Catholic education.

Catholic education is about leading others to having an encounter with Jesus Christ, “who loves, who has mercy, who forgives, who supports us, who embraces us, no matter what we look like or where we are from,” he said.

Referring to truth as being the cornerstone of the Catholic faith upon which the identity and mission of Catholic schools are based, Bishop O’Connell said to the educators that, “You not only tell them what truth is, you tell them how to find it on their own.”

During his Feb. 3 visit to the Hamilton Square school, Bishop O’Connell shared how his passion to promote Catholic identity and Catholic education evolved over the many years he served as a Catholic educator, working as both teacher and administrator at the high school, seminary and university levels. It’s a passion that continues to intensify now in his ministry as Bishop of the Trenton Diocese.

Sharing that he considers himself to be the “chief teacher in the Diocese,” Bishop O’Connell admitted that his ministry in education was a far cry from his original goals when he was studying to be a priest. He shared that he wanted to work with the poor in a parish in Bedfordstyversant, N.Y.

“Every year they’d send me to study. I said, ‘What is it with the studies?’ I was saying to myself, ‘I want to be a priest. I want to work with poor.’ I never got the chance. Why? Because my superiors said education is going to be this guy’s work,” said Bishop O’Connell.

Reflecting on his vast experience in Catholic education, Bishop O’Connell emphasized that in order to effectively carry out the mission of Catholic education, parents, teachers, students, administrators, the community and benefactors must work in concert to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Parents are the first teachers of faith,” and they then entrust the schools with their children, said Bishop O’Connell, adding that while admin-istrators “lead” the charge in school, “teachers do the charging.”

Quoting from Irish poet William Butler Yeats, “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire,” Bishop O’Connell said, “The purpose of Catholic schools is to keep the fire burning, to keep the interest, and keep the engagement.”

Father Michael McClane, pastor of St. Gregory the Great Parish, said the Bishop’s message resonated. “It’s a parish of 5,700 families. We’re always talking about the need for greater unity,” he said.

The ideas he shared “about identity and mission are going to help us refine our mission here,” Father McClane said.

Having Bishop O’Connell address the faculty and staff during Catholic Schools Week and on the day when the school held its Faculty Appreciation Day was particularly meaningful, Father Mc-Clane said, because the day was about celebrating those men and women who are “committed to teaching here, to being administers here.”

Today, Father McClane added, is “a celebration, as the Bishop mentioned, of a relationship with Jesus Christ in that our school can freely talk about him.”

Christine Fuccello, a teacher in the academy, said she appreciated Bishop O’Connell’s message.

“It’s about our Catholic identity and we live it every day and that it’s everywhere. It’s in our school and you see it on the faces of the faculty and students,” Fuccello said.

Dr. Jason Briggs, principal of St. Gregory the Great Academy, said he considers Bishop O’Connell to be the foremost expert on Catholic education in the Diocese, He said the Bishop’s address gave the faculty and staff an opportunity to “consciously think about Catholic education, why we do what we do and how we do what we do.” Dr. Briggs added that when everyone involved with Catholic schools works together, “the mission happens”– and that’s evangelization. Even though times can be challenging for Catholic education, “Catholic schools have it all,” said the Bishop, referring to a recently-introduced initiative to promote Catholic education throughout the Diocese.

“We see the whole picture. Math is math, science is science. “The Catholic Church has no claim on those things. But what we do offer is faith.”