With these words, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki challenged current and future students of Father McGivney Catholic High School (FMCHS) to take advantage of the gift bestowed upon them — the gift of a Catholic education.
Bright sunshine and crisp morning temperatures greeted Bishop Paprocki as he arrived at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Edwardsville Sept. 22 to celebrate Mass in honor of the groundbreaking later that day of the new building site for FMCHS. Past and present pastors in the Alton deanery concelebrated the Mass.
During his homily, Bishop Paprocki told students their goal should be to "share the gifts the Lord has given them." Citing the parable of the lamp from the Gospel of Luke, Bishop Paprocki said, "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light." The bishop counseled students to do their best, to share the gifts given to them by the Lord and to be good stewards of those gifts.
Joining FMCHS students were those from the deanery's eight feeder schools who served as musicians, ushers and altar servers during Mass.
Bishop Paprocki and members of the clergy, including host pastor, Father Jeff Goeckner, later joined the FMCHS founders, executive and school boards at a luncheon prior to groundbreaking.
"This is the culmination of a lot of hard work from a lot of visionary people," said Bill Cefaratti, a member of the school board since 2012. "We look forward to the school fulfilling its mission for years to come."
From St. Boniface, participants traveled to the blessing of the new building site by Bishop Paprocki and ceremonial groundbreaking near the corner of Old Troy and Bouse roads in Glen Carbon.
"It's a dream come true," exclaimed Doug Villhard, FMCHS board president.
During his remarks, Villhard told of sacrifices both large and small from believers in the project and how just days before the events of Sept. 22, the board was unsure that the $5 million capital campaign goal would be reached; a requirement before breaking ground.
Students are scheduled to move into the new facility in the fall semester of 2015. Currently, FMCHS uses a private wing at St. John Neumann School in Maryville and has an enrollment of 88 students.
