March 2023

Release Date: March 17, 2023

St. Mary Catholic School in Hillsboro to Close; Preschool Plans to Remain Open

St. Mary Catholic School, operated by St. Mary Catholic Parish in Hillsboro, will close at the end of the current school year, effective July 1, 2023.

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati, accepted a joint recommendation from the parish pastor, the parish council, and Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese that the school close. However, the preschool is planning to remain open.

“We are very sad that this decision was necessary,” said Ms. Susan Gibbons, Superintendent of Catholic Schools. “St. Mary is an excellent school that has been providing Catholic values and a quality education for children for more than twenty years. The school has been a cherished part of the small community in rural Highland County. This is a loss for not only the students and families but for the entire community.”

St. Mary Catholic School has been strongly supported by the community. Several yearly community events raised money to assist with tuition costs at the school. These included the Lenten fish frys, quarter raffles, and golf tournaments. “I would like to thank all the families for the wonderful support they have shown over the years,” said Mr. Benjamen Pence, principal of St. Mary Catholic School. “It is heartbreaking to have to close the school and I wish nothing but the best for all of our students and staff.”

St. Mary School has been in operation since the 2000-2001 school year. The school began with a total of 12 students in the first and second grades in the fall of 2000. Two grades were then added each year until it became fully accredited from the Ohio Catholic School Accrediting Association in 2010. In recent years, enrollment has become a major struggle, especially after COVID-19. Currently, the school has only 17 students, but the school needs 34 students to be viable.

Fr. Michael Paranuik, pastor at St. Mary Parish in Hillsboro, has informed the staff, parish and school families of the upcoming closure, saying in part, “We need to celebrate the 23 years and what good we have done and the wonderful blessings for our students. As we close this door, God will open another door.”

Although St. Mary Catholic School is closing at the end of this school year, the preschool program is planning to remain open. More details about the preschool program will be forthcoming in the next several months.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 51^stlargest Catholic diocese in the country, with around 435,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with nearly 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 208 canonical parishes organized into 57 Families of Parishes, and 113 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

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Jennifer Schack

Director of Media Relations

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Office | 513.263.6618

Cell | 859.512.5626

[email protected]

Before ascending into heaven, Jesus instructed His disciples saying, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19). And, with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, they did just that. The disciples went out from Jerusalem and carried the message of the Gospel to all corners of the earth. The Church continues to follow Jesus’ command, and God calls each of us to share in that same mission.

The work of evangelization is not a responsibility belonging only to clergy or consecrated women and men. From the beginning, the Gospel has spread from person to person. Each of us has the opportunity to bring others to know Jesus and the Good News of our salvation through Him. In baptism we become partakers in God’s own divine life. Because of this, every aspect of our lives has the potential to be an avenue through which God’s grace can reach others. This means that we not only evangelize through our words; rather, all our actions and the decisions we make can also speak to the truths of the Gospel.

A life which radiates the Gospel is built upon prayer and virtue. We strive to follow the example of Jesus, staying united to the Father in the Holy Spirit and seeking to act as He did, fostering the qualities, attitudes and habits which He exemplified for His disciples. Jesus taught His disciples, and they took what they learned from Him and then went out and taught others. The disciples also brought their friends to Jesus so they could hear Him speak or, perhaps, be healed by Him. It was a work in which many took part.

The same is true today: evangelization happens through the prayers, work and sacrifices of many. I want to take advantage of this moment to reflect on the great gift the Center for the New Evangelization (CNE) is for our archdiocese. The many gifted individuals who form the CNE team assist parish leaders in fostering deeper communion and discernment of a renewed mission to bring the Gospel to all. They also seek to find ways to reach the lost, those who have drifted from Christ or perhaps have never known Him, and invite them to an encounter with the God who loves them. The CNE team provides spiritual resources and practical training in various areas of evangelization and discipleship: youth ministry, faith formation for adults of all ages, marriage and family life, and Hispanic ministry. In doing so, they assist people throughout our archdiocese and beyond its borders in learning to live a life which radiates the Gospel. Many of our parishes have benefited greatly from the retreats, workshops, conferences and one-on-one assistance the CNE team members provide. Through the guidance and resources of the CNE, parish ministries become more effective in forming disciples of Jesus Christ. This is made possible by your generous support of the annual Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA), for which I am deeply grateful.

None of us can reach heaven alone; we need each other. This is why Christ gives us the Church. Together we can bring more people to know, love and follow Jesus Christ, but that work begins with our own discipleship. We must first be with the Lord through prayer and virtuous living, and then go out and tell others what we have seen and heard (cf. Lk. 7:22).

Archives for March 2023