Pair honored for work for Catholic schools
Cardinal, Connors lauded at gala
The Campaign for Catholic Schools honored Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley and philanthropist Jack Connors Thursday night during a 15th anniversary celebration of an effort that has raised more than $130 million to transform Catholic education in urban areas of Greater Boston.
Students, educators, and business leaders gathered at the Seaport Hotel for a gala dinner. Students from St. John Paul Catholic Academy in Dorchester and Trinity Catholic Academy in Brockton greeted guests. They led a prayer in multiple languages.
“Without the campaign, we wouldn’t exist,” said Jennifer Roy, head of school at Trinity
Catholic Academy.
The campaign is a cosponsor of the two academies, which were formed in 2007 by combining Catholic schools at risk of closing in Brockton and Boston. On five campuses, the academies serve students from preschool to grade eight, many from low-income families, the archdiocese said.
Brothers John and Michael Gabelus, who graduated from St. John Paul, attended the event. “It’s just an opportunity to help give back to the school,” said John, a 2008 graduate who spoke at the dinner.
Michael, who graduated in 2009 and is now a teacher at the school, sees his role as an opportunity to “help more students at more schools,” he said.
Connors, a retired advertising executive, was honored as a cofounder of the campaign, with the first Jack Connors Good Samaritan Award. Going forward, the award will be presented annually to a student at each academy.
“I think the word for tonight is gratitude,” he said of the hundreds of attendees seated at round tables decorated with pink and purple flower arrangements and white candles.
He credited the academies’ governance model, which relies on lay leaders, with ensuring success. “One thing we discovered was that leadership doesn’t require ordination,” Connors said in an interview.
He spoke about how this discovery opened up leadership opportunity at the schools the campaign co-sponsors.
Connors had a dignified approach to his leadership and the campaign’s accomplishments. “It’s no big deal. It’s what we’re supposed to do.”
O’Malley received the St. John Paul II Catholic Academy Jack and Eileen Connors Founders Award.
In an interview, he said it was “very humbling” to receive the award named for Connors and his wife, noting the couple’s “wonderful work,” on behalf of Catholic schools.
He added, “I am a product of Catholic school and I don’t think I need any awards beyond that. That was a great gift in my life.”
O’Malley said he’s especially proud that “so many young people, who in other circumstances, wouldn’t have been able to get a fine Catholic education now, have this opportunity that, for them, will truly be life changing.”
Jose Carlos, an eighth-grader at Trinity Catholic, enjoys the wide variety of classes offered.
“There are chances to learn things that I wouldn’t learn in other schools,” Carlos said.
Another Trinity Catholic eighth-grader said she enjoys her religious education at school.
“I’m learning things about God that I haven’t learned in public school,” said Eyanie Goncalves.