“During my first three years at the University of Portland, I have appreciated it as a tremendous center of human talent, creativity and excellence” says Fr. Charlie McCoy, C.S.C. "But as a priest these great blessings also embody a kind of temptation to neglect a major part of my vocation. For when describing how a good shepherd should behave, Jesus asks, 'If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?'" Read More

“‘Jesus lives here.’  That was one of the responses that we received from our students when we asked them to reflect on their experience of St. Adalbert School and what makes it special,” writes Fr. Peter Pacini, C.S.C., the pastor of St. Adalbert & St. Casimir Parishes in South Bend, Ind. “That first grader stated succinctly, and with a wisdom revealed only to children, why our educational mission at St. Adalbert’s matters. … St. Adalbert School is a beacon of faith and hope for children growing up in a very tough environment.” Read More

“The University of Portland has enjoyed a full month for Christmas break in 2011-2012, and I have spent some of it reading over, editing, and critiquing two different mathematics papers that have not yet been published,” writes Fr. Charlie McCoy, C.S.C.  “What does any of this have to do with being a Holy Cross priest, or even with being a follower of Christ?” He answers his own question by finding inspiration in Jesus who “loved us to the end.” Read More

“In the field of religious education we call this traditioning, literally “to hand on or give across generations”, but of late this practice has been recognized to be in need of renewal, to put it mildly,” writes Fr. Kevin Sandberg, C.S.C., about his advanced studies. “So it is to such a ministry that I have been brought by providence and sent on assignment as a professional ‘educator in the faith.’” Read More

“I certainly do put the vast majority of my energy into these works [teaching mathematics and serving as a pastoral resident at Villa Maria Hall],” writes Fr. Charlie McCoy, C.S.C., “but I am consistently amazed at how some of the most significant experiences I have with the students of UP fall outside of these precise parameters.” Read More

“I am a concrete finisher.” That is not something you hear every day from a Ph.D. candidate at one of the world’s top universities, yet Fr. Dan Parrish, C.S.C., tells how obedience to God’s call in his life led him from finishing concrete to the priesthood in Holy Cross and then eventually to higher studies. “Whatever workshops we find ourselves in, we roll up our sleeves and work to make God known, loved, and served.” Read More

“Father, I hear you’re a real hard guy in the classroom. Now, when you’re in the dorms or just around campus, everybody says there isn’t a nicer, friendlier, priest at UP.”  Regardless of the reputation’s validity, I began to reflect that maybe this combination of toughness in public settings and gentleness in more personal ones isn’t actually such a bad reputations for a minster in the Church. Read More

Brother John Paige was inaugurated the 4th President of Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Ind. Rev. Richard Warner, C.S.C.'s, homily was a powerful reflection on how a Holy Cross education finds its source and summit in the Holy Eucharist and is ex corde ecclesiae -- at the very center of the heart of the Church.  Read More

In the midst of our exclusive coverage of Ordinations, we are still bringing you our regularly schedule programming, which today includes Fr. Charlie McCoy, C.S.C., posting from the University of Portland. As always, it’s a brilliant post you will not want to miss! Read More

Fr. Charlie McCoy, C.S.C., has checked in with this month’s installment of his blog from the University of Portland, and it is quite timely, coming on the heels of the great feast day Saturday. Read More

Fr. Charlie McCoy, C.S.C., has checked in with his monthly post. This time it is a truly insightful reflection on our union as brothers and priests in Holy Cross. Read More

To end our celebration of Catholic Schools Week on a highpoint, Deacon Paul Ybarra, C.S.C., shares with us the story of how God called him through his work as a teacher in the Alliance for Catholic Education to enter Holy Cross as a seminarian. Deacon Paul will be ordained a priest in Sacred Heart Basilica on Saturday, April 30. What a great day that will be for Paul, for Holy Cross, and for the Church as he enters into a new and definite chapter in his ministry as an educator in the faith. Read More

We continue our celebration of Catholic Schools Week today by hearing from Chuck Lamphier. He works for the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame and serves as President of the School Board at Holy Cross School (which is a school run by Holy Cross) in South Bend, Indiana. A wonderful collaboration with Holy Cross in our mission and a great man of faith, Chuck shares with us the true hope he sees Catholic schools bringing each and every day. Read More

Our celebration of Catholic Schools Week continues today with the perspective of one of our dynamic, young pastors, Fr. John DeRiso, C.S.C., who shepherds St. Joseph Parish and School in South Bend, IN.  Under his leadership, St. Joseph has reached record enrollment and is one of the leaders in the whole state of Indiana in terms of its students' achievements.  Today, though, Fr. John shares how it is not just the children who are learning at St. Joseph Grade School. Read More

Today we continue our celebration by hearing from Brogan Ryan who gave two years of his life teaching in Catholic schools through the Alliance for Catholic Education. Since its founding in 1994 by Fr. Scully and Fr. Sean McGraw, C.S.C., ACE has become the largest provider of Catholic school teachers in the United States. It is a powerful way that as educators in the faith, Holy Cross in collaboration with many committed lay men and women continues to bring hope to Catholic schools. Read More

From our founding, the Congregation of Holy Cross has been committed to Catholic Education as an essential part of the Church’s mission of spreading the Good News and establishing God’s Kingdom in this world. To mark Catholic Schools Week this year, we have a series of posts highlighting the work of Holy Cross in this important mission field. We begin with one of the great educators in the faith in Holy Cross today, Fr. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., the director of Notre Dame’s pioneering Institute for Educational Initiatives. He lays out for us the challenge, but also the hope of Catholic Education today … as well as a little preview of what Holy Cross is doing to help bring about that hope. Read More

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Catholic Schools Week. So on the eve of that great week, it is a great joy to share the news that one of our Holy Cross pastors, Fr. Neil Wack, C.S.C., was named a Distinguished Pastor by the National Catholic Education Assocation (NCEA) for his "outstanding support of Catholic Education". Fr. Neil is pastor at the parish he grew up in as a child - Christ the King Parish in South Bend, IN. Read More

Fr. Charlie McCoy, C.S.C., University of Portland math professor, resident priest, and blogger extraordinaire, has sent us his blog for January, and it is another marvelous one about letting the Lord be a guest in our lives. It reminds one of St. Andre Bessette and his ministry as a doorkeeper. Read More

Christ the King Parish School, a Holy Cross parish and school in South Bend, IN, was recently featured in the local diocesan newspaper Today's Catholic. Read More

Fr. Charlie McCoy, C.S.C., associate professor of mathematics at University of Portland and our regular blog correspondent, has checked in with a powerful reflection about hope. Written from the perspective of a professor at finals time, it reveals the real spiritual depth of the vocation of a professor priest as a man with hope to bring. Read More

Fr. Bill Miscamble, C.S.C, a Professor of History as well as the President of the University Faculty for Life at Notre Dame, shares with us some of the unsung Holy Cross heroes in the Pro-Life Movement. Read More

Mr. Brian Ching, C.S.C, our seminarian out at St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, AZ, has sent his latest post on life in the parish. Picking up from the profile on Wednesday on Fr. Joe, who actually founded and built the school at St. John Vianney, Brian shares a reflection on the importance of Catholic education and the hope it brings. Read More

Even on paper, the goal of increasing the enrollment of Latino children in Catholic schools from 250,000 to 1,000,000 seems like a pretty big undertaking, and yet that is precisely the mission of Fr. Joe Corpora, C.S.C., the Director of the Catholic School Advantage Campaign at the University of Notre Dame. Read More

One of my best friends and mentors in Holy Cross once told me that what attracted him most to our congregation was the variety of our ministries. “I knew I’d be less likely to get bored or slip into an unhealthy rut,” he said with his usual matter-of-fact wisdom. Now I’m not a person for whom boredom is a real problem; life usually entertains or intrigues . . . Read More

We have our latest post from Fr. Charlie McCoy out at the University of Portland in his monthly blog on university ministry called "It All Adds UP."  In keeping with the canonization theme, he shares about the re-dedication of a chapel on the campus. Read More

Today we continue our week highlighting our Holy Cross mission in East Africa.  Today we take a look at education as a part of that mission, focusing on Holy Cross Lakeview, a secondary school founded by Holy Cross in Jinja, Uganda.  Bro. Alan Harrod, C.S.C., a missionary to East Africa, shares the amazing story of the school with us. Read More

Fr. Charlie McCoy, C.S.C., continues sharing with us the adventures of being a professor, pastoral resident, and priest at the University of Portland in this second post in his monthly series. Last time, Fr. Charlie told us about a 30-foot gorilla. This time, he shares about “Come to Jesus moments.” Read More

In this monthly series, Fr. Jim Connelly, the Superior of Holy Cross House, the community’s medical and retirement facility, will share with us some of the life stories of some of those heroic, faith-filled men, living and deceased. Today, we learn about Fr. Michael Murphy, C.S.C., who passed away this July. Read More

Fr. H. Richard Rutherford, C.S.C., a Holy Cross priest and professor of theology at the University of Portland, was awarded a Fulbright Research Grant for Spring 2010 to study early Byzantine / late antique church architecture involving baptismal spaces on Cyprus in comparison with similar structures in costal Asia Minor (Turkey). Today this scholar priest shares with us what it means for him to be an educator in the faith in Holy Cross. Read More

Starting on Sunday, August 29, Holy Cross priests and brothers from around the world will be reflecting on what Brother André means to them personally in their lives and ministry. As a preview to that series, we are sharing the homily that Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C., preached at the Opening of the School Year Mass for the University of Notre Dame. The homily reflects on what this humble saint has to teach those of us engaged in study or ministry in the apostolate of higher education. Read More