Joliet Catholic Academy Dedicates New Student Activity Center

By: Joseph J. Kerzich

The community of Joliet Catholic Academy, Joliet, Illinois, gathered in a palpable air of excitement to dedicate the new Student Activity Center on the First of February. This dynamic facility is a two story structure containing space for academic and athletic activities. The highlights include the Carmelite and Franciscan Heritage Hall and conference room; space for cheerleading, wrestling and dance programs, various athletic program offices, a training facility, separate locker rooms for men women and coaches. Additionally, facilities for concession sales and spirit shop and the new Alumni Hall greet visitors as they enter the spacious gymnasium which seats 1,200 fans who will come to cheer on the basketball and volleyball teams.

Academy President, Sister Faith Szambelanczyk, O.S.F., in her opening remarks mentioned the heritage of Joliet Catholic Academy includes that of the former Saint Francis Academy, Joliet Catholic High School and De La Salle High School, as context for this accomplishments of Joliet Catholic Academy in the future, which will certainly be aided by this wonderful addition to the school’s campus.

The recently installed Principal, Mr. Jeffrey Budz, along with chairpersons of various committees which supported the project planning and implementation, represented the larger community.

The Board of Directors and Board Members were present and recognized for their leadership in the J.C.A. Community, by faculty, students and families and the Joliet Catholic Academy Tapestry, the academy choir, under the direction of Ms. Joyce Kelstrom, led the congregation in song throughout the ceremony.

Included in the assembly was the family of Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Sasso United States Marine Corps, a distinguished alumnus of Joliet Catholic High School who is currently serving active duty in the Marines. “God Bless America” patriotically rang through the newly installed rafters, by J.C.A. students, past, present and future, as a flag of the United States of America, was presented to the Academy on the behalf of Sasso by his parents, Michael and Mary and his sister, Sheila.

Sasso, member of the Joliet Catholic High School class of 1979, entered the United States Marine Corps shortly after departing the halls of the former school on Broadway Street. A member of a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter unit “The Venus,” Sasso and his crewmates flew that flag during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2004. This flag may remind the community that Joliet Catholic Academy alumni continue to venture upon many paths of service.

Father John Welch, O.Carm., Prior Provincial, accompanied Sister Rosemary Fonck, O.S.F., President of the Sisters of Saint Francis, as they both presented symbols of their congregations’ spiritual traditions. The icon of Saint Elias and the San Damiano Cross will grace the new Heritage Hall within the Student Activity Center.

The Carmelites were also represented with the presence of Father Raymond Foster, O.Carm., Chaplain of Joliet Catholic Academy, who later said, “the Student Activity Center is the result of the hard work and dedication of our entire Joliet Catholic Academy school community. The assistance we received from the range of talent, trades, and professions of our community made this dream a reality. In addition to athletic events, it provides a fine center for all-school liturgies and assemblies.” Father David Simpson, O.Carm., Midwest Commissary Provincial and former teacher at Joliet Catholic High School as well as Father Bernhard Bauerle, O.Carm., Provincial Treasurer and former Principal of both Joliet Catholic High School and Academy.

Bishop Roger Kaffer, D.D., Auxiliary Bishop of Joliet, was present to among other functions, bless the halls of the new center. Sister Szambelanczyk remarked that Bishop Kaffer has always remained “a strong advocate of Joliet Catholic Academy.” Kaffer himself later shared that as a Joliet native, he had both Carmelite and Franciscan priests as confessors. It was Joliet Catholic High School where he would start his teaching career. He was present in 1956, when then Monsignor Romeo Blanchette, later Bishop of Joliet, dedicated a new wing at Joliet Catholic High School, and in 1990 when the communities of both Saint Francis Academy and Joliet Catholic High School merged to form the present Academy.

The chosen Gospel passage for the prayer service was selected from John 15:13, “no one has greater love than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” The first encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI,  Deus Caritas Est,(translated as God is Love), was released only days prior to the dedication. The parallels between this encyclical and the mission of the school were noted.

A sub-section of the encyclical entitled Charity as a responsibility of the Church opens with the statement, “Love of neighbor, grounded in the love of God, is first and foremost a responsibility for each individual member of the faithful, but it is also a responsibility for the entire ecclesial community at every level…”

Kaffer acknowledged that whether it is parents or children, teachers or students, coaches or athletes, alumni or contractors, individual sacrifices, actions rooted in love for another, were made to support “teenage students who attend a Catholic high school that does teach the love of God.” At each level of the Joliet Catholic Academy family, the love of neighbor rooted in God’s love, remains a reality.

As any major project at any Catholic high school, the Student Activity Center has not only the educational welfare of the current students in mind but also that of the future. Families with toddlers and infant children in hand who were present at the dedication, reminded one that these in fact might be future students of this great institution. Along with the Student Activity Center, the legacy of love continues with preparations for additional campus improvements. the original Alumni Hall, a tribute to past Angels and Hillmen where many alumni gatherings are held, will be renovated, along with the addition of five new classrooms and faculty work space, all of which is intended to reach completion in September of 2006.

For further information on Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet, Illinois, visit the school website, www.jca-online.org