WARWICK — The Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope held its third annual gala at the Crowne Plaza. Together with the teachers, faculty, board members, and students and their families, the event attracted more than 500 people, including a large number of local clergy and religious, diocesan representatives, and representatives from other Catholic schools who came in support of the newest educational addition to the Diocese of Providence.
“We’re grateful and blessed to have the support to do what we’re doing, to bring classical Catholic education to Rhode Island, and to help raise up students to lead in the future,” said Dr. Robert Duffy, Ph.D., headmaster.
Our Lady of Hope is a part of the Chesterton Academy network of schools throughout the country rooted in a classical approach to education. The schools, which take their name from the 19th century British Catholic journalist, social critic and philosopher G.K. Chesterton, are grounded in an integral understanding of the educational life of their students, emphasizing both the centrality of teaching the faith as well as the importance of the more general sources of Western thought, including classic literature, philosophy and history.
Many see the Chesterton Academy as providing students with the tools necessary to resist the abandonment of Christian values that has become more pervasive in our time.
“The biggest thing for me is the faith and the community,” said Lucian Firel, a freshman and a parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Wakefield. “We foster young men, young women to grow up as good men, good women with the right values.”
“We have Mass every day, we have faith incorporated into every class, we have prayer at the end of every class.”
The positive impact of a strong emphasis on faith and community was something attested to by many of the other students present.
“It’s helped me get closer to my faith. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that there’s always people there for you no matter where you go,” Natalia Monfils, senior, noted.
Parents also have seen the benefits of this holistic view of education.
“I became aware of it about a year before it opened,” said Dr. Luigi Bradizza, a professor at Salve Regina University and parent of Chesterton Academy students.
“What really impressed me was the liberal arts focus. They’re educating the whole person, and the books that they are teaching the kids are of permanent value.”
“[They’ve grown] in every way,” Bradizza continued. “They have great friends, zero distractions…They’re expected to speak up in class routinely and think out loud.”
Many students believe that an approach to education that engages the whole person can bring about immense intellectual and spiritual growth.
Reggie Johnson, a junior and parishioner at SS. John and Paul in Coventry, echoed these sentiments. Reggie is also a prefect, one of a small handful of upperclassmen tasked with helping newer students manage their time at the school. Johnson noted how an approach that cuts across the realms of the intellectual, the spiritual and the personal brought about radical changes in his mindset.
“I know I have changed a lot. I think my overall attitude is less gloomy,” said Johnson. “I didn’t look forward to things. I didn’t exactly believe that everything was good. But that’s what they teach at the school, that everything is good, and we rejoice in everything, we are grateful for everything.”
Although the school is relatively new, being approved to operate by Bishop Thomas J. Tobin in late 2022 and opening its doors for the 2023-2024 academic year, the school has grown by leaps and bounds since, with its incoming freshman class being the largest so far, at 18.
“I think what we’re doing is necessary, and there’s a lot of parents, and a lot of their children, who want something that is authentically Catholic, and classical, and small,” said Michael Casey, school’s founder.
Casey pointed out the school’s attraction for many local Catholics is its community-oriented and personalized approach to education.
“What it comes down to is, everyone can contribute to the community. … There’s something here for everybody,” Casey said.
“When we launched the school in 2022, we dreamed of something rare: a school where academic excellence, deep faith and authentic joy come together, not just to form students, but to form saints,” Casey said in a speech given during the gala. “Parents want more than college prep or job training. They want virtue, wisdom and beauty. Classical education offers that.”
