The Catholic community here [in the United States] has in fact made education one of its highest priorities.This undertaking has not come without great sacrifice. Towering figures, like St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and other founders and foundresses, with great tenacity and foresight, laid the foundations of what is today a remarkable network of parochial schools contributing to the spiritual well-being of the Church and the nation. Some, like St.Katharine Drexel, devoted their lives to educating those whom others had neglected—in her case,African Americans and Native Americans. Countless dedicated religious sisters, brothers, and priests, together with selfless parents have, through Catholic schools, helped generations of immigrants to rise from poverty and take their place in mainstream society.
