Althoff Catholic High School - Crusader Yearbook (Belleville, IL)

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Time of Favor — I ' ve done about 150 Confirmations since I ' ve been here. I think they ' ve been pretty well prepared. The big trick is to get them to relax. I meet with them before, you know, and I try to crack a joke or something to get them to open up. So if I can just get them to relax — and I ' m not looking just for stock answers, I ' m looking for some deeper things. I ask them what they ' re hoping for in the future, and how the Holy Spirit might be of assistance to them. But I ' ve found them well prepared and pretty honest. Do you foresee the closing of any more Catholic schools? I see the schools as being very stable right now. And you know, I have never closed a school unless the community has searched through the question and the local community has made a recommendation to me. So, if a community really wants to keep their school alive, I will do everything I can to encourage that. There are very few cases where this is not possible, but maybe in some cases, it is going to be a real struggle. To me, it is a waste of resources to see one parish building extra classrooms, while just a few blocks away, another school has empty classrooms. That just does not make «ny sense to me, and I don ' t think this is a sign of strength. What is your responsibility concerning the parochial school system? There is a board that meets regularly, called the Diocesan School Board. It is a very strong board. It comes up with recommendations on pay scales, opening-closing of schools, and curriculum. The Director of Education, Mr. Tom Posnanski, is at the meetings every month, and he presents his programs to the board and then the board concurs and goes on. The board handles education in al¬ most all its aspects. While schools are the main part, it also handles Adult Education, RCIA, and the PSR programs. About one-half of the parishes have schools, and we have, of course, four high schools. So there are a lot of places in the diocese, which consists of 28 counties, that don ' t have the opportunity for Catholic schooling. We have six dean¬ eries, the East Deanery (14 counties) has no Catholic high school. Neither does the South Deanery, which goes all the way down to Cairo. The Belleville Deanery has Althoff; East St. Louis has Assumption; the West has Gibault, and the West Central has Mater Dei. Of the Confirmations you have done, how prepared have the students been? A time of favor. That ' s how Bishop James P. Keleher de¬ scribed this year ' s centennial celebra¬ tion of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville. Taken from the Old Testament, a time of favor refers to a time to remember the heroic deeds, struggles and faith of ancestors, Keleher said. As we celebrate this time of favor, re¬ membering the past and growing closer to each other in the Spirit, may we also look with hopeful eyes to our future, Keleher wrote in his centennial procla¬ mation. Today, the diocese covers 11,678 square miles — Illinois ' 28 southernmost counties — and comprises 122,419 Catholics, 130 parishes, 156 clergy and 21 seminarians. Total population in the diocese is 861,986. St. Peter ' s Cathedral, Belleville 1. Molly Polka speaks with the Bishop and records the following interview. 2. St. John ' s Orphanage is the Pastoral Center now. 2

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CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL MAGAZINE 1986-1987 2 Talk with Bishop 6 National News 12 Area News 16 New Faces 18 Democracy News 20 Historic and Landmark Birthdays 22 Fashion in ' 87 26 Tasty Tunes 30 Trendy Trends 34 A Visit to the Other Side

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Greets Church ' s 100th 1900 — A site is purchased for St. John ' s Orphanage. 1905 — Cathedral High School in Belleville opens. 1912 — St. Peter ' s Cathedral in Belleville burns; restoration begins later. 1913 — Janssen dies. 1914 — The Rev. Henry J. Alth- off is ordained the second bishop of Belleville. 1926 — St. Henry ' s Preparatory Seminary opens; closed in 1984. 1947 — Althoff dies and is re¬ placed by the Rev. Albert R. Zuroweste. 1950s — The diocese opens four high schools: Assumption in East St. Louis; Gibault in Waterloo; Mater Dei in Breese; and Althoff in Belleville. 1962-65 — Zuroweste serves as Council Father at Vatican II. 1976 — Zuroweste retires and is replaced by the Rev. William M. Cosgrove. 1981 — Cosgrove retires and is replaced by the Rev. John N. Wurm. 1984 — Wurm dies and is re¬ placed by the Rev. James P. Ke- leher. 1987 — Diocese celebrates its centennial. In the areas where there are no Catholic schools, how are the children educated in religion?? They do very well. Many of the parishes have a Director of Religious Education that is responsible for coordinating the whole religious program for the parish. They are like the principal; they do all the organizing. It ' s a great way for the laity to get involved in one of the most important ministries of the church — education. Is the CYO meeting the needs of the youth in the diocese?? This is the most active CYO I ' ve experienced. In other places I ' ve seen, it ' s been exclusively athletic. Ours includes social and spiritual. It can be furthered. One problem is that there is no counterpart for those older than CYO age — young adults. Will we lose contact with those out of high school? 20-24 could be very productive — this is my only worry. Why do you think that so few religious vocations are occur¬ ring in the diocese? It ' s a national trend. We will ordain three priests this year. In the past four years no one was ordained. One — we be¬ come more materialistic and individualistic; for a person to become a religious the road is not open to material gains. Two — on the positive side, a lot are discovering that they can serve in the Church as laity. What are you feelings about the youth in our diocese? I find them open and positive. I wish I was able to work directly with them. I miss that, the openness. Young people like to make it a better world. They are very altruistic, and the Church needs to tap this. When kids finish high school, it seems we lose a lot. The theme of the Centennial is A Time of Favor. I think that the years that you have spent at Althoff have been very graced. Those years have been difficult and exciting. It was good to spend them at Althoff. Look back and remember the years, remember the faith you have made and the friends you have made. It is a time of favor for our future. The Lord will continue to walk with us through the hard times. Look at the future with a lot of hope and be faithful to values and the Blood of Christ and the faith of your church.