Dear Brothers and Friends,
I would like to share some information with all of you.?`?Yesterday, we realized a dream that had been hoped for over the past number of years. We opened Pope John Paul II Catholic High School in Greenville, NC. The freshman class consists of 23 students. The vast majority are graduates of St. Peter’s. A grade will be added each year with increasingly larger classes until the school reaches the 9-12 configuration with about 100 students per grade. Last March, the diocese officially announced that this new high school would be opened in the fall. Land had been purchased nearly 8 years ago consisting of 63 acres adjacent to St.Gabriel’s church property for this first Catholic High School east of Raleigh. Classrooms are being rented from St.Gabriel’s Church until a new separate facility is built. Construction should begin within the year. So many parents had hoped for such a school. It is becoming a reality.
May I also inform you of our grammar school here at St. Peter’s. We opened yesterday with an enrollment of 558 students pre-k to 8th grade. There are 97 others, mostly non-parishioners, on the waiting list. Our school has no debt and receives no subsidy from the parish. In fact with the development office, it is setting up endowments to assure that all Catholics who wish to attend are able to receive a Catholic education. It is regarded as one of the finest schools in our state.
We had a successful Mission Trip in July and stayed at the Retreat House in Pittsburgh for 8 days. Joe Farris, our youth minister, arranged for our teenagers to live at St. Paul’s and go throughout the city on 21 different work projects in serving the poor and needy. 121 of our teens attended accompanied by 26 adults including myself. I was deeply touched by our young people and their prayerfulness. I do hope and pray we get vocations from these people. The Raleigh diocese has been campaigning for more priests. This year they have 22 seminarians with about nine more in a discernment process.
We open our new R.C.I.A. classes this Thursday, feast of Bl. Dominic Barberi. This past Easter our parish received 43 candidates into the Catholic Church. We are expecting an even bigger class this year. Many protestants are joining our church. Hence, we are praying to Bl. Dominic. God is blessing this ministry.??Art Schneider, whom some of you know, finished his first year of studies for the deaconate. Bishop Burbidge approved him this week to proceed toward becoming a deacon. That will be another blessing for our parish.
Lastly, today we initiate a new web site. We just got it up and running and will be adding all sorts of things over the next days. Please visit our web site at: www.saintpetercatholicchurch.org . Keep us in your prayers down here in the southern missions!
Father Justin Kerber, C.P.
