Mater Dei Academy . . . Contributions Support This Faithful, Classical School
By CONNIE MARSHNER
Last week we discussed how in the space of twenty years did Ireland go from being the most Catholic country in Europe to being the most anti-Catholic country in the world, and hinted at a new hope arising. And that hope, like the other historic hopes of Ireland, just might be related to the generosity of Irish-Americans.
The Saints and Scholars Foundation, www.saintsandscholars.us, exists to help Americans to support faithful Catholic education in America. Right now, Mater Dei Academy (www.materdeiacademy.ie) in Cork is the main project of this tax-exempt organization. Mater Dei Academy has a vision to renew the Faith in Ireland into a joyful, faithful, living reality — by teaching young people to love Jesus Christ by teaching them how to think.
Mater Dei is the first independent, parent-run, classical curriculum, faithful to the Magisterium secondary school in Ireland. The first? Yes, the first.
We faithful Catholics in America think we have a hard time keeping the faith — but actually, here in America, Catholicism had a strong foundation because for generations our ancestors had a wonderful system of Catholic education. Ireland never had that infrastructure.
Ireland never had an educated laity comparable to what we had here — there, few people except seminarians studied philosophy and theology! In America, we have long had many Catholic magazines and newspapers, some of them privately owned (think of The Wanderer, for instance!) but Ireland never had anything like that. Faithful Catholics in America were able to launch Christendom and other colleges, and start a homeschool movement, all of which have contributed to produce vocations — which, of course, are slowly but surely, one parish at a time, one school at a time, reviving the Church in America.
There are many faithful para-church evangelistic organizations (think FOCUS and Institute of Catholic Culture), and a growing number of faithful broadcasters and podcasters.
Ireland never had the educated laity or the financial resources to do these things!
Yes, it had been the Island of Saints and Scholars — but that was more than a thousand years ago — before the Viking marauding and England’s conquest and colonization!
The First
That’s why Mater Dei Academy in Cork is so unique and so important!! It is a reason for hope for anyone who wants to see the Faith thrive again in Ireland, It is an answer to the prayers of faithful Catholic parents.
Mater Dei is the first independent, parent-run, faithful to the Magisterium in. Ireland. The first. That sounds incredible, but it is true. Mater Dei is the first school in Ireland that is setting out to do this. Its associated homeschool program, www.materdeieducation.ie, is the first Irish Catholic homeschool program.
It is a second-level school, which means approximately seventh grade on up. It is going into its second year of operation in Cork City, and is now accepting applications for September 2023.
Mater Dei is offering education that will teach the next generation of Irish Catholics to love Jesus Christ and understand and love the faith, how to defend the faith, and how to resist error and delusion — because it follows a classical curriculum that teaches students how to think. Not just how to get grades on standardized exams so they can get jobs — which is what the government schools do — but to know and understand the best that has been thought and said in Western civilization. At the heart of a classical curriculum is a search for truth, scientific, moral, and spiritual.
At Mater Dei Academy, students are taught to seek the truth through critical thinking and deep questioning. They have a daily dialogue between faith and reason, through the study of science, philosophy, and theology.
Government schools teach political correctness and formulas to pass exams — with crucifixes forbidden, even in historically Catholic schools. It has outstanding credentials too: It is certified by the General Certificate of Secondary Education from Cambridge, and meets international standards from France as well as Ireland
You get the picture: classical education, strong curriculum, faithful to the Magisterium. So what’s the problem? The problem is: People in Ireland have not had to pay for education before! Mater Dei has to exist on voluntary contributions.
Also, it requires courage for parents to be pioneers and send their children to Mater Dei. Ireland is a small country with a media that makes ours in the U.S. look friendly! Already last summer there was a media condemnation when the Dominicans in Cork applied for a zoning permit so the school could move into its space.
The silver lining to that cloud was that the media coverage also brought in thousands of euros from total strangers who read the article and were able to read between the lines! That is a great encouragement that the soul of Catholic Ireland is not dead, even if it is in hiding.
A reaction like that gives reason to hope that this little seedling of Mater Dei Academy is tapping into a deep current of faithfulness under the surface. There still are plenty of faithful Catholics in Ireland eager to educate their children in the faith. They are hoping that friends in America can help them get off to a strong start.
The Saints and Scholars Foundation, www.saintsandscholars.us, is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) foundation. This foundation is looking for faithful Catholics in America to join the effort to safeguard the future of the faith in Ireland.
Toward that end, the foundation is sponsoring a pilgrimage this summer, “In the Footsteps of Saints and Scholars.” From July 14 to July 23, accompanied by Fr. Maurice Colgan, OP, pilgrims will be treated to a tour of holy sites in Ireland and offered daily Mass. Not the usual tourist attractions, but the holy places. The Eucharistic and Apparition Shrine at Knock will be included, of course, as will Clonmacnoise and Cashel and the Aran Islands — where the Saints and Scholars of old lived and worked!
There will be Mass at a Mass Rock from Penal Days, and at some of the monasteries, and also at Maynooth College, the first legal Catholic seminary in Ireland after Penal Days. There’s lots more, too — for instance, on a few evenings there will be special speakers who can talk off the record about the real state of the faith and the nation of Ireland.
The pilgrimage will have a great leader, and it will be a great opportunity to make new friends with whom you have so much in common — besides which, it will be more fun than you’ve had in years! A small portion of the cost will go to support Mater Dei Academy.
How To Reserve A Space
Ireland is wide open for travel — but airfares are bound to increase, so make your reservations before April 10, when rates may go up. Marian Pilgrimages in Boston is handling the logistics (www.marianusa.com; 877-545-2444). Contact them immediately for more information and to book.
The educational and cultural vacuum Mater Dei seeks to fill is huge. Yes, Mater Dei is small, and yes, it’s a bare beginning — but from little acorns do great oaks grow. I am reminded of the founding of Christendom College almost 50 years ago, of which my husband was a founding faculty: Many said it was a crazy idea, it would never succeed — but not only did it succeed fabulously, but it set off a chain of imitators!
The revival of faithful Catholic education in Ireland is a long-term project — support from America can be crucial to its success. The Saints and Scholars Foundation is part of a noble and historic tradition. Irish independence was a long-term project, and it needed that support too. The Fenian Brotherhood, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the Gaelic League were long-term projects too. They all started small, with one or two visionaries — and they all had big dreams — and they all depended heavily on support from America. With financial help from America (“aided by her exiled children in America” were Padraic Pearse’s words in the Proclamation of 1916), and with time, the vision caught on — and ultimately it was successful.
Mater Dei Academy is working to replace the secular materialism of the twenty-first century with a genuine Catholic faith. The Saints and Scholars Foundation is important for anyone who loves Catholic Ireland! It has been created as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization in the United States to support faithful Catholic education in Ireland. You don’t have to go on the pilgrimage to support its noble work: www.saintsandscholars.us is its website, where donations can be made any time.
