PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Liam Moloney will graduate from Holy Cross High School this spring and is confident a bright future lies ahead, in part because he will continue his education at a Catholic institution.
“I’ve always felt the Catholic faith has been a really big part of my education, and I just wanted to keep doing that through college,” said Liam, who plans to major in mechanical engineering at Kings College in Pennsylvania. “I really feel that my faith in God helps me with my studies.”
Liam was one of approximately 1,000 graduating seniors from Diocese of Brooklyn Catholic schools who came to the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph on March 13 for a Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert Brennan in their honor.
Passing along some words of wisdom, Bishop Brennan told the students to love God and their neighbors, and to remember that they are loved by God. He also encouraged the students to continue practicing their faith in college.
“The Church is universal. Don’t lose your ties with your faith. Get involved in the Newman centers, campus ministry, whatever is there, or the local parish,” he said. Wherever you are, that relationship with Christ continues.”
Newman Centers are campus ministries at secular colleges and universities.
Many of the 1,000 students who attended the Mass will attend Catholic institutions. Ava Arbitello, a senior at Christ the King High School who plans to become a nurse, said she is happy with her decision to attend Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.
“When I first visited the school, I fell in love with it. But the fact that it was a Catholic school really made my decision for me,” she said. “I think focusing on God is the main priority, and I think going to a Catholic university will keep me in the right mindset.”
Danielle Saborio, who plans to study architecture, has not made a final decision yet, but said she is leaning toward Catholic University of America.
“I really want to continue in my faith,” she said. “Being in high school has really helped me grow in my faith because I’m part of a community and surrounded by students that have the same faith as I do,” said Danielle, a senior at The Mary Louis Academy.
Xavier Diaz, a senior at St. Edmund Preparatory High School, chose St. John’s University.
“I feel that having a Catholic education has really helped shape me as a person to have morals and standards, and I wanted to continue my Catholic education in college,” he said.
Bishop Brennan, who is a graduate of St. John’s University, said he was pleased to see students continuing their commitment to Catholic education.
“They bring with them the experience of Catholic education, so they’ll be examples to other students there in the Catholic colleges and universities,” he said. “And Catholic education is about educating the whole person, not just filling people with knowledge.”