Archbishop honored for his dedication to Catholic education

By Emily Chaffins -

FORT LAUDERDALE |  South Florida’s Catholic schools are flourishing: This year’s enrollment is the highest in 10 years, most schools have waitlists, and in the past two years, two new high schools have opened and an elementary school has reopened.

“This doesn’t happen by accident,” said Jim Rigg, cabinet secretary for education and superintendent of schools in the archdiocese. “It takes a leader to actualize this success and set the vision.”

Rigg pointed to Archbishop Thomas Wenski as that leader. The Miami Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women agreed, choosing to honor the archbishop for his support of Catholic education at their 25th annual Scholarship Luncheon, held Feb. 24, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale.

“The archbishop earmarked the Archdiocese of Miami 65th Anniversary Gala for education; opened schools that were closed; and has always been a supporter of the MACCW scholarship fund. He’s always been there to give the awards out to the students,” said Mary Weber, chair of the MACCW’s scholarship committee.

The luncheon is a fundraiser for the MACCW’s Lucy Petrillo Scholarship Fund. which enables disadvantaged eighth grade girls in Catholic schools to attend a Catholic high school. The MACCW has raised a total of over $357,000 since the start of the scholarship fund in 1997, enabling 80 young women to continue their Catholic education.

Archbishop Wenski described himself as a “product of Catholic education.” He attended Sacred Heart School in Lake Worth from kindergarten to eighth grade and then entered St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, which at that time encompassed a high school.

The archbishop, in turn, praised the Florida Council of Catholic Women, the state organization that the MACCW falls under. This February, the FCCW received the Thomas A. Horkan, Jr. Distinguished Catholic Leader Award during Catholic Days at the Capitol.

“You’re a godsend to the bishops for your advocacy,” Archbishop Wenski said, praising them as “distinguished Catholic leaders.”

The MACCW gave Archbishop Wenski a framed image of Our Lady of Good Counsel, the patroness of the National Council of Catholic Women.

According to Weber, last year’s four scholarship recipients received $4,000 each. Three of last year’s recipients spoke at the luncheon about the impact the scholarship has had on their education.

Ashley Elvir-Lainez, who attended middle school at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Fort Lauderdale, is now studying at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and posting a 4.1 GPA.

“Receiving this scholarship was important to me because it helps with my future,” Elvir-Lainez said. “I want to be a dietician, and this scholarship helps me not worry about the cost of all the schooling. It’s truly great.”

Elvir-Lainez is a member of the Neocatechumenal Way, a group she found out about at St. Lawrence School in North Miami Beach. Receiving the scholarship and continuing in Catholic education “was important to me because Catholic school and the Neocatechumenal Way pushed me to seek a deeper faith,” she said.

Sasha Jean-Felix was a dedicated student at St. Mary Cathedral School and now attends Immaculata-LaSalle High School in Miami.

“I like to participate a lot,” she said, talking about how she delivered the morning announcements and played sports in middle school.

One of her favorite memories is attending school Mass at St. Mary Cathedral every Thursday.

“Going to church is important to connect to God,” she said, which is one of the reasons she wanted to attend Catholic high school.

Her message to other students who want to attend Catholic high school but are concerned about finances: “Just keep working hard, try your best, seek God.”

Milagros Funes of St. Lawrence School and Chaminade-Madonna High School in Hollywood had a similar message: “Never give up. There’s always a way. Look for scholarships, talk to your teachers. There are always people out there, even if you don’t think so.”

“I wanted to go to Catholic high school so I’m never made to feel ashamed or ridiculed for my faith in God,” she added.

Funes is involved in campus ministry and said attending Catholic school has positively impacted her in many ways.

“Around eighth grade, I was overwhelmed,” she said. “It was the end of middle school, with lots of exams. I was not in a good place, and my teachers really helped me, telling me God was with me, even though I was experiencing this difficulty.”

Funes aspires to study psychology with the goal of becoming a guidance counselor.

These three scholarship recipients were testaments to Archbishop Wenski’s words: “Catholic school helps kids get into good colleges, and that’s good. But more importantly than doing well is doing good,” he said. “The goal of Catholic education is to help students be successful in this life and gain eternal life.”

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Photographer: EMILY CHAFFINS | FC

Beloved teddy bears Beau and Scarlet are traditional guests at the annual MACCW Scholarship Luncheon celebrated on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale. The teddy bears belonged to Lucy Petrillo; in whose memory the scholarship fund is named.

Lucy Petrillo, a member of the Miami Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, originally spearheaded the establishment of the group’s scholarship fund in 1997. The first fundraiser held in a gala format took place in 2000 at the former Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art.

Petrillo died in 2014, and the scholarship fund was named in her honor in 2015.

Diane Tugander, MACCW parliamentarian and convention coordinator, and Fabiola Sanchez De Armas, MACCW president-elect, remember Petrillo as the life of the party.

She began the tradition of bringing teddy bears Beau and Scarlet to the luncheons as an additional way to raise funds. Scarlet sings when coins are inserted into her, and Tugander remembers Petrillo’s granddaughter carrying the bear around the room to attendees.

“It’s a tradition to have Scarlet and Beau here,” said Sanchez De Armas, pointing out the teddy bears sitting on a table. “When Lucy brought them, that would be the whole fun.”

For more information on the MACCW or to donate to the scholarship fund, go to maccw.org or email [email protected].

Photographer: FILE

Lucy Petrillo and her Scarlets at a Miami Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women Scholarship Luncheon in 2006.