Faith

The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life” and in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself. For this reason, Mass is a core part of the St. Ignatius experience.

Grades 3-12 attend daily Mass, Tuesday through Friday. Our entire school community, Grades 3K-12, attends Mass on Thursday. Masses begin at 8 a.m. and are held on the St. Ignatius Catholic School and Chesterton Academy campus at Holy Cross Church, Kaukauna. All are welcome to attend daily Masses with our school community.

St. Ignatius students in grades K-12 participate in Eucharistic Adoration every Monday at Holy Cross Church on the campus of St. Ignatius.

For students to spend time with Christ is one of the most grace-filled ways to begin every school week. We adore, thank, and bring our prayers to God in front of Christ Himself in the Blessed Sacrament.

St. Ignatius offers students the opportunity to go to Confession (also known as Reconciliation) every week.

Penance services are also held in both Advent and Lent for the school community.

St. Ignatius fosters a culture and habit of prayer in our students and school community. The rhythm of our school day is rooted in prayer.

Our school community begins every school day in prayer, followed by Mass. Students and staff pray together before classes, before and after lunch, and numerous other times throughout every school day. Prayers such as the Rosary, The Angelus, Divine Mercy Chaplet, etc. are  regularly prayed together as a school community and within specific grade levels.

School Prayer / PRayer of Self-Dedication to Jesus Christ

(Prayed Together Schoolwide Every Morning during Morning Announcements)
Lord Jesus Christ, take all my freedom, my memory, my understanding, and my will. All that I have and cherish Thou hast given me. I surrender it all to be guided by Thy will. Thy grace and Thy love are wealth enough for me. Give me these, Lord Jesus, and I ask for nothing more. Amen.

Catholic religious and theology instruction, classes, and coursework are a part of every St. Ignatius student’s educational experience, from 3K through grade 12.

As a Catholic classical school, the faith is also integrated throughout our classical curriculum across grades levels too.

Students in grades 3K-3 participate in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) in the Roman Catholic tradition as part of their religious formation at St. Ignatius.

In CGS, students explore Sacred Scripture and Liturgy in an approach guided by Montessori principles. The children attend weekly sessions in a prepared environment, called The Atrium, at St. Ignatius. It is a sacred place where students work with materials, enjoy time with God, listen to the Word, respond to God’s abundant love, and pray.

“Faith in action is love and love in action is service.”

~ St. Teresa of Calcutta

Through Christ’s example, we are called to serve others. At St. Ignatius Catholic School and St. Ignatius Chesterton Academy, we seek to instill virtue, selfless giving, and lay a foundation for a life of service to others, to one’s family, to the Church, and to the world.

Middle School Service Hours
To support such formation, St. Ignatius students in grades 5-8 are encouraged to engage in acts of service to their community, their family, and their parish. They are required to complete a certain number of service hours each year.

High School Service
At St. Ignatius Chesterton Academy, we expect service to be a way of life for our students. Students perform service to the school community through participation in ministry at daily Mass, as well as service projects throughout the year.

Middle school and high school students at St. Ignatius participate in a class retreat every school year. The off-site retreat focuses on faith development, spiritual growth, wholesome leisure, and community building with classmates.

St. Ignatius is blessed to be directly supported by the faith community of Kaukauna Catholic Parishes. Its two pastors, Fr. Luke Ferris and Fr. Ben Pribbenow, preside over school Masses, hear confessions, and share the love of Jesus Christ with our school community.

Additionally, we are blessed to regularly host and welcome other priests to our school. They preside over Mass, hear confessions, meet with classes, answer questions, and share the Gospel message.

Our growing school community is made up of students, staff, and families who come from more than two dozen different parishes in the Diocese of Green Bay.

St. Ignatius is  directly supported by the Kaukauna Catholic Parishes (KCP) faith community. This includes two parishes and three worship sites: Holy Cross Catholic Church (Kaukauna), and St. Katharine Drexel- St. Mary’s Site (Kaukauna) and St. Katharine Drexel- St. Francis (Hollandtown). Fr. Luke Ferris and Fr. Ben Pribbenow are the current priests serving KCP and our school.

As St. Ignatius has grown over the years being the only Catholic classical school in the Fox Valley, families and students currently represent from nearly two dozen different parishes across the Diocese of Green Bay. Priests from various parishes and the diocese regularly visit St. Ignatius, preside over Masses, and visit classes for Q&A as well.

Campus ministry further supports the faith formation of our students within our St. Ignatius community.

Campus Minister Kyle Fox helps connect students with faith formation, ministry, retreat, vocational resources, and more.