In 1961, when I was six years old, I started first grade at St. Ann Catholic School in Bartlett. It was a time that was, most assuredly, operating on a far different landscape than our current stage. Truth, honesty, and respect was the undisputed order of the day and remained intact, even as racial tensions picked up momentum.
Still, truth and honesty and respect prevailed because it was necessary to preserve a democracy. It would be a few decades later until the sexual abuse allegations leveled against the Church’s leadership would surface, changing all that we, not only Catholics, had so firmly believed.
But in 1961, as a Cradle Catholic who would attend Catholic school on the benevolence gifted by the parish priest, I fell deeply in love with
my school, my classmates, and my teachers. But what I remember with such vividness was the pastor, Father Leonard Oglesby. I remember his quiet, certain leadership, his commanding stature, his kindness, and his firm belief in each of us to make a difference not only in our own life but in the lives of others.
The school opened in 1960, so I was one of its first classes of students, and that continues to impress upon me my responsibility to continue to do what I can do to uplift others, to promote the school’s mission of worship and service.
When the school opened its doors, Sister Mary Thomas was its principal. I don’t remember her, but remembering the school’s cornerstones tells me all I need to know of her vision. My years at St. Ann planted the seeds of my character, my faith so deeply that they can never be uprooted.
Spiritual memoir
Fast forward a number of decades, having taught at a Catholic school, leading women’s Bible study programs, and recently writing and seeing published my spiritual memoir, Before the Cock Crows, the story of my spiritual journey and its joys and challenges began in Bartlett at St. Ann School.
That period of time—six years—led me to a move with my family to rural West Virginia where the journey would continue to unfold. But the cornerstones set by St. Ann would never shift. Without those early lessons imparted, I would not have been able to make sense of so much senselessness.
As our Catholic community and our world stage move in directions that are all too often unfathomable, we take refuge in knowing with complete conviction that our foundation will hold, has always held us firmly in place. Yes, shifts are imminent but so is our ability to right ourselves. In the end, it allows us to keep putting one foot in front of the other. And that is often times enough.
Thank you, St. Ann School for making a difference in every good way possible. I did not nor will I ever forget the countless gifts you brought to my table. In some small measure of gratitude, I hope my spiritual memoir gives you a picture of your most treasured efforts.
Kathleen M. Jacobs is a former Memphian who holds a M. A. in Humanistic Studies. She divides her time between New York City and rural West Virginia.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Catholic education recalled as beacon of hope in a fractured world
